01298 814941
Fletcher Foundry, Hallsteads Close, Dove Holes, Buxton UK
Fingerpost Signs
Fingerpost signs and finger sign posts are a traditional type of directional signage, used since Roman times the cast fingerpost shows no signs of retiring yet! In 1697 magistrates in England were given powers to place direction posts at cross-highways & the oldest fingerpost still extant in is thought to dated around 1669.
Today, finger posts range from the classic Royal Label Factory signs often seen in the countryside, to ultra-modern contemporary designs for city centres and cutting-edge attractions. Our signs are installed at many of the well-known special places in the UK. The Finger post signposts have traditionally been made from cast iron/aluminium or wood, with the pole of the sign post painted in black, white or grey and each finger with black letters on a white background, which typically can include distance information too.
OUR IN-HOUSE DESIGN SERVICE
Over the years, many aspects of the work have changed with the advent of computer design, laser etching, waterjet cutting, but old crafts such as hand-carving in clay and timber are still practised every day. Our dedicated team will work with clients to produce beautiful designs that comply with current regulations.
Our range include a vast array of cast columns and column bases to produce the supporting columns. These columns can generally be mixed & matched with various ball and ring finials and many kinds of pointer, including the now-rare wooden arms with cast collars and screwed-on cast letters.
The range of signage and materials are suitable for almost any environment – from Seaside Promenades, Railway Stations, Nature Reserves right through to Company Offices! We are always happy to design bespoke solutions for private and corporate clients alike. We maintain long-term records of towns and cities that we work for and can provide replacements or additional posts for any of them without difficulty.
We undertake complete new-build, update/replacement, restoration and installation packages on
Fingerpost signs & finger sign posts for our clients too.
Highway Signposts
A Highways finger signpost is usually similar to Pedestrian signs, but the text is larger and has to comply with Highways regulations. Guidance given in a 1921 circular stated that road direction signs should have 2 1⁄2 or 3 inch high (64 or 76 mm) upper case lettering on a white background with white supporting poles. It also recommended that the name of the highway authority be included somewhere in the design.
Historically these were all cast signs, or timber signs with cast letters – with a vast quantity produced by the Royal Label Factory. Many signposts and signs still survive and we have the knowledge and casting patterns to restore or re-create them.
Reacting to concern about the loss of historic finger posts from the rural landscape, the UK Department for Transport and English Heritage issued an advisory letter in June 2005 which stated that “All surviving traditional fingerpost direction signs should be retained in-situ and maintained on a regular basis. They should be repainted every five years in traditional black and white livery. Other colours should be used only when these are known to have been in use before 1940”. In recent years several county councils have embarked on restoration and repair programmes for their fingerpost stock, including the Highway Heritage Project in the Quantock Hills of Somerset.
As owners of one of the oldest pattern stock in the UK, Leander Architectural is uniquely positioned to assist
Fingerposts Pedestrian
Where signposts guide motorists, fingerposts guide pedestrians. Usually found in town centres, a good fingerpost network will link car parks and stations with all the main amenities and attractions. We’re often involved in planning new and updating/refurbishing pre-existing networks. While many of our systems are broadly traditional, we also design and supply bespoke fingerposts to suit specific requirements.
Street Nameplates
Traditional cast street name plates, cast iron signs, road signs and nameplates – Leander manufactures, refurbish and installs across the UK and overseas.
Traditional cast street nameplates are manufactured from cast aluminium (or Iron), which gives them higher definition and enhanced durability compared to pressed steel and other alternative materials. With simple routine maintenance and the occasional re-paint they will last a lifetime.
Cast Aluminium and Iron street signs have been produced by us for more than 100 years and many of our early plates can still be found all over the Britain and overseas. They can often be identified by “Royal Label Factory” or “RLF” cast into one corner. Cast street signs (nameplates) are particularly desirable in new upmarket developments and old town conservation areas where there is always a strong demand for “the real thing”. Cast plates have also played their part in upgrading neglected neighbourhoods and districts.
SCULPT, DESIGN, CAST & MANUFACTURE
From the first enquiry, Leander will help with design, choice of materials, colours, languages, grammar and fixings. Every plaque or sign produced, is first drawn to scale giving the customer the opportunity to request changes or simply approve the layout.
We are able to sculpt, design, cast and manufacture new memorial tablets, regimental insignia, memorial swords and figures. Aluminium and Bronze are our traditional materials to work with, but we often use others as requested.
We have retained many of our original nameplate patterns and fonts and can make new nameplates to match surviving originals.
