Dorset, Eco & Environment | Posted on February 20th, 2025 | return to news
Hundreds of Dorset fingerposts restored, but more need repairs
Applications can be made to the Dorset CPRE Grant Scheme for the restoration of the fingerposts which are a common feature in Dorset.
In the last eight years, Dorset CPRE Grant Scheme has paid out £22,337.50 towards the restoration of 160 traditional fingerposts in the county.
The fingerposts are a legacy of the early road system. In 1773, the General Turnpike Act made it mandatory for trustees to put up signs informing the traveller of the distance to the closest town.
Of the 1,300 or so fingerposts thought to exist in the 1950s, just 717 survive today. Many were lost in the Second World War as they were removed in 1940 to deny guidance to an invading army, and not replaced. Some of the originals have been repaired using non-traditional materials or lettering, and others are in need of attention.
The Local Authority no longer has a remit to repair them, and both the Dorset National Landscape (formerly Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and Dorset CPRE are keen to support local ‘Fingerpost Champions’ to save these signs from extinction and restore them to their former glory. Hundreds of signs have been renewed by parish and town councils, community groups, and individuals.
Neil Matthews, chairman of Dorset CPRE, said: “These distinctive signposts which show not only distances and directions, but also the grid reference of the junctions concerned are a real boon to walkers and drivers in the county.”
Dorset CPRE offer a small grant scheme, up to £200 per post, for people wanting to restore fingerposts using the correct materials as set out by the Dorset National Landscape. Match funding is not required and there is no application form, but they ask that requests come from a Parish Council representative (or similar), with a summary of the fingerposts that need repairing, their location(s) and estimated costs.
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