Matteo’s Sandwich Bar

Matteo’s Sandwich Bar, 32 Tottenham Street, Borough of Camden, London W1, 2005 • Urban legend had it that someone once found a sliced-off-fingertip in the coleslaw here. Part of the […]

R. Laucher

R. Laucher, 302 Battersea Park Road, Borough of Wandsworth, London SW11, 2002 • Founded in 1954 by Roman Laucher, a Pole who learnt horology while serving with the British navy […]

Giovanni’s Room

Giovanni’s Room Wine Bar, 42 Theobalds Road, Borough of Camden, London WC1, 2003 • Faded 1970s chalet chic with name like a dodgy erotic novel – love the standalone door awning. I’ve already published its […]

Coe Electrical

Coe Electrical, 132 High Street, Lowestoft, Suffolk, 2007 • Looks like the plug was pulled decades ago on this old-style electrical shop.  By 2015 it was unrecognisable as Sew Fabric.

Gulf Air

Gulf Air, 10 Albemarle Street, City of Westminster, London W1, 2004 • Another ex-airline office dating from the pre-mega-bling era of Mayfair. By 2015 this one was a Paul Smith menswear shop.

Alan’s

Alan’s, 61 High Street, Leatherhead, Surrey, 2003 • Nice hand-made type for traditional florist. They have a website, but it says “Alan’s Florist Shop … is currently closed after many years […]

Half Price Jewellers

Half Price Jewellers, 23 Lord Street, Liverpool L1, 2003 • Brilliant psychedelic sign. Now a Ladbrokes betting shop.

Frankle Trimmings

Frankle Trimmings, 281-285 Bethnal Green Road, Borough of Tower Hamlets, London E2, 2005 • Art deco cinema, now a trimmings emporium. Apparently it was renovated 2005, maybe just before I […]

The Commons

The Commons, 59 Plumstead Common Road, Borough of Greenwich, London SE18, 2004 • Grim-looking club whose name is a play on its politics and position – the local Conservative association and Plumstead Common, […]

Robert A. Grummitt

Robert A. Grummitt, High Street, Caterham, Surrey CR3, 2001 • Suitably resonant name for a maker, repairer and restorer of violins, bows, guitars and mandolins. Established in 1971 and still in business; […]

P.C. Royce

P.C. Royce, 21 Hackney Road, Borough of Hackney, London E2, 2015 • There’s two layers of sign here. ‘Baker &’ it says at the left of the newer logo, so the […]

Private Shop (Manchester)

Private Shop (Manchester), 54 Oldham Street, Manchester, 2009 • Still life with scanties and framed landscape – looks rather like an art installation by Cathy Wilkes.

Thompson

Thompson, 5 Gloucester Road, Avonmouth, Bristol, 2009 • Nice type on old ex-bike repair shop (aka Thomson Bros) in the Bristol boondocks. Now completely boarded up.

W.H. Matthews & Co.

W.H. Matthews & Co., 11-13 Grove Road, Sutton, Surrey, 2002 • Rocking the 1970s wood cabin look. Now with dull plate glass frontage.

Whichcraft

Whichcraft, 7 Station Way, Cheam, Sutton, Surrey , 2002 • This shop’s not as old as its great retro ‘Wools’ sign suggests – their website says they opened in 1996. They now have […]

Hargoss

Hargoss, 56 High Street, Walton-on-Thames. Surrey, 2002 • Great name, great font. Now ‘The Local’ off licence.

Supermarket Day By Day

Supermarket Day By Day, 224 Brixton Hill, Borough of Lambeth, London SW2, 2002 • Just a great old typeface. Later became hairdresser Asphair, with an equally wonky logo.

Stevens Music Stores

Stevens Music Stores, side of 170 Mortimer Street (seen from Cavendish Road), Herne Bay, Kent, 2004 • A ghost sign of indeterminate age, as seen from the side entrance of yesterday’s now-demolished Servowarm. On the side of […]

Bryce Lowe

Bryce Lowe, 228 Kingsland Road, Borough of Hackney, London E2, 2002 • From the days (not so long ago) when Kingsland Road was scary rather than trendy. This ruinous immigration bureau later […]

Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce, 9 South Street, Dorking, Surrey, 2002 • Arnold Bocklin font again, which is an unusual choice for a butcher. Nowadays it still has the same 1920s-looking shaped sign, but with “posher”, olde […]

Same Day

Same Day, 19 Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, 2014 • I have a soft spot for these 1960s-style wood-slat signboards. This jaunty example may look like a hipster pastiche, but it’s the […]

Cambridge Cafe

Cambridge Cafe, A23, Hooley, Coulsdon, Surrey, 2003 • Wooden slats again: I actually stopped off in the middle of a long drive (somewhere around here) to photograph this bleak slice of […]

Crowson & Sons Ltd

Crowson & Sons Ltd, 17-23 Farringdon Road, City of London, London EC1, 2004 • Nice mid-century building (note tiny replacement ‘s’ on ‘Sons’) selling fancy cheeses no more; it was knocked down […]

