The Pack Horse, Leeds

Now this is the kind of work that signmakers dream about. To actually be making a sign to be fitted on Briggate, Leeds, one of (if not THE) most prestigious shopping thoroughfares in Yorkshire, and to cap it all, for one of the city’s oldest pubs. I would possibly have done this for nothing, just for the prestige alone.
Our brief, was to produce something eye-catching and bright, whilst making the sign appear as though it had always been there.
The original Pack Horse dates back to 1615, and when it closed in 1987, a new pub was built on the site. It is situated in what was first known as Slip Inn Yard, then becoming Pack Horse Yard.

These yards were originally known as “lanes” or “loins”, which is believed to be the origin of the “Leeds Loiners”, and goes back to medieval times.
There is a blue commemorative plaque dedicated to Joseph Aspdin, a Leeds bricklayer who in 1824 patented Portland cement, and lived in the yard selling his wares.

Our first task was to produce a pictorial that would do justice to the sign, and our designers Steve Robinson and Janet Beetham came up with yet another masterpiece. The wrought-iron frame and brackets had to be both sturdy and authentic looking, and Stuart Richardson of Monkey Wrench metalwork proved that you can put an old head on young shoulders.
Overall, the finished result is bloody marvellous…
Well done everyone who was involved in the process.