Northumberland village heritage group seeks support to finish restoration of old signposts

Volunteers in a Northumberland village have launched a fund-raising appeal to restore cast-iron signposts.
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It is the latest project tackled by the Glanton Heritage Group, set up in 2010 to identify and restore features from the past that make the village special.

They have already restored two of the pre-war signposts but are now seeking £5,000 to cover the costs of restoring two more.

So far, over £1,500 has been raised.

Glanton Heritage Group is restoring old signposts.Glanton Heritage Group is restoring old signposts.
Glanton Heritage Group is restoring old signposts.
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Sue Rogers, chairman of Glanton Heritage Group, said: “These cast-iron signs were widespread in the district around Alnwick in the early 20th Century. Some have survived but most have been replaced or are in a very sad state.

“They are part of our heritage which will soon disappear. But with skill and local resources, they can be restored so they can guide visitors and residents for many years and bring local distinctiveness to this part of rural Northumberland.”

The ones around Glanton, cast by Alnwick Foundry (the name is cast on the posts), have a white conical finial.

Sue says the group have already received praise from neighbouring communities for the two signs already restored and they hope to encourage other communities by example.

A newly-restored signpost.A newly-restored signpost.
A newly-restored signpost.
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The funding that the group hopes to raise will go towards engaging professional help from a small company in rural Cumbria who engage with this type of work.

The work is highly specialist, costly and needs to be agreed beforehand with all relevant landowners and authorities.

But as before, this small band of inspiring and committed members will be doing as much of the work as they can with their own hands.

The heritage group’s first project was to ensure that the red telephone box was not removed by BT when its original purpose was no longer required. The parish council was persuaded to take over the ownership for £1 and was then restored.

One of the old signposts in need of repair.One of the old signposts in need of repair.
One of the old signposts in need of repair.
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It has also published the story of a local doctor’s family over a century,

You can help by pledging to the Crowdfunder campaign, before July 15, via https://communityfund.calor.co.uk/glanton-heritage-signposts

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A fund-raising appeal has been launched to cover costs of restoring old signposts.A fund-raising appeal has been launched to cover costs of restoring old signposts.
A fund-raising appeal has been launched to cover costs of restoring old signposts.

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