Ghosts of Industry

Welcome to the website for the Northamptonshire Ghosts of Industry project. 

This project allowed citizen scientists within Northamptonshire to record surviving Ghosts Signs.  

Ghost signs are painted adverts, often dated to the 19th and 20th century, related to local industries and the advertising of products and services. Today, these surviving signs are extremely ephemeral and vulnerable to loss. Recording them archaeologically can ensure they are preserved by record, so we can continue to learn from them. The signs themselves can be used to learn about the social history of a local area and learn about the businesses that were once present, giving us an insight into day-to-day life in the recent past.  

Although the project is now officially closed, you can still submit ghost signs within Northamptonshire. All records will be uploaded to Northamptonshire’s Historic Environment Record - please see the Northamptonshire HER. 

For any questions, please email: GhostSigns@mola.org.uk