Ghost Sign Secrets

So for part of our assignment for visual language, we have to produce three pieces of creative work that incorporates text and image into them. I decided to focus my attention on Ghosts signs. I find Ghost signs absolutely fascinating and I try and look for them wherever I go. A ghost sign is an old hand painted advertising sign which has been preserved on a building for a prolonged period of time.

Ghost signs are seen and preserved all over the world, some are visible, whereas some are occasionally revealed after buildings that were built after them, have been demolished to find these old advertisements behind the newer buildings. I wanted to use these as part of my assignment as something different, something that is part of our history and towns, and by preserving them conserves and reminds us of the historic side of our surroundings, that include text and image in a natural way.

I shot a few ghost signs I have seen on my travels, but because I only needed three, I picked the best three out of the handful I had to choose from. One ghost sign is from my hometown Chippenham, the second one if from Warmley, on the outskirts of Bristol and the last one is from Bradford-on-Avon.

Old 'Bookshop' sign in Chippenham -

I came across this sign just opposite the railway station, I spent a lot of time researching this ghost sign but I had no luck in finding out what it was, how long it has been there for and the history behind it. I really love this sign and I feel like it still carries a part of the town’s history during this present day. It also holds a lot of secrecy behind it as I was unable to make out what the first word says. I will definitely be researching this sign in the future to find out what it was.

Old 'Raleigh and Humber Cycles' Sign in Warmley -
The Rayleigh Bicycle Company is a bicycle manufacturer which was originally based in Nottingham, and it is now one of the older bicycle companies in the world. One shop, based in Warmley, which is called ‘Webbs of Warmley’, is one of Bristol’s oldest established businesses. It has been trading in the same shop for more than a century, in which recently it has moved to bigger premises. The shop still remains, the sign of ‘Webbs of Warmley’ and the ghost sign also still remain and it has been preserved very well, seeing as its been there over 100 years! The sign is very visible and because of the very interesting history behind it, I had to add it into one of my final images!

Old 'Swan Hotel' sign in Bradford-on-Avon -
Bradford on Avon is a very historic town and I believe this sign is a rarity amongst other ghost signs of this time. This is down the Swan Hotel still trading in the same premises, under the same original name till this present day from that of when it was first built, which dates back to the 1500’s, as seen on the front of the hotel. This is my favourite ghost sign out of the 3 I have taken, it allows the town to keep part of its history present, rather than removing it, the hotel has kept its original name and kept the sign visible for everyone to see. I really love this sign and it has to be my favourite out of the three.

 I really enjoyed shooting these signs and finding out the history behind them, and I cant wait to find more in the future!

Until next time, Laura xxx