Jim’s Cafe

Jim’s Cafe, 59 Chatsworth Road, Clapton, Borough of Hackney, London E5, 2011 • Italian cafe from the 1960s that once housed an ice cream factory, and closed circa 2008 when the […]

JJ Williams

JJ Williams, 168 Kings Road, Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London SW3, 2003 • Impressively large 3D zipper sign. The shop is still there and amazingly has the same lettering, but the zipper […]

HH Muckers, Lordship Windows

HH Muckers, Lordship Windows, c.481 Seven Sisters Road, Borough of Haringey, London N15, 2016 • HH Muckers – what a great name! Albeit partly obscured in what looks like a […]

Daily News

Daily News, 616 Seven Sisters Road, Borough of Haringey, London N15, 2016 • According to Wikipedia, the Daily News was a radical left-leaning national newspaper founded in 1846 by Charles […]

Urchin Shells

Urchin Shells, The Quay, St Mawes, Cornwall, 2012 • A colourful Cornish honesty box. I remember cleaning sea urchins out with bleach when I was a kid. Aaaah, the sweet […]

Oakville Care Centre

Oakville Care Centre, 3 Badcox, Frome, Somerset, 2015 • Beautiful old stone heads decorating a boring shop. Titles include Summer, Mirth, Peace, Plenty, and one that’s unreadable. It’s part of Badcox […]

Lamb and Fountain

Lamb and Fountain, 57 Castle Street, Frome, Somerset, 2015 • Historic hillside pub, with superb views and a trapdoor to 17th century ice wells beneath. In 2008, it had one of England’s […]

Walmsley’s Furniture Superstore (ex)

Walmsley’s Furniture Superstore (ex), 50-51 Snow Hill, Wolverhampton WV1, 2016 • Not likely to trouble Ikea.

Wulfruna Coal Co.

Wulfruna Coal Co, Minerva Wharf, Horseley Fields, Wolverhampton WV1, 2016 • Quaint arts and crafts style building for a firm founded in 1850. Their name is one you see often around Wolverhampton, Wulfruna […]

Newsagent (Loughborough)

Newsagent, 5 Great Central Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, 2016 • Interesting period frontage, which my researches suggest was called R.H. Hallam before it became simply Newsagent. It’s on the road from […]

Ellis’s Tearoom

Ellis’s Tearoom, Rothley Station, Great Central Railway, Rothley, Leicestershire, 2016 • Restored ghostsign for a Coke, Corn and Cake Merchants, now just selling cake on this heritage steam railway.

Container Link

Container Link, Loughborough Central Station, Great Central Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, 2016 • Peeling hand-painted logo for a superannuated container company in the  Grand Central steam railway’s picturesque goods yard.

Griddle

Griddle, Loughborough Central Station, Great Central Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, 2016 • One-time restaurant carriage with a wonderful name. There’s already a Griddle car operating on the Great Central heritage steam line, so this is […]

W.H. Smith & Son Kiosk (Loughborough)

W.H. Smith & Son Kiosk, Loughborough Central Station, Great Central Road, Loughborough, Leicestershire, 2016 • Restored kiosk from the days before they ungramatically rebranded as WHSmith, and became noted for […]

Denhams

Denhams, 1 High Street, Loughborough, Leicestershire, 2016 • High street jeweller with grand golden mosaic (which is repeated round the corner). Denhams was there for 50 years, but recently taken over […]

Barclays (Loughborough)

Barclays (Loughborough), 3 Market Place, Loughborough, Leicestershire, 2016 • Stern Stalinist-style neoclassical eagle plaque for proud local financial hub. I just love bespoke old bank buildings.