Description

TL 8564 SE
639-1/8/10001

BURY ST EDMUNDS
ANGEL HILL
The Pillar of Salt Road Sign

GV
II
Road sign. 1935. By Basil Oliver, architect to Bury St Edmunds Town Council. Whitewashed concrete and metal. International Modern style.

Large octagonal pier has austere slightly oversailing lantern on top and projecting box-framed road signs in three directions. It stands on a plinth with steps and small corner octagonal piers. The 'Pillar of Salt', as it is known, forms the centre point of a very significant group of listed buildings and stands close to the former Abbey gatehouse.

HISTORY. The Town Council went to great lengths to find something worthy of this important location when increased motor traffic made signing essential. Basil Oliver advised on the design and at the time when road signs were being standardised under the 1933 Regulations, this sign is individual and probably unique. It was approved by the Ministry of Transport in June 1935 subject to the letters and road numbers being 5" high. This was a compromise since the new standard was for letters 4.5" high and numbers 6" high.

Listing NGR: TL8551264228

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Pillar of Salt at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q7194139

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)