EHL153. Fire Hydrant sign. Lismore Road above the Cancer Research shop, Eastbourne. what3words location: rust.crazy.muddy

Enamelled steel-plate sign indicating the location of a fire hydrant.  Date pre 1938.

2018 article by M. Beale on the Essex County Fire & Rescue Service website: ‘In the late 1800s the fire hydrant was invented.  This large valve could be fitted into a water main and was available for fire-fighters to use.  They were mainly fitted under the surface of a pavement or road. Hydrants rapidly replaced the old Fire Plug system all over the country.  Although many areas still used the term ‘fire-plug’ for the hydrants, eventually the term Fire Hydrant became universal.  This led to the replacement of the old ‘FP’ plaques with plaques on which a large letter ‘H’ was marked.  The plaques varied considerably according to the local water companies supplying the water mains.  There was no standardisation.  In the London area, including the Metropolitan parts of Essex, hydrant plaques were standardised in the 1930s.  Metal plates were used with 6” sides.  They were white with blue lettering if they were attached to dark surfaces, or blue with white letters if they were attached to light coloured backgrounds.  A diamond shaped plate denoted that the hydrant was immediately below and in front of the plate.  A square plate indicated that the hydrant was on the opposite side of the road.  A further modification to the system took place in 1938 and that was to add the distance the hydrant was from the plate.  It was eventually decided that black lettering on a yellow background was the most suitable colouring for hydrant plates as it could be spotted in all lighting conditions. This then became the standard method for locating hydrants throughout the whole of the United Kingdom.’

My Comment: I would suggest that, in Eastbourne at least, the following applied: white background with blue H indicated hydrant directly below, whilst white background with red H indicated hydrant on other side of the road as this is where I found the actual hydrants in relation to the wall signs.