Radical plaque-making

Mike Baker, Plaque Maker – Living Easton Legend

Erstwhile friend, collaborator and BRHG colleague Mark Steeds, presents a snapshot of the legacy of Easton legend Mike Baker, who sadly died in 2020 aged just 58. A doyen of the Living Easton History Group, among many others, his talent seemed to know no bounds. Rebel archeologist, Baker researched topics to the nth degree and then drew and sculpted them into veritable works of art. From his makeshift studio in the former Great Western Cotton Works in Barton Hill (Wards Signs kindly gave him space, both for his drawing/sculpting board and his host of historic artefacts) Mike would weave his magic and bring history from below to life.

Despite ill health and a lack of transport, Mike campaigned on a multitude of issues, fighting inequality and making his presence felt everywhere he went. His narrative plaques encompassed many aspects of those that had been overlooked; from the Workhouse at 100 Fishponds Road to abolitionist Thomas Clarkson’s plaque at the Seven Stars – the pub that changed the world. His work on the Bristol Bus Boycott plaque led historian David Olusoga to place it as one of the top 10 sites celebrating protest, progress and power in England.