An old canal warehouse at Ellesmere in Shropshire

This former canal warehouse, with its thumping great ghost sign, is to be found by the canal basin at Ellesmere in Shropshire.

The basin is at the end of a short arm off what is now called the Llangollen Canal. I took plenty more photos of the town and its canal, which I'll post another day.

When John Smith's Magnet Ales were advertised across York

When I was a student in York the corner shops in the backstreets all had advertising John Smith's Magnet Ales.

The shops have mostly closed and, while the name Magnet still survives, the beer is no longer brewed at John Smith's Tadcaster brewery but produced under licence by Cameron's in Hartlepool.

I did find a couple of relics of Magnet advertising when I went hunting for the blue plaque on Frankie Howerd's childhood home in York.

Two ghost signs from the back streets of Northampton

It was a nice sunny day so I headed for the back streets of Northampton. 

Discoveries included The Old Grocery Espresso Bar (have the sausage roll if you go), Heyford Books (interesting stock at miraculous prices) and these two ghost signs.

Another repainted ghost sign in Market Harborough

Taylor's was a chip shop and fish restaurant in Adam and Eve Street, Market Harborough. Some claimed it was one of the oldest chippies in the country, and for that reason it got mentioned in guidebooks even though it was nothing special.

It's old premises are now occupied by the (highly recommended) Duncan Murray Wines and the ghost sign it is remembered by has been restored.

The same thing was done for the Freeman, Hardy & Willis sign in town a few years ago, and the district council is inviting suggestions for other ghost signs that would benefit from this treatment.

The former temperance hotel near Market Harborough station

The radio station Harborough FM - which these days provides the best local news service - reports that 16 more buildings and locations are to be added to the district's list of "non-designated heritage assets".

Those on this list are deemed worthy of protection because of their historic, architectural or archaeological interest.

Among the new 16 is a former hotel in St Mary's Road near the railway station, which Harborough FM describes as a:

grand two-storey building has likely links to Thomas Cook, who lived in Market Harborough, and the former Temperance movement, a major societal movement in the 19th Century.

The building's history used to be more apparent. Back in 1984 I took this photograph of a now-vanished ghost sign. It could be found, if I recall correctly, to the right of the front door.

Market Harborough's ghost sign has lost its ghostliness

The ghost sign on what is now the British Heart Foundation shop in Market Harborough has undergone a striking restoration. It now looks magnificent, even if it has been robbed of its ghostliness.

You can see what it used to look like (on a much sunnier day) below. The restoration was carried out by Alex Scott.

A Leicester ghost sign

This was a new find on my wander through Spinney Hills, North Evington or whatever you call that part of Leicester.

And I was pleased to find that my favourite ghost sign of all is still flourishing round the corner.

Two Nottingham ghost signs

The sign above is on a shop in the Lenton district of Nottingham. As that shop is still open, it may well still be some people's local independent free off licence.

I suppose the one below (to be found just down the road) isn't strictly a ghost sign either, as it's not on a wall. But it's clearly some time since H. Wiltshire & Son operated from those premises.

Ghost signs for Parkinsons Pills in Leicester and Telford

When I photographed this ghost sign in Clarendon Park on Saturday it rang a bell.

Sure enough, I found that I had already photographed another one for Parkinsons Pills at Madeley in Shropshire. You can see it at the bottom of this post.

The Lancashire Telegraph once told the firm's history:

Parkinsons’ pills, manufactured in Burnley, were once known throughout the land – and even overseas. 

The company claimed that it sold more pills than any other business in the world, with millions being produced annually. 

It was also the first anywhere to coat tablets with sugar to make them more palatable.
Parkinsons’ range of products included ‘female pills’, ‘blood and stomach’ pills, soda mint tablets, and Red Indian ointment. 

The firm was founded by Richard Parkinson in 1848 as a chemist and dry salter, in Brierfield, before it moved to Nelson, and then into Curzon Street, Burnley.

And it seems that it did leave a notable legacy of ghost signs. A blog devoted to the company has a post about them with lots of photographs. They include the two here.

A Rutland ghost sign

Photographed in Exton a couple of years ago.

Read about the building.

Later. I am told this sign is a relic of the 1980 television film of Little Lord Fauntleroy, which was partly shot in the village.

Quick denture repairs in Braunstone Gate

These are not exactly ghost signs, but the Leicester business they advertise is long gone.

A relic of Market Harborough Urban District Council

Market Harborough Urban District Council disappeared in 1974 when Harborough District Council was formed. So I wouldn't recommend using this letterbox, which I photographed this afternoon.

The town has lacked its own democratic body since 1974, when Market Harborough Rural District, Billesdon Rural District and Lutterworth Rural District also disappeared.

Market Harborough was a victim of the Conservatives' belief that larger authorities would be more efficient and cheaper to run.

Now some Tories want to abolish Harborough District Council and run everything from County Hall in distant Glenfield.

Obsession with size and centralisation is best left to the Labour Party. As so often, the problem witht he modern Conservative Party is that it is not Conservative enough.

Fleet House: A threatened Leicester ghost sign

This is Fleet House in Fleet Street, Leicester, which was the headquarters of British Steam Specialties Lrd until a few years ago.

Derelict Places has photographs of the surprisingly contemporary interior and records that the company was bought out by Travis Perkins and moved to a new head office closer to the M1.

This part of the city is up for redevelopment, and a Leicester Mercury article from earlier this year reveals the disappointing news that Fleet House could be a victim of it.

So enjoy the buildings signs while you can.

The Victoria: A Stamford ghost sign

This ghost sign is to be found in Stamford near Greyfriars Gatehouse.

What Pub reveals that The Victoria was a one-roomed pub originally known as the Parting Pot Inn. It changed its name for Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1886.

A ghost sign in Melton Mowbray

This metal sign is appealing but impossible to read.

Its location across the entrance to a yard, and a ghost sign on the neighboring building, give a big clue to what it once said.

Herbert Morris, Loughborough, from the canal towpath

Last time I blogged about the threatened Herbert Morris industrial buildings in Loughborough, a commenter recommended the view from the canal towpath.

He was right and here it is.

A Madeley ghost sign

I took this photograph at Madeley in Shropshire in 2011.

"Let Worthington's Feed You": A forgotten Leicester grocery chain

When I came across this old sign above the door of a cafe in Aylestone, I assumed that it was a rather fanciful add for Worthington's beer.

But I was wrong, as a recent article in the Leicester Mercury by Jane Goddard showed.

It began:

We wonder how many of our readers recall Worthington’s Cash Stores, the local chain of grocery shops with their memorable slogan, “Let Worthington’s feed you”? 

By 1960, the company had 47 branches, the vast majority within Leicester, but also in the county, and in Coventry, Northampton, Nuneaton and Rugby. 

Founded by Charles T. Worthington in 1891, the first of many stores was at 18 Humberstone Road, Leicester.

More ghost signs from Aylestone

This Saturday's expedition was cut short by welcome rain, but I found some more Aylestone ghost signs to add to last week's crop.

The ghost signs of Aylestone

A few trophies from Saturday's exploration.