Pubs signs voted number one icon

Traditional pub signs may be dying out amid "bland corporate makeovers" - but they are England's number one icon, a new poll has revealed.

In a poll conducted by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), painted pub signs won 14.5 per cent of the vote, to trump red post boxes and canal boats as number one "Icon of England".

More than 1,000 people voted in the on-line survey.

Author Bill Bryson, president of CPRE, said: "They are as characteristic of rural England as church spires and ancient hedgerows. The diversity of English life has been reflected in these intriguing artefacts for centuries."

However, he expressed fears that the traditional sign is dying out as independent pubs close down and traditional outlets receive makeovers.

"At a time when 36 pubs per week are closing their doors, it is heartening to hear of the value still placed on this heralded tradition. But it is a shrinking market," Bryson added.

"The dominance of a few chains has contributed to the disappearance of traditional British pub names, and led to a profusion of bland corporate makeovers."

Only around 30 independent pub companies still order individually painted signs.

Jeremy Mitchell, marketing manager at St Austell, one of the few breweries that still uses sign writers, said: "We take great pride that each of our 170 public houses has a sign painted specifically for them.

"It gives the pub something distinctive and charming which helps it stand out from some of our more generic competitors."