Village signs of Norfolk

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Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   Text © Copyright October 2020, Adrian S Pye; licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons Licence.
Images also under a similar Creative Commons Licence.


The design usually depicts a particular feature of the village or a scene from its history, heritage, or culture. They are typically made of wood or metal or a combination of both, modern cast and fibreglass signs are becoming more commonplace, the less elaborate are often made within the local community.
The tradition of village signs is believed to have started in Norfolk early in the 20th century when Edward VII suggested that village signs would aid motorists and give a feature of interest on the Sandringham Estate.
The interest soon spread beyond Norfolk can be attributed to Prince Albert, Duke of York (later George VI) who gave a speech to the Royal Academy in 1920 promoting the wider use of village identity signs.
In 1929, Harry Carter, an art and woodwork master at Hamond’s Grammar School (which now serves as the sixth form buildings for Hamond's high school in Swaffham), carved a sign for his home town. By the time of his death in 1983 he had carved over 200 town and village signs.
Acknowledgement must be given to the Women’s Institute who sponsor many of the signs and present them to the villages and towns in their county.
While the practice is now widespread, decorative village signs are particularly common in Norfolk and Suffolk as well other East Anglian counties. Some village signs take the form of sculptures, such as those at Stibbard, Corpusty and Walpole St. Andrew which are constructed entirely from metal.


All of the 560 + village and town signs in Norfolk, unless you know of one I’ve missed.




I have tried to explain what is depicted on each sign to the best of my ability. I will gladly correct any errors. Contact me from my profile page.
or contact the contributor on any image

For all the village signs of Suffolk click the Link

KML

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