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.

Ring my bell

Beautiful bell, just urging you to press that button. On the Ash Hotel in Stockport - the building dates from 1901 and is now a food shop and tea room.

Seeking assurance

This sign will be familiar to Manchester folk – it’s on Princess Street in Manchester, just across from the Town Hall on Albert Square. The company was established in Aberdeen in 1836, with the catchy name of the North of Scotland Fire and Life Assurance Company. It was renamed the Northern Assurance Company in 1848, and is now part of Aviva. This Flemish style building dates from 1902. The company’s website claims there was a “curse of the Northern” - the architects of its early 20^th century buildings in Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle apparently all died shortly after completing the buildings. Let’s hope they had life insurance.

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.