What do Captain Cook, Enid Blyton and Gandhi have in common? They all spent time in London, and English Heritage has badged the front of their house to prove it. Our blue plaque trail shows you the way to their homes

AS PETER SELLERS drove towards his childhood home in North London, he stopped the car and started to cry. "Whatever happened to Peter Sellers?" he asked his passengers.

The troubled comedian was driving around Muswell Hill in his Bentley, showing actor Graham Stark and his wife where he had lived, and the impact of seeing the one place where he had truly felt at home was evidently too much. It was a moment that Stark would never forget; and now a plaque marks the spot, neither will we.

From national institutions to family homes, the buildings of Britain are adorned with hundreds of blue plaques which reveal where the country’s most notable residents have lived or worked. The fi rst plaque, unveiled in 1867, commemorated the tempestuous poet Lord Byron. This no longer exists, and so the oldest plaque award now goes to Charles Louis-Napoleon, erected in 1875. He lived in London between 1846-1848, after he escaped imprisonment for his unsuccessful Bonapartist last coups against the French king, Louis-Phillipe III.

Nor is Napoleon the only surprising fi gure to have graced our shores: from Mahatma Gandhi and John F Kennedy, to local heroes Captain James Cook and TE Lawrence, English Heritage’s blue plaque list reads like the ultimate Who’s Who. We’ve scoured the streets to fi nd some of the most intriguing fi gures who lived in and around London. Plot your path now.

PETER SELLERS (1925-1980) actor and comedian - 10 Muswell Hill Road, Muswell Hill, N6

After his father walked out on his family in 1936, Sellers moved here, aged 11, with his domineering mother Peg. This small two-bedroom cottage was his fi rst real home, as he had spent his childhood touring around Britain’s musical halls with his parents’ variety act. Sellers, who was known as a troubled and insecure person, achieved phenomenal success as an actor and comedian. He made his radio debut with The Goon Show before moving on to big screen hits such as Dr Strangelove and The Pink Panther series.

HENRY MOORE (1898-1986) sculptor - 11A Parkhill Road, Hampstead, NW3

Moore lived and worked here with his wife, the Kiev-born Russian Irina, between the years 1929 and 1940. His studio was the focal point of a small colony of artists who were starting to take root in the area, including sculptors Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth and the painter Cecil Stephenson. Moore became increasingly well known during the time he lived here, holding a series of one-man exhibitions. He was a prolifi c worker: there are 22 surviving sculptures from 1930 alone.

T.E. LAWRENCE (1888-1935) soldier and author - 14 Barton Street, SW1

Lawrence occupied a small attic room in this house, then an architect’s offi ce. It was here that he wrote much of his autobiography, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and, in 1931, completed his Odyssey translation. A British soldier, Lawrence was posted to Cairo in 1916 and became famous for his exploits as a British military liaison during the Arab Revolt (1916-1918). The US journalist Lowell Thomas sensationalised his activities and he gained world renown as "Lawrence of Arabia". The David Lean epic movie starring Peter O’Toole as Lawrence won seven Oscars in 1962.

SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE 18591930 AUTHOR - 12 Tennison Road, South Norwood, SE25

The creator of Sherlock Holmes, the ultimate sleuth, was an unsuccessful doctor who wrote short stories while he waited for patients. Conan Doyle fi rst wrote about the great detective in 1887, and, by the time he moved here in 1891, had become "weary of his name" ­ so weary that, in 1893, he killed him off. Public outcry ensued and Conan Doyle resurrected the detective, who went on to star in a total of 56 short stories and four novels. One of those short stories, The Adventures of the Norwood Builder, was set in South Norwood, and mentions the Anerley Arms, a pub that still exists today.

ENID BLYTON (1897-1968) children’s author - 83 Shortlands Road, Bromley, BR2

This was Blyton’s "fi rst real home" and she named it Elfi n Cottage. The children’s author moved here in 1925 with her new husband, Major Hugh Alexander Pollock, a publisher who had commissioned her to write The Zoo Book the year before. Blyton was already wildly successful by this stage: fi rst published in 1917, by 1922 her annual earnings were £1095.10s.2d ­ a considerable amount in those days. Her work gained an even wider audience in the late 1930s after she wrote her fi rst long book, The Secret Island, which spawned The Famous Five. In 1949 she created the much-loved character, Noddy. To date her books have sold over 400 million copies.

MAHATMA GANDHI (1869-1948) Indian political leader - 20 Baron’s Court Road, W14

Gandhi moved to London in 1888 to study law at University College. While there he embraced English customs and even took dancing lessons ­ although he couldn’t stomach the food. It was during this time that Gandhi, who was originally a Hindu, also learned more about other religions, such as Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. After returning to India in 1893, he tried, unsuccessfully, to establish a law practice in Bombay. Gandhi went on to become one of India’s pivotal political fi gures in the lead-up to independence from the British Raj in 1947.

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK 1728-1779 ENGLISH EXPLORER - 88 Mile End Road, Tower Hamlets, E1

After a brief engagement Cook married Elizabeth Batts on 21 December 1762. The couple moved into this house, where they were to stay until Cook’s death. Cook served in the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He went on to become a legendary explorer, cartographer and navigator. On his three voyages to the Pacifi c Ocean he made the fi rst European contact with Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, mapped Newfoundland and completed the fi rst recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

SIR NOEL COWARD 1899-1973 PLAYWRIGHT COMPOSER AND ACTOR - 131 Waldegrave Road, Teddington Teddington,

where Coward was born, was also home to much of his extended family, a musical bunch who were the backbone of the local church. "My Uncle Jim played the organ, while my father, together with my uncle Randolph, Walter, Percy, and Gordon, and my Aunt Hilda, Myrrha, Ida and Nellie graced the choir," he said. His family left the area in 1908, three years before Coward made his fi rst stage appearance. Coward went on to write his fi rst full-length play aged 20, and achieved great success with numerous productions including the operetta Cavalcade, black comedy Blithe Spirit and naval drama In Which We Serve. He was also a prolifi c and popular songwriter and acted in iconic fi lms such as The Italian Job.

W.G. GRACE (1848-1915) cricketer - Fairmount, Mottingham Lane, SE9

One of the fi nest all- round English cricketers, Grace was actually a doctor by profession and played cricket only as an amateur. The tall, bearded legend scored a number of fi rsts in his illustrious career: he played in the fi rst Test match held in England which was against Australia at the Oval in 1880, and made 152, the fi rst Test century by an English batsman. When he scored 433 for the MCC against Kent in 1876, it was the fi rst triple century in fi rst-class cricket. As well as setting records, Grace’s career was a lengthy one: he was still playing well into his fi fties and retired in 1908 after 44 years. Shortly after his retirement, he settled in this house.

J.M.W. TURNER (1775­1851) artist - Sandycombe Lodge, Twickenham, TW9

The English landscape painter started sketching and painting in this area in 1805. Two years later he bought some land and, on the advice of his friend, the architect Sir John Soane, began building a small villa known as Solus Lodge, later Sandycombe. The artist was to live here until 1826. Turner was already well established at this stage, as he had exhibited his fi rst oil painting, Fishermen at Sea, at the Royal Academy in 1796 and become an Associate Member in 1799. However, Twickenham was a wealthy area and the artist befriended some prominent patrons while living here, including Louis-Philippe, the exiled French king.