The Sign
The original sign was erected in 1979 and presented by the Women's Institute to celebrate their Diamond Jubilee. The replacement was erected in 2002 to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and remains on the same location and made by Ironoak Forge of Buxhall.

Both signs depict the church of St Mary. The present sign also includes other features, within and around an oval frame; on top is a farmer ploughing the field in the traditional manner with a single horse, to the left of the church is the old windmill, to the right is the old Victorian school with flames emanating from its roof depicting the lighting strike of 1854 which killed three of the boys.

The Name and Population
The village name was called Capeles in 1086 and Capele in 1275. The name is derived from Middle English (Old French) meaning "The place at the chapel"; St Mary was added afterwards. The population was 2,847 at the 2011 census.

Other Points of Interest
The village is in the parish of Capel St Mary with Little Wenham and Great Wenham. Construction of the parish church of St Mary, Virgin and Mother, began in the early 13th century, but most of it dates from the 15th century. However, the churchyard was found to contain Roman cremation urns, when digging took place for a northern extension in the late 1990s.

Capel St Mary, or more informally, just "Capel", is a large and mainly modern settlement by-passed by the A12. The remains of a Roman villa were excavated during the building of a local housing estate. Churchford Hall was mentioned in Domesday as "Cercesfort". Capel St Mary is shown on John Speed's 1610 map as "Capell".

Many Roman artefacts have been found in and around the parish; excavations from the 1920s suggest the existence of what may have been a Roman villa at Windmill Hill.