Village Sign Society

The Village Sign Society is a British membership organisation devoted to the village signs of Great Britain. According to its own account, it was founded in 1999 and exists to promote the enjoyment and appreciation of village signs, to record for posterity all known village signs past and present, to advise individuals or organisations wishing to set up a village sign, and to give information to anyone enquiring about them. Its website invites visitors to join and to celebrate village signs, and states that there are around 5,000 village signs in Great Britain. Village signs are the carved, painted or otherwise decorated boards and posts that mark the entrance to many British villages, often carrying the village name together with heraldic, historical or pictorial motifs. The Society functions as a documenting and advocacy body for this distinctive form of local public art and civic identity rather than as a manufacturer or retailer. Its work is chiefly curatorial and informational: maintaining records of signs, answering enquiries, and helping communities that want to commission or erect a new sign. The organisation is based in the United Kingdom and operates nationally across Great Britain. It is a small specialist society rather than a commercial enterprise, and no parent company, ownership group or stock listing is associated with it. Its public presence centres on its website, which serves as the main point of contact and as the gateway to its records and advice.

The Village Sign Society was founded in 1999, according to the organisation's own About Us page. It was established as a body dedicated to the village signs of Great Britain, a tradition in which villages mark their entrances with decorated signs, often featuring the village name alongside heraldic or pictorial imagery. From its founding, the Society set out four aims: promoting the enjoyment and appreciation of village signs in Great Britain; recording for posterity all known village signs, past and present; giving advice to individuals or organisations wishing to set up a village sign; and giving information to anyone enquiring about village signs. These aims define it as a recording, advisory and appreciation society rather than a commercial venture. The Society's website presents it as a national point of contact for the subject, inviting people to join and to celebrate village signs, and noting that there are around 5,000 village signs in Great Britain. Its curatorial role — maintaining knowledge of signs past and present — places it among the specialist bodies that document local heritage and public art in the United Kingdom.

• 1999

  The Village Sign Society is founded.

A specialist membership society and documentation body for British village signs, offering records, advice and information rather than commercial products.

1. 1Village Sign Societyvillagesignsociety.org.uk
2. 2About Us | Village Sign Societyvillagesignsociety.org.uk
3. 3Village Sign Societywikidata.org