Sign of the times

3:52pm Thursday 1st December 2005

A six-year project to replace and restore street name signs in Hampstead Garden Suburb (HGS) was completed on Tuesday at a cost of £25,000.

Sixty-nine original cast-iron signs were refurbished and 177 modern signs were replaced with traditional styles in the scheme, which was paid for using a £10,000 grant from English Heritage, with the remaining £15,000 coming from HGS Residents' Association, HGS Trust and Barnet Council.

The Suburb, a designated conservation area subject to strict planning controls, was founded as a model environment to benefit people from all social classes and incomes, by reformer and philanthropist Dame Henrietta Barnett in 1907.

Richard Parish, English Heritage's historic buildings and areas adviser, explained: "Its street furniture and signs formed part of Henrietta Barnett's overall vision and remain an integral part of the area's architectural identity.

"Their loss over the years has contributed to the gradual erosion of the Suburb's distinctive and historic character."

Trust manager Jane Blackburn believes the money was well spent.

"These signs, which are quite understated, are sympathetic to the architecture of the Suburb in a way that modern signs are not," she said.

"Modern signs jar when you look at them against the low-key domestic style of the Suburb."

The street sign project follows the principles promoted by Save our Streets, a campaign launched by English Heritage last year to declutter and restore the character of England's historic streets.