Street sign at junction of Belmont Church Road and Sydenham Avenue, Belfast BT4 2DL

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Freestanding street sign of c.1907 at the junction of Belmont Church Road and Sydenham Avemue.

This sign is typical of those used throughout the then Belfast Corporation area in the early to mid 20th century, being composed white on black tiles sporting slightly elongated sans serif lettering. The glazed tiles themselves are roughly 12cm high and of slightly varying widths according to the nature of the character thereon, with most displaying a white letter on a black background, in this case spelling BELMONT CHURCH ROAD (the last word below the others) They are set on what seems to be a (cement?) back plate with additional blank tiles used to fill the extra space on the lower row. Moulded tiling frames the sign and this is encased with a wrought iron frame, which is attached to a fluted cast-iron post with ball finial. Compared to similar signs, the post is more deeply sunk into the ground, or (more likely) the ground level has been raised.

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 It would appear that this group decided upon a form of enamel signage, but in July 1907 this was rescinded with councillors agreeing that, ‘in future tile street signs be used in leading thoroughfares, and iron signs in other streets in accordance with the patterns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 elongated sans serif lettering, fluted cast-iron column with ball finial - seems to indicate that all are Corporation installations of 1907 or later.

It would appear that the cast-iron columns holding up the freestanding signs began to be superseded, firstly by plain metal supports (sometimes two supports), and then by square section concrete posts. The plain metal variants are difficult to date as they can still be seen on streets predating 1907 and as well as some laid out in the early 1930s. By the latter date, however, the concrete version seems to have become the norm. It was still being utilised along newly-developed streets in 1951, and tenders for the supply of 'glazed tile sign letters', continued to be advertised by the Corporation up until late 1955, so presumably this combination remained current until that date at least

Belmont Church Road - This northern section of this road was laid out in the mid 19th century to link from what is now Belmont Road (a pre-1830s route) and Sydenham Avenue (also laid out in the mid 1800s). It is likely that the signs at both ends of this stretch of the road were installed in or after shortly 1907, when uniform signage appears to have been introduced by Belfast Corporation (see above.)

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
H-. Alterations detracting from building
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Freestanding tiled street sign of c.1907 of the type produced by Belfast Corporation in the early to mid-1900s. Once ubiquitous throughout the suburbs of the city, many of these signs have been lost over the decades due to a combination of redevelopment and general wear and tear. The utilitarian yet attractive design itself, composed of small tiles with slightly elongated sans serif lettering on a black background, has become something of a style symbol for the city in recent years and those signs that have survived are now widely accepted as an important part of the civic heritage. This particular example, supported on the ornate cast-iron pole, has been compromised somewhat by the rise in the surrounding gound level, but in itself remains a very good example of its kind.