Renovation of the Red Finger Post  is now complete

Dorset Fingerposts are a part of Dorset’s unique heritage and are an iconic sight 

in the county of Dorset. 

These old road signs featuring a white or occasionally red metal roundel, with arms, known as fingers,

pointing in the direction of travel.  The history of the relatively few eye-catching red posts is unknown 

but legends abound, one thought was that they were originally used to mark an inn or resting house

for convicts and their guards on their way to deportation. We are lucky to have one of the four

remaining red finger posts within our parish.

Fingerposts are a common feature of the Dorset countryside, a legacy of the

early road system. In 1773 the General Turnpike Act made it mandatory for trustees to put up signs 

informing the traveller of the distance to the closest town. In the 20th century the responsibility for fingerposts was given to individual local authorities; 

the Ministry of Transport recommended a design, but it was left up to individual councils to make

the final decision, which meant that there was a wide variety of local styles. The Ministry for Transport specifically asked the County Councils in Dorset and the West Riding of Yorkshire to experiment with the inclusion of a grid reference and this style of 

the fingerpost roundel remains unique to these two council areas. ​Dorset Council created its own 

distinctive finger post design; constructed with a central metal post, with a number of white wooden pointers or fingers, originally with curved ends but more recent ones may have pointed fingers.