Guidepost (Fingerpost), Higher Marston

Summary

Guidepost (fingerpost), early C20, designed and cast by W H Smith & Co (Whitchurch) Ltd, repaired 2022.

Reasons for Designation

The guidepost (fingerpost), Higher Marston, Cheshire, early C20, is listed for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* as an early-C20 guidepost, pre-dating 1922, that has a high level of intrinsic design interest, with crisply moulded fingers incorporating raised sans serif lettering, scalloped outer corners, integral spandrel brackets, and a chess-piece ball finial;

* as an example of an evolving guidepost design by W H Smith & Co (Whitchurch) Ltd that shows evidence of standardisation in response to the Motor Car Act of 1903, and guidance by the Local Government Board in 1904;

* it is a rare example of a once ubiquitous form of street furniture, most of which were removed after the adoption of standardised reflective graphic road signs in 1964.

Historic interest:
* as an important part of the history of road transport in England and erected at a time when there was a rapid growth in motor travel, which required clear directional information for motorists unfamiliar with a given area.

Group value
* the guidepost has a strong functional and spatial group value with the Grade II guidepost at Great Budworth and visual group value with the Grade II buildings at Lane-ends Farm.

History

Guideposts or fingerposts were once a very common roadside feature throughout the United Kingdom, providing directions for travellers at junctions and, in some cases, distances as well. From the 1860s onwards their numbers grew, particularly following the County Council Act of 1888. The Motor Car Act of 1903 passed responsibility for the provision of all traffic signs to local authorities and increased standardisation of design followed the issuing of design guidance by the Local Government Board in 1904. With the introduction of motor cars, increased legibility became of paramount importance; in 1921 the Ministry of Transport advocated the standardisation of black lettering on white backgrounds, and in 1933, new rules came into force that required the lettering on the fingers to be black capital letters set against a white background; the fingers to have straight corners, and that the posts to which the fingers were attached, should have a black and white paint scheme.

The increase in road traffic following the First World War brought about a further change, which resulted in new or replacement fingerposts being required to display the road classification and number. Cast-iron plates displaying the road numbers were also often attached to earlier fingerposts, using connectors or clamps. During the Second World War the direction fingers were removed from the fingerposts as an anti-invasion contingency, to confuse any would-be invaders. Post-war most were re-instated, but not all. After 1965, new standardised graphic aluminium signs were introduced under the auspices of the Worboys Committee, resulting in most fingerposts and cast-iron signs being taken down and sold for scrap.

Map regression shows that there has been a guidepost at the same position at Higher Marston since at least 1877. The current guidepost is situated at the crossroads adjacent to Lane-ends Farm; it was designed and cast by W H Smith & Co (Whitchurch) Ltd and was once of a common type used throughout Cheshire. The company traded from 1842 until 1937, and it is believed that this fingerpost was produced before 1922, after which it was a requirement for road classification numbers to be displayed on the direction fingers. The design has several features that distinguishes it from guideposts produced elsewhere in the country, including the chess pawn style finial, the cast fingers with spandrel brackets, and the scalloped ends of the fingers. During the late C20 and early C21, the fingerpost deteriorated due to a lack of maintenance, with the loss of the finger that pointed to Lostock Gralam and Northwich, due to the rusting and breaking of securing bolts, and the additions of a modern brown tourist sign and a farm sign attached with metallic strap clamps. It has since been repaired and the missing finger was restored in early 2022.

Details

Guidepost (fingerpost), early C20, designed and cast by W H Smith & Co (Whitchurch) Ltd, repaired 2022.

MATERIALS: cast iron.

DESCRIPTION: the hollow cast-iron octagonal shaft has a lower vertical section that forms a plinth, with an upper tapered section rising off a plain torus base and capped by a simple moulded cornice. A narrower round-section shaft rises above the cornice and supports four cast-iron direction fingers, with raised black-painted sans serif capital letters, on a white background. These read: ARLEY / ASTON BY BUDWORTH; MARSTON; WARRINGTON; LOSTOCK GRALAM / NORTHWICH. The fingers have scalloped outer corners, an integral spandrel bracket, and paired cast shaft hoops secured by locking nuts. A ball finial in the form of a pawn chess piece, caps off the top of the hollow shaft that supports the fingers.

Sources

Websites
Whitchurch Heritage Centre - Iron Foundary, W.H. Smith & Co (Whitchurch) Ltd, accessed 20 December 2022 from https://www.whitchurch-heritage.co.uk/whitchurch-history-and-heritage/trading/iron-foundry/
Worboys Report, accessed 20 January 2025 from https://www.roads.org.uk/articles/war-worboys/worboys-report
In Focus: Fingerposts, the quirky and beautiful sign posts which dot the British countryside. Country Life, November 19, 2021, accessed 20 January 2025 from https://www.countrylife.co.uk/out-and-about/in-focus-fingerposts-and-what-they-mean-235335
Fingerposts, What is their History?, Rural Historia, accessed 20 January 2025 from https://ruralhistoria.com/2023/10/24/finger-posts/

Other
Traditional Direction Signs, Department for Transport - Traffic Advisory Leaflet 6/05, Traffic Advisory Unit, June 2002

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