Fredrick (Fred) Cast, a well-established firm with two Bridport locations at 71 East Street and 20b Barrack Street. He went on to become the sole proprietor of the firm, presumably following Cast’s retirement, and the business was renamed Bridport Signs Service Studios. Biles’ output involved a wide range of skills, from lettering to pictorial work to gilding, and his clientele came from far beyond Bridport itself. In addition to painting signs of all kinds, he turned his hand to murals, fine art painting, and theatre backdrops, including for pantomime. The local Palmers Brewery was a client of Biles’ for most of his nearly 70-year career. He had other breweries on his books, but his work for Palmers is remarkable in that many of the swing signs he painted have been kept by the brewery. These include numerous examples of his propensity for painting different pictorials on each side, rather than replicating the same one. Some of Biles' other notable jobs included a large-scale painting of the inside of Noah’s Ark for a private client, and a portrait of Winston Churchill painted during the war to assist with fundraising during ‘Salute the Soldier Week’. The firm also produced a manuscript on vellum in 1953, which was presented to Princess Margaret on her visit to Bridport to mark 700 years since the granting of the town’s charter. This also included pictorial elements around the edges. Biles employed two assistants in his studio and trained them both. One of these, James (Jimmy) Hallett, left the firm after 46 years of service and was still working as a sign painter on his own account when Biles died in December 1987. George Biles: King of Signwriters is showing across various locations in Bridport, Dorset, from 1–29 August. Further details can be found at www.bridport-tc.gov.uk/ george-biles-lottery-project. Websites: www.bl.ag and www.ghostsigns.co.uk 45 Issue 254 - August / September 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk ADVENTURES IN SIGN PAINTING WITH SAM ROBERTS ▲ This hand-painted sign for the Royal Oak was the last that Biles painted before he died in 1987. It was for Palmers Brewery and is pictured here alongside rolls of drawings, patterns, and tools used by the in-house carpenter Andrew Samways, who was responsible for all the frames and fittings for Biles' signs. Photo: JC & RH Palmer Ltd ▲ Some of Biles’ decorative panels at the Bridport Electric Palace. Photo: Tim Booth Further Reading: The English Pub (1985) by Andy Whipple and Rob Anderson Dorset Pubs and Breweries (2009) by Tim Edgell ▲ Palmers Brewery pub signs painted by the late George Biles. Photo: JC & RH Palmer Ltd
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