Feature Article

Restored Traditional Sign-Posts

Travel through rural Lincolnshire and you will be struck by the charm of its villages - a cluster of houses round the church and village green, the red phone box and the black and white fingerpost, perhaps a bit awry, pointing the way to the next town or village.

These traditional guideposts are part of the rural landscape and the village scene, yet over the last ten years many have been replaced by modern counter-parts - admittedly more efficient with their reflective arms and steel post - but definitely lacking in charm.

Mrs Jean Howard (Louth's blue-badge guide and a keen local historian) began to notice the loss of the old-style signs about six years ago and began a campaign to save the surviving ones. Four years ago, a working group called "Traditional Roadsigns in Lincolnshire" (TRIL) was formed with Lincolnshire County Council and Heritage Lincolnshire and an agreement to save the traditional guideposts was drawn up. This is thought to be one of the first attempts in England to protect and preserve this aspect of local identity.

Now several interested local organisations have come together to bring the project to fruition; the Lincolnshire County Council Highways team, the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service and the Heritage Trust.

The first wave of refurbished signs have just appeared, thanks to the hard work of LCC Highways and Planning. They retain all their traditional good looks with smart black and white posts and new timber arms with metal letters. The proportions of the original arms are retained.

Louise Niekirk of the Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service, said: "The first generation of restored sign posts will be those in the beautiful lanes and villages of the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB, but eventually we hope that all the traditional guideposts on the rural lanes of the county will be refurbished in this way."

David Start, Director of Heritage Lincolnshire, said: "Our country lanes are beset with roadside signs, and some of these damage the beauty of the landscape. Our hope is that these traditional signs will do their job well, and that they will look right on our rural roads. I am really pleased to see the first signs being restored, and hope that everyone will feel they fit in as they should. I like to hope they look so good that people will never realise that they were damaged and nearly lost."

Contact names and numbers are:

David Start
Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire
Telephone: 01529 461499

Louise Niekirk
Lincolnshire Wolds Countryside Service
Telephone: 01507 609740

Caron Ballantyne
Technical Services
Lincolnshire County Council Highways and Planning
Telephone: 01522 552905