Sign of the times as English Heritage urges people to use all five senses

Fifty years ago heritage sites in England were covered in signs saying don’t do this, don’t do that, danger here, keep children under control, or even we will prosecute you.

Those doom-laden Ministry of Works signs are making a comeback with a twist, after English Heritage announced plans for signs with a more mindful spin.

Instead of “Beware open medieval culverts”, visitors might see a sign saying “Beware, this view will live long in the memory”.

The idea is to encourage visitors to explore sites with their five senses. That could be listening to the crunch of the gravel at Down House in Kent, the same sound Charles Darwin heard on his daily thinking walks, or feeling the Northumberland wind on your face on Hadrian’s Wall, as a Roman sentry would have experienced it 2,000 years ago.

“It is a bit of a cliche but we do want people to get off their phones,” said Samantha Stones, a senior properties curator for English Heritage. “The signs are an encouragement for people to take a moment. Why not take your shoes off, feel the grass on your feet? Listen to the sounds of the birds singing. Smell the gorgeous Victorian garden around you.

“It doesn’t have to be calm engagement … you could take your shoes off and run around on the grass. We’re trying to evoke the same experiences some of the people who were there in the past would have had.”

A few Ministry of Works signs, which have their own appreciation society, can still be found at heritage sites. “A lot of things tended to be forbidden, such as climbing,” Stones said. “We wanted to take that Ministry of Works signage and have a playful interpretation to encourage our visitors to connect more deeply with the properties and the past.” Englist Heritage has also created

on its website a “50 ways to explore using your senses” list, including sniffing animals at some sites, listening to the sound of water, paddling or swimming at coastal spots and tasting produce from kitchen gardens.