Blue plaque to mark heritage of Waddingtons and Monopoly's connection to Leeds
Leeds Civic Trust is to unveil a blue plaque to mark the heritage of Waddingtons and Monopoly’s connection to the city.
It celebrates the significance of Norman Victor Watson’s work for Leeds card and board games manufacturer Waddingtons.
He was the first person to play Monopoly in the UK - at his home in Leeds - before it was launched with London landmarks in 1936 by the firm.
The plaque will be unveiled on Saturday, September 7 at his former home on Layton Grange in Horsforth as part of this year's Heritage Open Days Festival which will include a range of events highlighting the Waddingtons heritage in the city.
Norman Victor Watson served both as the firm’s managing director and later, chairman.
Having provided valuable help as a security printer to the Government during the Second World War , the company then grew under Norman Watson’s leadership, into newer areas such as cartons, greetings cards, labels, plastic packaging and computer stationery. By the 1960s it employed over 3,000 people.
Leeds Civic Trust director, Martin Hamilton, said: “Waddingtons is a brand with national recognition and Monopoly is a game with a global reach. The fact that both have such strong associations with Leeds is something that deserves to be celebrated.”
“It is amazing to think that the first game of Monopoly was played in Horsforth, Leeds.”
Norman Victor Watson’s grandson, John Watson, said: “My childhood memories of this house are full of the occasions when my father would bring home different prototype games. After the successes of Monopoly, Totopoly and Cluedo, people were sending him their suggestions all the time. Obviously the company had its own screening mechanism for them but every month or so Dad would bring one home to see how it went down with me and my friends.
“Certainly, I remember the first game of Risk (very popular), Scoop (we didn’t like it) and Astron (popular with us but a miserable failure in the shops). One that never reached the market was a game about transplant surgery – ‘ the operating surgeon likes you, collect one leg from each player’ – which we all thought was wonderful but which was vetoed rapidly thereafter.”
He added: “It is gratifying and appropriate that the enormous contributions made by my father, my grandfather and my brothers to the success of John Waddington Ltd in Leeds should be commemorated in this way. It wasn’t just a games producer, of course, the company’s work in printing, plastics, packaging, greetings cards and labels all made it one of the city’s largest employers, with over 3,000 people on the payroll in the 1970s.”
The unveiling comes at the end of the Monopoly Leeds takeover, during which time the city centre has been transformed into a giant monopoly board courtesy of Leeds BID. The plaque has been on display at Leeds City Museum throughout the summer.
Leeds Civic Trust promotes the improvements of Leeds in the spheres of planning, architecture, heritage and city amenities and is responsible for the blue plaque scheme in the city.
Since 1987 the Trust has unveiled 180 plaques across the district celebrating people, events and buildings that have made a significant contribution to the city of Leeds.