This site will contain all the information you will need to start your journey finding and cataloguing Suffolk Village Signs.

About village signs

It all started in the reign of King Edward VII when he was the Prince of Wales. He commissioned signs for four villages on the estate at Sandringham, which were made in the Princess Alexandra Carving School, erected by Mr. William Temple in prominent places in the villages. King George V continued this trend when he erected four signs on the Sandringham Estate at Flitcham, Babingley, Shernborne and Wolferton, produced from the same workshop and placed on top of directional signposts. This was in 1912 and they still stand today with many restorations but still bear the date; Wolferton is still positioned above the directional post, with his initials and the year of his coronation in 1912.

Later, Prince Albert, Duke of York (later George VI) gave a speech to the Royal Academy in 1920 promoting the wider use of village signs. The Duke said "The development of motor travelling has brought back to our highways some of the importance which they enjoyed in the old coaching days. I feel sure that many of my comrade motorists would welcome the revival of the village sign or emblem to the visitor in a strange land. The name of many a village would offer scope for the wit and humour of the artist".

This then prompted the Daily Mail to run a competition throughout the country to design and build a village sign. The prize fund was very generous for the time at £2,100 which equates to just over £100,000 in purchasing power today. The winning schemes were exhibited at Australia House in London in October of 1920. A total of 525 entries were received, and 26 entries were shortlisted. The winner of the competition was St Peter's, second was Mayfield and third was Battle with six runners up.

There was a great mushrooming of village signs in the years 1977 when the Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee, 2000 for the Millenium, 2002 which marked the Golden Jubilee and 2022, the Platinum Jubilee. The royal interest in village signs was shown when the Queen Mother and the Queen unveiled signs at Hillington, Norfolk in 1996 and Stowmarket, Suffolk in 2002 respectively.

Village signs are nearly always a community affair, with a local group being formed to decide on the design, to raise funds, and arrange the placement. Local groups such as the Women's Institutes, Rotary and Lions are sometimes involved. These signs are used as the local icon when they are sometimes seen in the press or on television to mark the location of the news being reported. At least one village sign had its name temporarily changed for a fictitious location in a television drama series. There was even a special sign made for Ambridge in the long-running radio programme, the Archers.

Village signs are made in a variety of materials. The earliest were made in wood, but nowadays other materials such as metal, ceramic, stone, fibreglass and polyurethane are used. Sadly, some village signs do not weather well or become neglected, but these sometimes get replaced by either an exact design replica in a more durable material, or by a different design perhaps still using motifs similar to those on the original sign. Thankfully many signs are still held in affection by the villages that set them up and are lovingly maintained.

It is hoped that the village signs from Suffolk will whet your appetite for exploration and discoveries of your own. May your journeys in Suffolk be full of the joys of discovering the fascinating details of local life and rich historical heritage depicted in the many and varied village signs with which our county is blessed.