Give us a bell

I made a pilgrimage to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry earlier this year. It's a place I'd always wanted to visit, and I wasn't disappointed. We were given a warm welcome, and enjoyed the fading museum exhibits which tell of its impressive history. The shop was a delight - you're allowed to ring a selection of small bells, and I bought a tiny tourist bell as a memento of my visit. So I was sad to see the recent news that its future is uncertain. Activities will cease on the Whitechapel site, in the East End of London, by May 2017 and negotiations are underway to settle the future of the business. 

As the signs say, the business was established in 1570 and it has been on Whitechapel Road since 1738. Spanning the reigns of 27 English monarchs, it's Britain's oldest manufacturing company. The Liberty Bell and Big Ben were cast here. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.

Proper use of the paper

Surprise venue of last week was Irlam station, which turned out to be a delight. The station, built in 1893, was derelict for 25 years, and opened last year after a £2 million revamp. The restorers clearly had a love of signs and railway paraphernalia, creating a venue worth a visit in its own right. There's a great cafe where you get to sit in seats decked out like third class railway carriages, plus evidence of a sense of humour and a loving touch. Just watch your behaviour when you use the toilet.

Nice day for a nuclear bunker

We visited Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker last weekend, and it's surprisingly interesting. Offering a careful mix of the chilling and cheerful, this ugly bunker nestles in the Cheshire countryside and is now a successful tourist attraction.

Hack Green was a radar station in World War two, and went on to play a key role in the Cold War, its long-range radar designed to detect hostile Russian bombers.



With nuclear weapons still in the news, it's a sobering visit. The usual Protect and Survive leaflet is there (hide under the table, built a shelter out of your house doors), which would be funny if it wasn't serious government advice to its citizens.

A huge amount of memorabilia and equipment has been gathered together and displayed in a thoughtful way, with a great soundscape and a smell of damp which I don't think had to be artificially created. There are lots of great signs for the sign enthusiast - my favourites feature here - and best of all there are three bunker cats.

It's worth a visit, even on a sunny day.

Pottering

You don't need to be a wizard to guess where I went this weekend. I had a magical time at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour of the Harry Potter film sets. And it was wonderful, for all kinds of reasons, not least because I got a picture of the Privet Drive street sign. 

The first sign of good times was the customer experience - every member of staff was clearly on a mission to ensure you enjoyed the visit. We felt welcomed. Everything was spotless, in working order and well organised. 

It was also full of delights and surprises. I won't spoil it for you by giving it all away, but they stuck to their brand and offered a cinematic experience for visitors. 

And it was emotional. The Harry Potter stories deal with the big topics of life. Love and death, good versus evil, choice and destiny, individual and state. Yes, it's a tourist attraction, and yes it's expensive, but above all the tour is a celebration of innovation, creativity and ingenuity. The sheer pleasure J K Rowling brought to so many people with the Harry Potter books was evident everywhere. 

 

 

A doorway to the past

In the heart of Manchester’s Chinatown, near the Chinese Arch, number 55 Faulkner Street offers a concentration of ghost signs and a doorway that looks like it leads straight back to Victorian times. Reflecting Manchester’s leading role in the textiles industry, the signs on this building offer worsteds, woollens and handkerchiefs.

This handsome warehouse was built by architects Clegg & Knowles in 1870. Clegg & Knowles helped shape the face of modern Manchester, designing good looking warehouses in Peter Street, Portland Street, Spring Gardens, Fountain Street and Albert Square, as well as this gem in Faulkner Street.

Ring in the new year!

Station destination

The Friends of Heaton Chapel Station are fast making this little local train station a destination in itself. This amusing sign points to the location of the old covered footbridge which once joined the two platforms. The footbridge was demolished a few years ago as part of the main line upgrade, and passengers now have to go out of the station and use the pavement to cross to platform 1. Built in 1851 – on the instigation of a local vicar using his influence – the station now caters for over 700,000 passengers a year. It once boasted three waiting rooms, coal fires, a branch of WH Smith and lots of porters.  It’s now entering a new kind of heyday thanks to the Friends of the station, who have supplied vintage ads, pretty plants and a wonderful new clock – as well as this bit of much needed humour for your morning commute.  

Who are you?

Mosaic sign on the doorstep of the National Portrait Gallery in London. I got there early enough to take this photo, before the swarming crowds made it impossible. Catch the wonderful Grayson Perry “Who are you?” exhibition if you can – it’s on until 15 March.

Pioneering picture taking

A visit to the Rochdale Pioneers Museum today reminded me that I had a picture of this rather fine old co-op sign, taken on holiday in Devon last summer.

The museum has a great exhibition of photos of co-op signs – old, new and international. It’s on until 28 February 2015. Catch it if you can, and follow it on #coopography.

Atmospheric orphanage

This crumbling sign for the Sir Ralph Pendlebury Orphanage can be seen on the busy Lancashire Hill in Stockport. The deserted steps and gothic gateway are easy to miss in the tumble of traffic on the way to the town centre.

Sir Ralph Pendlebury (1790–1861) was mayor of Stockport, and he created a charity with an endowment of £100,000. The orphanage named after him was opened in 1881. The charity gave relief, such as clothing, education or finding employment, to orphans of parents who had lived in the Stockport district for not less than two years. The building, on Dodge Hill, was designed by Scottish architect J. W. Beaumont, and it had room for about 250 boys and girls. It was later used by the Red Cross Society and became a hospital for wounded soldiers from 1914-1919. It still exists today: it is grade II listed and, fittingly, is now a care home.

This old entrance is no longer used, so it sits there doing duty as a memorial to the past. Crumbling, covered in overgrowing greenery, dark and dank, it’s pretty creepy. So it’s no surprise that rumours of ghosts abound: Pendlebury Hall claims a one-armed soldier, a white lady and singing children among its hauntings.