Guidepost at the junction of Cow Lane and Castle Mill Lane

Summary

A guidepost dating to the late-C19, designed and cast by W H Smith and Co (Whitchurch) Ltd.

Reasons for Designation

The guidepost at junction of Cow Lane and Castle Mill Lane, Ashley, East Cheshire, late-C19, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* the guidepost has a high level of intrinsic design interest, with fingers displaying raised sans serif lettering, scalloped outer corners, integral spandrel brackets, and a roundel finial;
* as an example of an evolving guidepost design by W H Smith and Co (Whitchurch) Ltd that shows evidence of standardisation in response to the County Council Act of 1888, Motor Car Act of 1903, and guidance by the Local Government Board in 1904 and 1921, and the Ministry of Transport rules introduced in 1922 and in 1933;
* a rare example of a once ubiquitous form of street furniture, most of which were removed after 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.

Group value:

* the guidepost has a strong functional and spatial group value with two other guideposts in Ashley Parish.

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 the junction of Cow Lane and Castle Mill Lane since at least 1876. The current guidepost is situated on the southern verge of the junction south of Dairyhouse Farm; it was designed and cast by W H Smith and 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 octagonal shaft, and cast-iron fingers with spandrel brackets and scalloped ends. Both the scolloped fingers and the triangular shield moulding on the shaft suggest a late-C19 date for the finger post.

Details

Guidepost, late-C19, designed and cast by W H Smith and Co (Whitchurch) Ltd.

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 triangular 'shield' moulding is situated on the northern facet of the shaft, below the cornice. A narrower round-section shaft rises above the cornice and supports three cast-iron direction fingers, with raised black-painted sans serif capital letters, on a white background. These read: RINGWAY / WILMSLOW; HALE / ALTRINGHAM; MOBBERLEY / ROTHERNE. The fingers have scalloped outer corners, an integral spandrel bracket, and paired cast shaft hoops secured by locking nuts. A secondary cast-iron finial in the form of the base of a pawn chess piece, with a circular plate that has raised letters which reads: ASHLEY PARISH COUNCIL, caps off the hollow shaft that supports the fingers.

Sources

Websites
Warboys Report, accessed 20 January 2025 from https://www.roads.org.uk/articles/war-worboys/worboys-report
Iron Foundry, W.H.Smith & Co (Whitechurch) Ltd, accessed 04 December 2024 from https://www.whitchurch-heritage.co.uk/whitchurch-history-and-heritage/trading/iron-foundry/
In Focus: Fingerposts, the quirky and beautiful sign posts which dot the British countryside. Contry 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
Department for Transport - Traffic Advisory Leaflet 6/05, Traditional Direction Signs, Traffic Advisory Unit, June 2005

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