Council and private signs from pre-Worboys era

[DavidNW9]

One most path signs looked like this, there was one I passed going home from school every day but never thought to take a photo of it.

[DavidNW9]

This one doesn't make sense, a council sign saying 'private, council property'. Now isn't the definition of a private road one not dedicated to the council?



While this is a conventional old footpath prohibition

[michael769]

Now isn't the definition of a private road one not dedicated to the council?

No.

A private road is a road that is not maintained at the public expense for the use of the general public.

[DavidNW9]

Always something new to find out. So it's maintained by the council but only for the residents? That's a new one on me but do know many council estates appear to be exempt from road sign regulations, going by the unofficial and PW signs proliferating on many but do wonder what would make the council have a road not maintained at the public expense but publicly owned. I'm sure there's a good reason they'd do that but I can't think of one.

[AndyB]

Short version is that a private road is the property and sole responsibility of its owner. There usually isn't a right of way other than for access (but I'm not sure that is an absolute rule by any means).

In this particular case, the council is the body which owns the road and has a duty of care and maintenance towards its lawful users, but the Highways department would have no responsibility for it as it isn't a public road.

[Glenn A]

I would suggest to anyone a visit to Silloth and villages on the Solway firth coast as most of the old Cumberland County Council fingerpost signs with the distinct black and white pole still exist.

[DavidNW9]

There are no shortage of leading to plates, but few with added PW arrows. Here's one from today and one I don't think I posted before.



This one would be a PW direction if it was to a place rather than a road.

[DavidNW9]

And some more







Two naughty copies, check the details for errors

[DavidNW9]

LT issued so not covered by national regulations. This is at Richmond bus stand but there's another on Tottenham bus garage as well. Someone had just twisted this round so now facing the wall on one side.

[DavidNW9]

Amazing, just like their buses, you wait for years then three come along at once, this is at Sudbury Town, the third not visited is in Tottenham

[t1(M)]

So it's maintained by the council but only for the residents? the council have a road not maintained at the public expense but publicly owned.

There is a difference between publicly owned, and open to the public. (try walking into Faslane nuclear submarine base to see what I mean!)
This is the difference between an American public school (owned and run by the public) and an English public school - available to the public (at a price!), as distinct from a private tutor such as the royal family had up to and including the present Queen's generation. (Prince Charles was the first heir to the throne ever to go to school)

[DavidNW9]

This probably belongs in botched signs, but as it appears to date from the age of the Roehampton Alton estate (1958-9) I'll put it in old although it's a public road, it is a council estate and they appear to have their own rules for council run public roads as we're discovering.

This is wrong in just about every respect. Besides the speed limit being obsolete (thank goodness), it mixes fonts (the slow and 5 appear to be a very early example of current Transport Heavy, while the font below has been made up as they went along. It's not actually hand painted as it looks, as it's enamel, and the rust means it is unlikely to be any newer than the late 50s, which I thought was prior to the creation of Transport (although the motorway original font was pretty much the same). Any observations I've missed are welcome as it is a bit of an odd one.

[DavidNW9]

And again I missed the shot, I only found this at the weekend due to search terms, and although I checked and found it had already been removed the council in Hackney had used them in two places nearby, and when I got there yesterday they were all new ones (you can't tell on Streetview). I've checked every other estate in the borough and this appears to be the only one.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sludgeulper/6300160328

[DavidNW9]

I've never seen a two line no through road before, but councils can do it their way and this looks quite nice really. I've been back to Harrow and got it properly now.

[DavidNW9]

Had this not been a council sign it would have been a perfect PW but still pretty impressive and has been looked after. Green Lanes N13.

[chris486]

Had this not been a council sign it would have been a perfect PW but still pretty impressive and has been looked after. Green Lanes N13.

This sign is very old - Sir Richard Nicolson was Clerk when Queen Victoria was Queen.

[DavidNW9]

Thanks Chris, I didn't know the bridge was that old as the buildings around it vary and is hard to tell the age of the individual parts. My following question (perhaps for CBRD Chris) is whether county and local council signs counted as national before they were unified in the 30s as they were the ones who normally issued them? Here's another site explaining how it was done.

http://www.henderson-tele.com/rsi/rsi/roadside.html

[DavidNW9]

Not road signs as such although they are on roads but not for traffic.







Twickenham and Barnes, more to follow.

[chris486]

Not road signs as such although they are on roads but not for traffic.







Twickenham and Barnes, more to follow.

I find these fascinating. Each one quietly immortalises somebody.

I do hope T.W. Weeding rests easy in his grave - he'd surely not approve of the defacement of his edict.

[DavidNW9]

The more to follow turned out to all be duplicates, including randomly passing another Middx weight limit today in Enfield. But I found this nice council serif font one today as well I haven't seen before