Hull, East Yorkshire

Names and textures, 1

One of the first things I noticed on arriving in Hull back in July is that the city has some attractive old street name signs. I quickly learned that it also has an extraordinary variety of styles of these signs, probably representing every period from the 19th century to the current decade. This is hardly surprising. For one thing, Hull sustained severe damage from bombing during World War II. For another, it has been a dynamic, developing place, responding to highs and lows, for much of its history. Here’s one example of an early sign in a street I walked along very soon after I arrived.

What a characterful sign this is, and how well it complements the texture of the brick wall to which it’s attached. Its shape, a long rectangle (naturally), cut off at the corners by concave curves, is one that was popular in the 19th and early-20th centuries in many British towns. I’ve noticed signs of a similar shape in places such Louth in Lincolnshire. But signs like the one in Louth are heavy objects, made of thick cast iron, which project visibly from the wall surface and are attached to it by screws that pass through the sign into the brickwork. This one in Hull, by contrast, is much flatter and is fixed in place by screws and washers set around the edge of the sign.

What really caught my eye, though, was the lettering, Most of the letters are of a standard form used by the Victorians on signs, capital letters that have serifs* with a slight curve where they join the main strokes of the letter. The letters also display a notable contrast between the widths of the strokes – thick verticals and thin horizontals. This style gives the letter-designer or sign-writer a particular challenge when it comes to the most curvaceous letters, especially ’S’. In this sign both examples of the letter ’S’ have small serifs that rest slightly above the base line while the lower part of the curve sits a fraction below, giving the letter a slightly free-floating look that I find charming.† The whole sign, I think, looks good on a background of brickwork and sash windows, providing a small asset that’s worth more than a passing glance.

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* A little lettering terminology. Serif: the tiny strokes at the ends of the main strokes of letters. Base line: the imaginary line on which the bottom of each letter sits.

† It’s traditional in sign-writing it was and is normal to place the bottom of a curvy letter such as S or O very slightly below the base line; if it sits on the base line itself, it looks in practice as if it’s floating a little too high. The details of the sign will be clearer if you click on the image to enlarge it.