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The Shifting Sands of London’s Ghost Signs Landscape

Ghost signs lost, partially destroyed, and ‘brought back’ from the dead in the shifting sands of London’s ghost signs landscape.

15 Jan 2024

Dating Dee’s Stores in Stoke Newington

A 1955 photo from Hackney Archives leads to a reappraisal of the date Stoke Newington’s ghost sign for Dee’s Stores. Featuring History of Stoke Newington.

23 Sep 2021

Pinterest, Planning Permission, and a Prime Advertising Wall

The rapid removal of a Pinterest advertising banner that covered a community mural in Stoke Newington, and the wider ethical issues it raises.

7 Jun 2021

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

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

On Tour with Albani Calusin and RMIT

Back in March last year I had the pleasure of taking two groups from Melbourne’s RMIT on my Stoke Newington Ghostsigns Walk. This was the second time I’ve worked with the University on their special European study tour and, again, it was a really enjoyable experience with two bright and enthusiastic groups. Following the study […]

5 Jan 2018

Numbers 3-7 Stoke Newington Church Street

On one of my walking tours back in 2014 guests had the opportunity to see this reveal of a newsagent and tobacconists’ sign at No.5 Stoke Newington Church Street. Starlove, as it was known, occupied the premises from at least 1962 until the late 1970s and, prior to that, it had been a newsagent since […]

29 Dec 2017

Wine & Willing: A Stoke Newington Mystery

This fragment was one of my early discoveries when I first started noticing ghost signs in 2006. It was located on a very prominent wall on Stoke Newington Church Street, adjacent to William Patten School. At some stage after it was originally painted the patch of wall with this picture was probably covered by a […]

12 Nov 2017

The Vacuum Shop and George Braun

Guests on my Stoke Newington Ghostsigns Walk in early 2015 were lucky to see a bonus fading fascia en route, advertising The Vacuum Shop. This was revealed by works to the Anglo Asian restaurant, which now straddles numbers 60 and 62 Stoke Newington Church Street. Ben Selig was the proprietor of an “electrical appliances” shop […]

15 Apr 2017

Photos of Old Stoke Newington

Amir Dotan’s excellent History of Stoke Newington project has just published over 4,000 images on Flickr, from a variety of sources. They are well worth a browse, as are his Facebook and Twitter feeds. While looking through I pulled out a handful relating to locations featured on my Ghostsigns Walking Tour. The famous, and listed, […]

3 Jan 2017

Ghostsigns with the Gentle Author on Spitalfields Life

I’ve recently had the pleasure of meeting the Gentle Author, creator and driver of the incredible daily posts on Spitalfields Life. We explored the routes of my North and South London Ghostsigns Tours, which have been documented on the blog (here and here). As with my public walks I enjoyed seeing the signs through another’s […]

17 Oct 2016

The Ghostsigns Tours App is Out Now

The Ghostsigns Tours App, and the Bankside Ghostsigns Walk within it, are now available from iTunes and Google Play (for Android). The app brings the popular Ghostsigns Walking Tours to your mobile device, for enjoyment at street level, or from the comfort of your own home. A mixture of contemporary and archival photography is used […]

16 Sep 2016

Light Capsules from Craig Winslow

Craig Winslow is an experiential designer who has recently turned his gaze towards ghostsigns, and the creative possibilities offered by applying his expertise in light projection mapping. The idea first came to him during a trip across America and has grown since. In essence it involves recreating the fading signs through a process of typographic […]

7 Sep 2016

Yager’s: The House of Value Revealed

Previously covered by billboards, this wonderful ghostsign advertising Yager’s has just been revealed in Stamford Hill. Following many tweets (via @ghostsigns) and emails concerning the sign, I had to go and have a look for myself. Thank you to everyone that got in touch, here it is back in 2009, with the billboards still in […]

12 Jul 2016

Ghostsigns Walking Tours: One Year On

This time last year I was setting out with my crash test dummies on the first ever Ghostsigns Walking Tour in Stoke Newington, London. It went well enough for me to continue running them and I’ve now taken the walk 24 times, with 220 people, leading to 42 (not so bad) ratings for the tour […]

20 Oct 2014

Who You Gonna Call?

This was the scene on Cazenove Road, Stoke Newington, on the morning of Monday 28 July. The photo was snapped from the top floor of flats overlooking this famous ghostsign for John Brown Whiskies. I received it via email with a message concerned about the fate of the sign, in light of the forthcoming building […]

27 Aug 2014

Ghostsigns on Londonist Out Loud

I took N Quentin Woolf of Londonist Out Loud on a portion of my Ghostsigns Walking Tour in Stoke Newington. The result is this podcast (here on itunes, and here on Londonist) which we managed to record despite the myriad noises and distractions on the street. Thanks Quentin for putting it together.

14 Jun 2014

W.A.Higgs & Co: A Stoke Newington Beauty

Walking past Tatreez, the Palestinian restaurant, I spotted this beautiful Victorian sign on the inside. It is clearly a shop fascia which got me wondering why it isn’t on the front? I did some digging at the Hackney Archives and found out that W.A.Higgs & Co. was an importer of tea. They had premises at […]

21 May 2014

Time Travel with Google Streetview

This fragment of a ghostsign for Daren Bread in Stoke Newington is one of the stops on my walking tour in the area. Now, thanks to Google Streetview’s new ‘timelapse’ feature, we are able to visit the location as it was in 2008, prior to the removal of the mounted sign for Lemongrass. This clearly […]

29 Apr 2014

D. Appell Fascia Revealed by the Valentine’s Day Storm

Ghostsigns are regularly revealed by property development and the updating or removal of billboards. This is the first instance I’ve come across of the weather, in this case the wind, leading to a shop fascia becoming visible once again. The ‘Valentine’s Day Storm’ last Friday ripped the Roti Stop sign off this corner building, leaving […]

19 Feb 2014

Talks and Tours from Ghostsigns

I’m pleased to announce to regular readers of the Ghostsigns blog that I have some events coming up that should be of interest. Ghostsigns at St Bride: An illustrated talk on 20 November, previewed on Creative Review Ghostsigns walking tours: Join me in admiring some of ghostsigns that started my interest (including the one above), […]

3 Nov 2013

Local Listed Status for Hackney Ghost Signs

Love Local Landmarks, an English Heritage-backed project, has been successful in gaining local listing status for two of Hackney’s most famous ghostsigns. The Blooms Piano sign (above) and the Waterman’s Fountain Pen sign on Stoke Newington Church Street have both been recognised for their “Aesthetic or Artistic” merit, and also for their historical significance. The […]

12 May 2013

The Partial Repainting of F.C. Dyson Provisions & Groceries, Stoke Newington

While back in the UK recently I spotted this while strolling around in my old Stoke Newington stomping ground.  Those familiar with the site as it once was will have some sense of what they’re trying to do here.  I’m guessing the primary motivation is the removal of the graffiti covering the old ghostsign that […]

9 Jun 2012

Stoke Newington Ghostsigns: History Pin Tour

After discovering the ‘Ghost Signs of Louisville’ Tour on History Pin I couldn’t resist having a go myself. The preliminary result is my first tour, ‘Stoke Newington Ghostsigns’.  I reckon the walk would take a couple of hours depending on how long you stop to photograph the 18 featured signs and former locations of signs. […]

18 Dec 2011