A street sign on Reading’s Oxford Road has triumphed in the national Sign and Wrap Awards 2025

The hand-written sign pays homage to the original Victorian sign on the flank of Russell Street, on its junction of Oxford Road, was awarded a gold position in the Traditional Sign’ category at the Sign and Wrap Awards on 25th March 2025.

Judges admired the craftsmanship, skill, and attention to detail of the traditional sign, which lists all the building proprietors dating back to 1829.

The sign was created as part of Reading Borough Council's High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) funded programme, the Council received £800k from Historic England and match-funded to deliver a total £1.6 million programme over four years. The sign was designed in partnership with the Reading Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CAAC), Cliveden Conservation and Momo Signs.

The CAAC provided a wealth of information from the Reading archives, which was shared with Momo Signs signwriter Tomos Jones. After an extensive review of the building's history, Tomos proposed creating an honours board that would list and celebrate all names of the shops that were historically known as Hampden Place dating back to 1829.

The on-site work took eight days to complete. The title was completed first using oil-based signwriting enamels and traditional lettering brushes. Each colour was custom-mixed to achieve tonal contrast and to give the feel that the sign was two hundred years old. Conservators used heritage craft skills to repair the wall by applying traditional lime mortar and lime render to create a stable foundation for the new sign.

Momo Signs carried out the complex and detailed process of marking out the sign panel for the honours board and hand-writing all the names of the business in italic lettering. Signwriter Tomos Jones used custom-mixed colours and traditional lettering brushes to achieve a 200-year-old appearance.

Adele Barnett-Ward, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Leisure and Culture said:

“We are absolutely thrilled to have received this national award on behalf of everybody involved, including the Reading Conservation Area Committee and our partners at Momo Signs and Cliveden Conservation. 

“Reading was fortunate to be one of only 67 areas to benefit from the generous funding from Historic England to invest in our historic high streets in and around the town centre.

“The concept of the HSHAZ was to future-proof high streets by highlighting the heritage that is already there protecting and enhancing these historic areas and also celebrating their uniqueness. The Oxford Road sign was a great example of the important work which has taken place as part of the project and the Oxford Road sign is a lovely nod to the past. It’s wonderful that it’s now been recognised in this way.”

Tomos Jones, Momo Signs, is thrilled to have won this industry award: "I’m absolutely thrilled for the Oxford Road sign to have won the award, it was a real labour of love. It means a lot to me that this sign has been recognised, appreciated and celebrated by others in the industry."

Lewis Proudfoot, Managing Director of Cliveden Conservation who was also responsible for restoring and conserving four of the town centre monuments: the Queen Victoria Statue, Zinzan Tomb, Harrinson Testimonial Cross and Simeon Monument as part of the HSHAZ project, was similarly delighted with the award:

"Working with Reading Borough Council and Tomos Jones to preserve and restore the town's rich heritage has been an honour. The Oxford Road Mural is a wonderful example of Tomos’s traditional sign writing skills and a well-deserved winner."

For further information visit www.clivedenconservation.com