Plea to save vanishing art of the UK pub sign
The painted pub sign, one of the oldest popular visual arts traditions in Britain, is locked in decline. That is the fear of conservationists who hope to alert pub chains and breweries to a 'catastrophic' loss of the traditional skills involved and a failure to preserve a heritage that dates back to Roman times.
The growing corporate ownership of public houses across the British Isles has led to the standardisation of what is on offer, both inside and outside the bar. The situation has worsened in the past five years because of the increasing number of pub closures. Figures compiled by the Campaign for Real Ale show that an average of 57 pubs shut permanently every month.
Campaigning groups such as the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, which once lobbied vigorously on behalf of this dying art, have been taken by surprise by the rate of decline. Only the small Inn Signs Society has charted the sharp fall in newly commissioned painted signs. The society, which has fewer than 400 members, aims to win a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to establish an online archive of material before the tradition disappears.
Read entire article at Observer (UK)
The growing corporate ownership of public houses across the British Isles has led to the standardisation of what is on offer, both inside and outside the bar. The situation has worsened in the past five years because of the increasing number of pub closures. Figures compiled by the Campaign for Real Ale show that an average of 57 pubs shut permanently every month.
Campaigning groups such as the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, which once lobbied vigorously on behalf of this dying art, have been taken by surprise by the rate of decline. Only the small Inn Signs Society has charted the sharp fall in newly commissioned painted signs. The society, which has fewer than 400 members, aims to win a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to establish an online archive of material before the tradition disappears.