London

Exploring the Photography of the 1880s via a Greenwich Ghost Sign

Researching ghost signs is a very hit and miss affair, with dead ends fortunately offset by those that yield myriad clues and new paths to explore. This very faded piece on the wall of a residential property in South East London has been fascinating to investigate, taking me into the wonderful world of late-Victorian photography. […]

7 Dec 2020

Ghosts of London’s Wayfinding Past in this New Book

Highlights from Alistair Hall’s London Street Signs book.

15 Oct 2020

Alf the Purse King

“Among the restaurants and cafes that dominate today’s Stoke Newington Church Street in North London is a ghost sign representing both the industrial and Jewish heritage of the area. The proud proclamation of ‘Alf the Purse King’ (the ‘man bags’ of their day?) is fading gracefully, high up on the bricks of its host building. […]

28 Sep 2020

London Street Level by Robert Brownjohn

I recently (28 October) hosted ‘Font Sunday’ on Twitter with the theme of ‘fading fonts’ to mark the changing of the clocks and the fading light it signifies. Among the contributions made was a tweet from Eliza Brownjohn, daughter of the designer Robert Brownjohn (1925-1970) who took the photo above in 1961. It is one […]

9 Nov 2018

Lancell Road’s Mystery Ghost Sign

[Download in high resolution] At 49 Stoke Newington Church Street, junction with Lancell Road, is this fragment of a ghost sign which, despite my best efforts, has remained a mystery in terms of decyphering. It would once have extended further to the right to fill the chamfer, but this portion was left exposed and subsequently […]

2 Nov 2018

Fonts Inspired by Ghost (and other) Signs

Earlier this year I was lucky to attend the launch of Lost & Foundry, a collection of fonts created and published by Fontsmith in collaboration with M&C Saatchi. They are inspired by various of pieces of historic signage in Soho, and funds raised from their sale all goes to support the charitable work of the […]

26 Oct 2018

The Enduring Ephemera of J.M. Hill in Southwark

Although my Bankside Ghostsigns Walk ends further West along the road, it doesn’t spend any time on the Eastern end of Union Street. However, a few buildings in, on the North side, I recently spotted this mounted sign and shared a photo on my Instagram and Facebook page, simply giving the broad location as supplementary […]

12 Oct 2018

Commit Some Nuisance for Bankside

One of the ‘bonus’ stops on my Bankside Ghostsigns Walk is a pair of signs on the back The Borough Welsh Congregational Chapel (Doyce Street and Great Guildford Street). These convey the euphemistic line, ‘Commit No Nuisance‘, which translates to ‘please don’t urinate here’. Many other examples exist across London and the world, one of […]

28 Sep 2018

It’s All Popping Off in Deptford Market Yard

In Deptford, South East London, the processes of development/gentrification are having an impact on the area’s walls, including ghost signs. The following is cribbed from two Twitter threads, here and here, largely focused on the Deptford Market Yard. First up is this shelter sign from WW2. On 16 July the Deptford Society tweeted in a […]

14 Sep 2018

Bill-Poster: A London Type

Sadly we recently lost what was one of my all-time favourite ghost signs, in the shape of the Black Cat on Dingley Road. RIP. The brand was a pioneer of cigarette cards, and their power to foster increased sales through the parallel addictive properties of collecting, and nicotine. Recently the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life […]

20 Jul 2018

Bovril’s Windrush Square Legacy

Windrush Square in Brixton is home to this, one of the most famous ghost signs in London. While the Bovril sign is still very prominent, less well known is that beneath it are the remains of what was once a painted advertisement for Butlin’s. While researching the Butlin’s sign, Roy Reed happened across this wonderful […]

29 Jun 2018

Ariel / Writers Revisited

This ghost sign for Ariel motorbikes, and the Writers shop that sold them in Kennington, is one of my London favourites, partly due to the illustrated element, and partly due to the historical connections that emerged after I first wrote about it in 2007. The above photograph shows the sign as it was on my […]

8 Jun 2018

The Dioramas of Northall by Job Weessies

Job Weessies is a Dutch model maker and, after some time working on railway models, he has moved into working with card and on creating street scenes. While he has never visited London, or indeed the UK, he uses a variety of publically available resources to conduct his research into how the streets here would […]

1 Jun 2018

A 1984 Photo of the Spitalfields Gillette Ghost Sign

I first posted about this illustrated Gillette ghost sign on Commercial Street back in 2007 when I came across it on Frank Jump’s Fading Ads blog. Frank told me that the best place to photograph it was from the top of the nearby carpark which led to my 2008 capture above. Recently the sign had […]

25 May 2018

Michelle Heron’s Fantastic Fascias

Michelle Heron is a London-based painter with a paticular fascination for old shops and shop fronts. Her paintings depict iconic fascias, many of which have been lost since she turned her attention to them, and some that survive in a state of perpetual uncertainty. As with my own work on ghostsigns, Michelle is focused on […]

20 Apr 2018

NE Signs Scavenger Hunt

Following a series of discussions on Twitter myself and a handful of others have decided to run a scavenger hunt to locate, photograph and map the remaining street signs featuring the now-defunct NE London Postal District. It will take place 2-5pm on the afternoon of Saturday 21 April, meeting at the Clapton Hart, 231 Lower […]

13 Apr 2018

Ghostsigns of Clapham, a Forthcoming Walk

Following my talk to the Clapham Society last summer we are joining forces, with Roy Reed, to develop a walk exploring the many ghost signs visible on and around Clapham High Street. We are currently carrying out a mixture of archival and web-based research into the 11 locations chosen for the walk, and would welcome […]

23 Mar 2018

Ancient Lights in English Law

This blog post [site since shut] highlights an entire category of fading painted signs that I have never come across. They are for ‘ancient lights’ and reference an English law protecting the right of property owners to receive natural light through their windows. The assertion of this right has taken the form of signs beneath […]

16 Mar 2018

London Street Signs with Alistair Hall

Alistair Hall of We Made This has spent the last couple of years documenting and researching the various forms taken by London’s Street Signs. He is set to present his findings in a lecture at St Bride on 31 May, so of course I’ve bought a ticket. I’m very happy to see an example in […]

9 Mar 2018

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 4

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a useful, educative and rewarding topic for those, whether private enthusiasts […]

2 Mar 2018

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 3

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a useful, educative and rewarding topic for those, whether private enthusiasts […]

23 Feb 2018

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 2

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a useful, educative and rewarding topic for those, whether private enthusiasts […]

16 Feb 2018

Gardiner & Lacey at the Cat & Mutton

The Cat & Mutton pub on Broadway Market in East London has a remarkable array of Victorian glasswork on display in the main bar (see samples below). However, on a recent visit for a family Christmas meal, my uncle and I discovered the above two panels fitted to the front of the upstairs bar. Being […]

26 Jan 2018

Sgraffito and the Old Dairy at Crouch Hill

These pictorial panels depicting the products and services on what is now The Old Dairy on Stoud Green Road have always intrigued me, and ahead of next week’s talk at the North London Lettering Association I thought I should carry out a little research. The late-Victorian building once housed a branch of the Friern Manor […]

12 Jan 2018