We also create new designs, perhaps the most notable being the 1,400 plates we’ve made for Glasgow city centre, with different typefaces for each area of the city. The plates were always to the same design but the typeface changed for each district – City Centre, Merchant City etc. In total, 44 Sauchiehall Street plates were needed to cover every intersection!
Like many early nameplates, the Glasgow plates had the lettering and borders in high relief – 5mm – rather than the ‘modern’ low relief of 2 or 3mm. High relief does look good, especially in sunlight when the letters cast strong shadows.
Unusual projects are our speciality!
Such as plates for Belfast where the plate frame was cast but the letters were in the form of individual clay tiles.
We have a massive range of nameplate patterns and typefaces, including a few curious fonts dating back to 1918 and carrying such obscure names as “Nuneaton Times Roman”. Nameplates can be supplied complete with posts and/or backboards if required. We are also experts in designing and supplying various other types of specialist street nameplates – Die-Pressed Aluminium, Vitreous Enamel, and many more
Please enquire below to discuss your projects – big or small!
Boundary and Welcome Signs
Welcome signs can include relief images of the location itself or of a key element of its history. Whilst a few villages manage to design and make their own signs, most need help and advice, which Leander is able to provide. Villages, towns and cities are more identity-conscious than ever – with many rapidly becoming marketable brands in their own right! Few things establish an identity better than well-designed ‘Welcome’ signs. They can include relief images of the place itself or of a key element of the town’s history. They can include flowers, trees, churches – in fact almost anything!
New signs are often part of a new corporate image and renewed efforts to stimulate tourism and economic development. Towns have to compete with neighbours for tourists, shoppers and casual visitors, and signs need to be distinctive and eye-catching. The signs can be cast in metal, carved in wood, forged in iron or cut into stone.
National Parks, AONBs, country parks and World Heritage sites also need their identities and boundaries established. We have worked with many of these organisations for over 50 years and we always happy to advise on practicalities and costs.
Unusual projects are our speciality!
We are also able to produce Village Green (and similar) signs on substantial posts. Please contact us with your requirements – we are pleased to undertake bespoke work and one-offs are our speciality!
Estate Equipment and Signage
For 80 years now, we have been supplying the National Trust with signs for their many estates. Most familiar are the silver and black “Omegas” which greet visitors, but we also make many site specific signs and warning signs.
Long term partnerships that entrust us
Other regular users of our estate signs have included Historic Scotland, Cadw-Welsh Monuments and even the Bermuda National Trust!
Information Displays
The need to transmit information effectively has never been greater and affects almost all walks of life. Much of our work relates to lecterns, signs and information panels which greet visitors and explain things to them on arrival at a country park, museum, town centre or heritage centre.
First impressions are very important and it’s our job to work with designers and consultants to create maps and interpretation panels which are not just user-friendly but, where possible, ‘touchy-feely’ as well.
Information Panels and Notice Boards
We design and provide full colour maps and interpretation panels which can be wall-mounted, post-mounted or on lecterns. Posts can be hardwood, aluminium or steel. Lecterns can be carved in stone, cut in timber, cast in aluminium or fabricated in most metals. Panels are usually printed and encapsulated in either GRP. or Darvic. They can also be cast in relief or etched into zinc or stainless steel.
We make our own notice boards and map framing systems. Our ‘ Twin Peaks’ glazed lockable waterproof notice boards are rigid and heavy duty, ideal for public parks and town centres. Split units – notice board and map for example – are also available.
INTERPRETATION WITH FLAIR
There are more unusual ways of displaying information. Tactile and 3-D panels are very effective with children and encourage them to explore. They also help the partially-sighted. Combining materials – etched and cast metals, bronze and stone, hardwood and full colour panels – can be very effective. We can create artwork ourselves, develop your rough drafts or work straight from your artwork.
We have our own skilled artists, modellers and sculptors who can create line artwork or
carve 3-D artwork in a range of materials.
Toposcopes, Maps and Viewpoint Panels
The view from the top of a high hill or a city centre tower can be spectacular and it’s all the better if there’s a toposcope there to explain what everything is.
We design, make and install toposcopes, maps and panoramic panels for all sorts of places – Milford Haven Docks, the summit of Brown Clee in Shropshire, Antarctic bases and the middle of Portsmouth – to name a few recent ones. Completed before Christmas 2007 was our largest to date – a 5 metre diameter ‘ring’ toposcope for Coles Hill in Herefordshire.
We also design and make low and high relief contour maps in cast aluminium and cast bronze.