Morrow

Morrow, 41 High Street, Leominster, Herefordshire, 2014 • I have no idea what this is – those look like spotlights in the window. It’s a listed 16th century building which […]

Picart Gallery

Picart Gallery, 27 The Old High Street, Folkestone, Kent, 2008 • Spotted during Folkestone’s first art Triennial, when the town seemed to have a programme of revealing the original signs […]

Arkle Pharmacy

Arkle Pharmacy, 39 Junction Road, Archway, Borough of Islington, London N19, 2003 • A good old-fashioned name and address next door to yesterday’s De Marco. Now just called Pharmacy (incorporating […]

Simone

Simone, 12 Whitchurch Parade, Whitchurch Lane, Edgware, Borough of Barnet, London HA8, 2004 • Ah, the sadness of suburbia. Google shows this as still there in 2015 – and indeed looking […]

The Dining Plaice (Young Model)

The Dining Plaice (Young Model), 20 Berwick Street, Soho, City of Westminster, London W1, 2002 • Chippie incorporating access to “young model”. It’s now got a different giant brown sign.

S.C. Price & Sons

S.C. Price & Sons, 7 Castle Street, Ludlow, Shropshire, 2014 • A beautiful sunray door in foodie Ludlow, and so traditional they call it a “confectioner” (which used to denote […]

Beaman & Sons

Beaman & Sons, 46 High Street, Bridgnorth, Shropshire, 2014 • Traditional family butcher, established 1890 and looking little altered. It’s  only closed here because it was a Sunday.

G.W. Horners

G.W. Horners, 21 Anlaby Road, Hull, 2013 • Pub in an imposing ex-fleapit, The Regent, which was built in 1910 (the towers were added later) and owned by the same family […]

Boot Parade

Boot Parade, 88 High Street, Edgware, Borough of Barnet, London HA8, 2004 • 1970s footwear of a different kind – a resolutely unglamorous shopping parade that’s still proudly beige today.

Garrick’s Head

Garrick’s Head, 50 Saville Street, North Shields, North Tyneside, 2013 • Beautiful 1899 pub, but the local council doesn’t seem to like its clientelele very much, according to this report of […]

Jason’s

Jason’s, 34 Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, Borough of Croydon, London CR5, 2001 • More old-style wood panelling (see Chunnel Bar, yesterday). Now Pizza Night, not made with pet food I hope.

Chunnel Bar

Chunnel Bar, 133 Lower Marsh, Waterloo, Borough of Lambeth, London SE1, 2003 & 2011 • Uncompromisingly drab wooden frontage as 1970s as its monicker: Eurostar bypassed Waterloo several years ago, and […]

Sheila’s Aladins Cave & Wool Shop

Sheila’s Aladins Cave & Wool Shop, 181 High Street, Herne Bay, Kent, 2004 • Two target customers bypassing a mis-spelled, yellow-filmed knitting shop channelling spirit of 1970s granny, as faded seaside […]

Sew & Sew

Sew & Sew, 377 Edgware Road, Paddington, City of Westminster, London W2, 2003 • Somehow escaped the crafts boom. Now a coffee shop called Coffee Shop.

D. Morgan & Son’s

D. Morgan & Son’s, 173 Manor Place, Kennington, Borough of Southwark, London SE17, 2001 • Dairy with greengrocer’s apostrophe (unless there really was just one son), from a parade now behind […]

W.E. Savage & Son

W.E. Savage & Son, 72 Wilmot Street, Derby, Derbyshire, 2010 • By 2012 this was still there, decaying away near the memorably-named Lara Croft Way.

Hunt and Son Security

Hunt and Son Security, Riverside Way, Borough of Greenwich, London SE7, 2005 • So called because you have to hunt for them in the cafe, where they have “poped”.

Simmons Dining Rooms

Simmons Dining Rooms, 32 Caledonian Road, Borough of Islington, London N1, 2002, 2010, 2013 (top to bottom) • By 2010 there was a trendy cafe behind this facade – I preferred the saggy […]

Adel Hair Fashions

Adel Hair Fashions, 204 Battersea Park Road, Borough of Wandsworth, London SW11, 2002 • One of the most beautiful facades I ever found. Unrecognisable now as Chesney’s luxury fireplace emporium.

Kings Sandwich Bar

Kings Sandwich Bar, 6 Milroy Walk, South Bank, Borough of Southwark, London SE1, 2001 • In a not-so-regal brutalist mall beneath Kings Reach Tower (ex-home of IPC magazines), due for […]

The Manor Cafe

The Manor Cafe, 163 Manor Place, Borough of Southwark, London SE17, 2001 • The whole parade was later boarded up with Southwark council’s bright purple hoardings, still there in 2012.

Chemist.

Chemist. NHS Prescriptions Dispenced, 165 Deptford High Street, Borough of Lewisham, London SE8, 2002 • A classic: generic name, random full stop, spelling issues, misplaced security fears. Became Hair by […]

Kehoe’s.

Kehoe’s., 5 Stoney Street, Borough Market, Borough of Southwark, London SE1, 2002 • Borough Market gentrified and this became smart Applebee’s Fish, but there’s still a Kehoe’s cobbler nearby.