Eagle eye view

The eagle that tops this warehouse at 88-90 French Street, Southampton, gets a great view of the old part of the city. Handy for the docks, the grade II listed building dates to 1903 and was a warehouse for May & Wade, export grocers and shipping contractors, as the sign proclaims. Since 1983 it has been used by the council as the archaeology department’s store, which may explain the good condition of the ghost sign.

No jokes please

Lovely little sign on a pub in Thornhill, in Dumfries and Galloway. A calm and pretty place, Thornhill was built as a planned town on a grid pattern. Dating back to 1714, it has some welcoming shops, a couple of handsome pubs and a shop frontage covered in this wild mosaic (see bonus picture below).

When is a sign not a sign?

When it's a piece of public art.

In an unassuming alley in Stockport, you can get a glimpse of five great murals on the side of the BHS shop. When the store was built, it was agreed that the wall in Deanery Way wouldn’t be left blank, but instead would show something of local interest, and these mosaic and concrete murals were commissioned.

They were designed in 1978 by Henry Collins (1910-1994) and Joyce Pallot (1912-2004). There are five murals, four showing the history of Stockport, and the one shown above, advertising British Home Stores.

It’s easy to rush past with your head down and miss them, but I love their bright colours and careful detail. Seek them out if you’re in Stockport.