Street Sign beside 354 Ormeau Road, Belfast

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Tiled street sign supported on cast iron post located on the Ormeau Road where it joins the Ravenhill Road. The tiled sign comprises individual 5 inch tall glazed tiles each with a white letter on a black background, spelling ORMEAU ROAD - set on a cast iron back plate. Blank tiles are used to fill the extra space on the lower row and moulded black tiles form the sign’s perimeter which is restrained with a wrought iron strap. The sign is 14 inches high, and the width of each sign is determined by the number of letters in the street name depicted.
The back plate is bolted to the post in 4 places at the rear of the sign. Overall the sign is 64 inches high and the fluted circular post tapers from 3 inches wide at the top to 3.25 at the octagonal base with a projecting ring top and bottom. A ball finial projects above the tiled sign. Adjacent is a similar sign for RAVENHILL ROAD that has lost its ball finial.

Historical information

It is difficult to date the introduction of the various iterations of Belfast street sign designs precisely. What evidence we do have suggests that prior to the early 1900s there was little uniformity, with developers or residents seemingly taking it upon themselves to install signs whose style may have varied from street to street.

The move towards the standardisation of signage by Belfast Corporation seems to have begun in late 1904 when that body’s Police Committee established a sub-committee for the purpose of looking into the matter. It would appear that this group decided upon a form of enamel signage, but in July 1907 this was rescinded with councillors agreeing that, ‘in future tile street signs be used in leading thoroughfares, and iron signs in other streets in accordance with the patterns now submitted’, and prohibited the ‘erection of hanging signs or projecting signs’ in the main arteries.

This effort towards uniformity was doubtless prompted by the rapid growth of the city itself at this time, and the need for legible markers through which new streets could be recognised. It may also have been given further impetus by the Corporation’s takeover (and electrification) of the city’s tram system in 1905, many passengers undoubtedly needing clear identifiers for the various roads along their journey. And so, it appears likely that the introduction - or at least the widespread adoption - of the freestanding white on black ceramic signs, and the similarly coloured ceramic or iron wall-mounted signs (in those locations where end properties were much closer to the thoroughfare itself), may be dated to around this time. The first of these signs could well have been erected along the tram routes, with other streets beyond the tramlines following. It is possible, of course, that some such 'tiled' signs already existed at this point; however, the regularity of those that have survived - distinctive sans serif lettering, fluted cast-iron column with ball finial - seems to indicate that all are Corporation installations of 1907 or later.

By tracking the dates when particular streets were developed, it would appear that the cast-iron columns holding up the freestanding signs began to be superseded by square section concrete posts around the early 1930s. This version was being used along newly-developed streets in 1951, and tenders for the supply of 'glazed tile sign letters', were still being advertised by the Corporation up until late 1955, so presumably this combination remained current until that date at least.

Ormeau Road - Ormeau Road is a pre-1830s thoroughfare. It is likely that this sign (which was along a pre-1907 tram route) was installed in or after-1907, but before c.1927.

References - Primary sources
1 PRONI LA7/10/AB/1/12 Belfast Corporation Police Committee minutes, Oct 1904 - Nov 1907
2 ‘Belfast Telegraph’, 26 July 1907
3 'Belfast News-Letter', 31 December 1937, 28 November 1955
4 'Northern Whig', 13 June 1949

Secondary sources
1“Word on the street”, lecture delivered by Liam McComish at ATypI conference, Dublin, Sept. 2010

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Tiled street sign supported on fluted cast iron post, located on Ormeau Road where it joins the Ravenhill Road. This is a fine example of a tiled sign many of which were erected on major thoroughfares in the early twentieth century by Belfast Corporation, probably to help passengers locate their stops on the city’s tram system.
The sign exhibits fine detailing, particularly in it’s classically inspired cast iron post and in the raised tiled band around the sign. Whilst the tram system ceased to operate many years ago, these prominently positioned signs, still serve a useful function for today’s public transport passengers. They are of historic interest to the citizens of Belfast and are part of the city’s rich legacy of cast iron street furniture, which includes Parliamentary Boundary Posts, Post Boxes and Telephone Kiosks. This example has group value with the other listed nearby street sign at Rosetta Avenue (HB26.01.077).