For some reason, the avid replacement of old signs prevalent in much of the country during the 60s and 70s didn't seem to happen in the capital to the same extent. Maybe the boroughs thought this money was better spent elsewhere; maybe it was felt that traffic was travelling at sufficiently low speeds in London to be able to read the old signs effectively. Anyway, it's great for a nostalgic and historical point of view to be able to see a sample of the old signs in use.
Below are some of the signs I've found while travelling around London by car, bus or bike. Click on the thumbnails to bring up a larger image. If you know of any others, do please let me know so I can go and take pictures of them and post them on the site.
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Route confirmatory sign for the A40 on Wood Lane, W12. This was a major route, hence the yellow backing. Note the other, newer, yellow sign on the lamp post, telling us that the road has been renamed to the A219 (this happened in 2000 when the Westway became the A40). It would obviously have been easier to remove the old sign, and not bother with the 'was...' sign. However, it seems Hammersmith & Fulham are keen to preserve the old signs. Good on them, I say. |
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Here's another yellow-backed sign, on the A315 Studland Rd, W6. This is a directional sign for Central London traffic - as Central London was deemed a major destination, and the route was major, the sign has a yellow background. Note that the road was originally the A4 London-Bath trunk road; if you look you can see that that the A315 is on a panel stuck on the sign. |
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Another A315 sign, at the junction of Studland Rd and King St, W6. This time it's on a blue background: although the A315 (ex-A4) was a major route into London, Hammersmith and Kensington are local destinations. An element of this signage system remained up until 1994, with black-on-white blue-border signs being used for local destinations, regardless of whether the road was primary. |
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This rather imposing no-right turn sign can also be found nearby, on Kingsway heading northbound. I assume this is pre-Worboys. Chris Marshall confirms this, as the sign uses the Llewellyn-Smith fonts (the letter "G", for example, has no vertical stalk). |
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This sign is located on the A401 Theobald's Road WC1, just short of the junction with Grays Inn Road. Notice that the right turn panel has been removed. |
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These little beauties can be found at the junction of Clerkenwell Road and Rosebery Avenue, EC1. These are 'flag-type' direction signs for Angel and Shoreditch. |
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And here's a close up of the signs. Thanks to Rupert Candy for spotting these! |
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Here's a similar sign on Gray's Inn Road, approaching the junction with Theobald's Road. Many thanks to Rob Fuller for this photo. |
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Further out now, on Belsize Road, NW6. This sign has been rotated by 180 degrees by vandals, so it isn't doing much good at the moment. |
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Also on Belsize Road, NW6, near Kilburn High Road station. Again, a right turn panel was removed when the turn was prohibited. Note that the Borough of Hampstead no longer exists - it has been part of the London Borough of Camden since 1965. |
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An unexpected sighting this far out. This is on Taunton Way in Queensbury, HA7, and is an old roundabout sign still in use today. The A4140 evidently used to be another number (anyone know which? I don't think it's the A41), as you can see where the replacement panels have been attached. Chris Marshall adds that the road numbers in the new panels are in the modern 'Transport' fonts. |
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A yellow-backed roundabout sign at the junction of the A110 and A111 in Cockfosters, Middlesex. Photograph kindly supplied by Adrian Toole. |
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A sign near Wanstead Park station, E7. Thanks to Brad Emerson for this photo. |
Below are some that are no longer with us.
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This stood at the Scotch House junction in Knightsbridge, now the junction of the A4 and A315. The A4 ran along what is now the A315's route, when this picture was taken (pre 1963) -- it was rerouted along Cromwell Road when the bridge over the West London Line was built at Earl's Court. Thanks to Paul Berry for providing the photo -- it comes from Buchanan's book Traffic in Towns. |
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This stood on Portland Place, at the junction with the A501. Photograph ©Phil Baines and hosted on his fascinating public lettering website. (Warning: full-size picture 219KB!) |
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This sign was on High Holborn (westbound), just east of Holborn station WC1. I think it was removed in early 2003. |