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| A replica 'Penfold' type postbox, beside Tower Bridge. |
Normally overlooked because of how common they are on the streets of the United Kingdom, the humble postbox can tell you a lot about an area. Each postbox also has a Royal cypher, which helps denote its age. Although, occasionally, postboxes are created without a cypher. These are called 'anonymous' postboxes.
So, let us look at the evolution of the British Postbox.
Like so many other iconic things the Postbox was created in the Victorian era, with the first postbox being installed on Guernsey, in the Channel Islands, in 1852.
In 1853, the first postbox, on the mainland, was installed in Carlisle.
London's first postboxes were installed in 1855.
During the 19th century there was no standard to postboxes, with those in the east and west being markedly different from those in the north and Ireland. The aperture, for the letter, was often vertical, rather than the now standard horizontal, and they were all of different shapes and sizes. One is believed to have been 2.4 metres (7.8 feet), tall. The only constant was that they were made off cast-iron.
It wasn't until 1857 that the Post Office launched a competition to standardise the shape and size of the postbox. Unbelievably, one of the original designs was designed with no aperture for the letters. This was remedied and the 'London Ornate Box' came into use, between 1857-1859. It was green with gold trim and had an enamel compass on its top. In fact, all postboxes were green, si that they blended with the landscape. It wasn't until 1884 that they would be painted the now familiar red.
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| A 'Wall Box' postbox. |
In 1857 the 'Wall Box' was introduced as an economy measure, where space was a premium. These were usually in rural areas.
The 'First National Standard' postbox was unveiled in 1859. It was cylindrical, with a horizontal aperture beneath a hexagonal hood and was made from cast-iron.
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| A replica 'Penfold' type postbox, outside the General Post Office building. |
The architect John Wornham Penfold designed a hexagonal model, in 1866, which would adopt his name and become known as the 'Penfold' postbox. These were cast-iron and stayed in use from 1866 till 1879. There were thirteen variations of this postbox, that were produced. Many of these postboxes, that you see today, are replicas of the originals and were introduced to historic places, such as Tower Bridge.
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| A Victorian 'anonymous' postbox, as it has no cypher. |
In 1879, the 'Victorian Type A' and its smaller 'Victorian Type B' were introduced. It is this cylindrical design, with its circular convex top, that is still the most common style of postbox.
In 1896, the first 'Lamp Box' was installed, on an experimental basis. Much like the 'Wall Box', these were used where pavements were small, such as in rural areas.
In 1899, the first 'Type C' oval-shaped postboxes were introduced in London. These large, double-aperture pillar boxes were designed to increase capacity and pre-sort mail into 'London' and 'Country' destinations.
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| A postbox with a King Edward VII cypher. |
In 1930, some 'Victorian Type B' postboxes were painted blue, to signify the 'Air Mail' service being offered. An 'Air Mail' sign was affixed to the top and the door showed both collection times and air mail charges.
