THE former Crouch End home of acclaimed theatre architect Frank Matcham was commemorated with an English Heritage blue plaque yesterday in recognition of his work.

Mr Matcham, who was born in 1854, lived at 10 Haslemere Road for nine years, from 1894 to 1904.

Although he never qualified as an architect, Mr Matcham was responsible for designing and building some of the most celebrated theatres in Britain including the internationally famous London Coliseum and Palladium.

He was also the mastermind behind the Grand Theatre and Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.

Actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales were on hand to unveil the plaque on Thursday afternoon.

A spokeswoman for English Heritage said: "Matcham built and rebuilt theatres at an exhaustive rate - he fulfilled some 150 commissions between 1879 and 1913, more than any other British architect, before or since.

"Those which survive include the Grand Opera House, Belfast and the Brighton Hippodrome and the Hackney Empire.

"By the outbreak of the First World War, there were few major towns in Britain without a theatre designed by 'Matchless Matcham'."

He died at his Essex seaside home in 1920 and was buried in Highgate Cemetery.