A new sign for Tansor Village

When we take on a commission for a bespoke village sign, often it will be for a place I've never visited, so I always think it's so important to find out as much as possible about the village and it's surrounding area. From it's industrial heritage to it's flora and fauna, it's all useful information in helping us as designers create a piece that the community will be proud of.

Tansor is a small parish in North Northamptonshire. There has been a settlement there for hundreds of years - it is mentioned in the Doomsday book of 1086 and there is evidence of early Roman settlements nearby. Parts of the parish church date back to Saxon times. It has a population of around 180, and though there are no shops or pubs, it has multiple small businesses and the carp fishery.

The story of the custom village sign's design

The design of this village sign gives a picturesque impression of a traditional English village. Every element was chosen to represent an important part of the village's identity. It centres around Tansor’s church, which dates back to Saxon times. We’ve created the scene around it, so the sign appears as though you are viewing the village through a window or a photograph.

The river Nene is in the foreground, sweeping around past the church. This use of perspective gives an extra dimension to the sign. A nearby school uses the river to practice rowing; I think that this human element and the motion of the water rippling brings the design to life.

The tractor is included as a link to the area’s agriculture – it’s arable farming so we chose this rather than farm animals. The design is framed by a tree on each side – these represent the old cedars found in the village.

The royal cypher for Queen Elizabeth sits on top of the box section frame, as this village sign was commissioned in part to commemorate her reign. We have created two hand forged scrolls to sit either side of this.

We did try a few other ideas and layouts - see below - the Parish council had suggested some distinctive Poplar trees, and also a thatched house that's become a bit of a local landmark - but the sign was becoming too busy and the addition of these was in danger of detracting from what we already had.

Experienced Village Sign Makers

Black Fox Metalcraft have a growing portfolio of distinctive, unrivalled metal village signs. All of our signs are electroplated with zinc to protect against the great British weather, and finished in a highly durable, traditional looking black powdercoat. Text is painted by hand in any colour or style of writing.

Tansor's new village sign will fix to the top of an oak post. The parish council gave us the dimensions of this and we made a cap to suit, so all they need to do is bolt through to attach.

As shown here in Tansor's village sign, we can add bespoke forgework on the top or around the bracket to add a traditional hand crafted element.

Whether it be the laser cut design, the fixing, the colour and style of your writing or some bespoke scrollwork, Black Fox Metalcraft have the skills to make your village sign as individual as you want it to be.

Why village signs matter 

• Community identity 
  
• Welcoming visitors 
  
• Local pride 
  
• Celebrating history 
  
• Creating landmarks

Every village has its own story. Our aim is to create signs that capture that identity through thoughtful design and quality craftsmanship. If your parish council or community group is considering a new village sign, we'd be happy to discuss your ideas.