Village Sign
The village sign is on the south west corner of the Wilby Road/New Street junction in the centre of the village.
It was designed by a well known Stradbroke artist Frank Ward and carved locally. The sign is unusual in that it is a three dimensional sculpture as opposed to most village signs which tend to be flat.
The sign depicts Bishop Grosseteste, who was Stradbroke's most famous son. Born in the village to a poor family, in 1180, he nonetheless went on to become Bishop of Lincoln and one of the most significant figures of his age.
The following is from The Village Sign Society
"Another writer of treatises was Robert Grosseteste who became Bishop of Lincoln in 1275, although his writings were concerned more with religious than secular matters. He was a great supporter of scholars and he is depicted on the sign at Stradbroke giving help to James Chambers, a local poet who is buried in the village cemetery."
Over the years it has been repainted but being a wood carving and exposed to the elements, it does deteriorate. When it was taken down for repainting early in 2005 the condition of the wood meant that some major work needed to be done to save it.
The Parish Council has looked at cost effective ways of doing this and a cast was made in fibre glass. This has now been painted and it looks magnificent.
It was re-installed on 25th July 2006, you can see Photos of the new Sign
Last updated by Webmaster Mar. 28, 2009.
