A new plaque has been placed outside the London house where Romantic poet was born in the 17th century

The descendents of bisexual Romantic poet Lord Byron will unveil a plaque outside the London house where the literary master was born in 1788.

An old wooden plaque which previously marked the house in Holles Street, now a John Lewis department store in the UK capital’s iconic shopping district of Oxford Street, will be replaced with a green one.

The new sign commemorating the famous libertine is part of Westminster Council’s Green Plaque Scheme which aims to ‘draw attention to particular buildings in Westminster associated with people of renown who have made a lasting contribution to society.’

George Gordon Byron is known as much for his scandalous love affairs with both women and men as he is his writing.

His sexuality has been much debated by historians and biographer Fiona MacCarthy has suggested accusations of sodomy, a criminal offence bearing the death sentence in early 19th century Britain, was one of the reasons for him fleeing the country.

His most famous works include ‘She Walks in Beauty’, ‘Epitaph to a Dog’ and ‘The First Kiss of Love’.