Witcham village sign
Location/Address
The Slade, Witcham, Ely, Cambs.
Type
Landmark, art work or way finder
Assets whose form and function are readily visible, but which are not Buildings. This category includes signage and works of art such as murals and statues.
Description
1980 pictorial village sign (replaced in 2018), in painted timber showing village fire engine and haywain set in cylindrical brick base. A good contribution to a distinctive, albeit recent, East Anglian tradition, commissioned by Witcham Women's Institute.
Statement of Significance
Asset type
Street furnitureAge
1980, 2018Rarity
Unique to villageArchitectural and Artistic Interest
Artistic interestHistoric Interest
‘The history of village signs starts from the turn of the 20th century, when Edward VII was Prince of Wales. He had commissioned signs for the villages in the Sandringham Estate. The signs were carved by the Queen Alexandra Carving School located in the Estate. Prior to the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II only 3 village signs existed in Cambridgeshire…Balham, Cottenham and Castle Camps. However the celebration of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 occasioned over 40 signs to be commissioned…Today there over 130 village signs…The counties of Norfolk and Suffolk predominate with over 350 and 200 signs respectively, [but]…Cambridgeshire ranks third…’ 'Village Signs of North Cambridgeshire' Ian MacEachern 1993 SB Publications, Seaford, Sussex.Images and Documents
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Date Listed
16 Jul 2024
Last Updated
19 Jun 2024
Find Out More
Find out more about this Asset in Cambridgeshire's Local Heritage List:
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/cambridgeshire/asset/11932
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/cambridgeshire/asset/11932