19/03/2026
When I first got into traditional signwriting, I started taking photos of any signwriting I noticed around me (and still do), mostly across the New Forest, Salisbury, Wi******er, and especially Romsey. If possible, I’d ask who had painted the signs. Quite often people would mention a man called Rod - usually saying he was a really lovely bloke, but no one seemed to know his full name.
I did a bit of searching and came across the name Roderick Hoyle, linked to a calligraphy club in Romsey. There was an address listed, so I took a chance and wrote him a letter, but never heard anything back.
Then last year, while I was up a ladder painting in Romsey, a kind lady stopped and asked if I might be interested in some signwriting paint. That lady was Diana, and she explained it had belonged to her ex-husband, Roderick Hoyle.
I was quite taken aback to finally make that connection, but very sorry to hear that Rod had passed away earlier that year. Diana mentioned he had become unwell around the time I sent my letter, which was sad to hear - especially knowing how much he would have liked to talk about his work. Rod traded under the name ‘Mill Signs’ having worked from Salisbury, Romsey - Bell Street and the old brewery site Horsefair before finally working from home.
Diana and her daughter Iona very kindly invited me to see Rod’s workshop. It’s hard to properly describe how that felt, but it meant a lot to be able to step into his space and hear about his life and work. He was an incredibly skilled signwriter, engraver, artist, and photographer, and it really made me think about and appreciate the time and dedication behind his life’s work!
There are still lots of his signs and engravings around locally - which I’ve photographed and will share over time. Even walking up to his home and workshop, you can spot house names and numbers he made along the way - it’s amazing to see.
Here are a few photos of Rod at work, along with some of his signs. Check out his proposal sketch! more to come…
