The 1850s saw the introduction of the post box on the streets of Britain, which brought with them, not only the convenience and encouragement of the postal service, but another small step towards the liberation of women, with the ability to keep one’s letter safe from prying eyes at the point of posting. Prior to this, those with letters would either visit the early version of the Post Office, or await the Bellman, who would walk the streets collecting letters.
The Count obstinately accompanied us to the tea-table—waited a minute or two in the room—went out into the hall—and returned with the post-bag in his hands. It was then eight o’clock—the hour at which the letters were always despatched from Blackwater Park.
The Woman in White (1860), Wilkie Collins
“Have you any letter for the post, Miss Halcombe?” he asked, approaching me with the bag.
I saw Madame Fosco, who was making the tea, pause, with the sugar-tongs in her hand, to listen for my answer.
“No, Count, thank you. No letters to-day.”
Just as the stamp bears the portrait of the monarch, the post box bears the monarch’s cypher, the difference being that once installed, a post box isn’t updated. Therefore, our streets bear the initials of six monarchs, starting with Queen Victoria I and to date, ending with Queen Elizabeth II. As of late 2023, Royal Mail were still installing QEII boxes that had been produced prior to her passing.
Victoria
r. 1837-1901
Some post boxes made without cyphers also exist from this period.
4th most common
Edward VII
r. 1901-1910
5th most common
George V
r. 1910-1936
The frequency of these corresponds with the boom in house building.
2nd most common
Edward VIII
r. 1936
Less than 200 were produced, with only 117 known to still exist.
6th most common
George VI
r. 1936-1952
Fewer made due to iron being used for the war effort.
3rd most common
Elizabeth II
r. 1952-2022
Most common (along with Scottish Crown)
Scottish Crown
1952-
Used (not exclusively) in Scotland due to vocal and sometimes violent objections to ‘II’ being included in Elizabeth’s cyper – Elizabeth I was not queen of Scotland, meaning the numerals were incorrect.
We have put together a few maps showing where you can spot the different post boxes, all rather handily near some excellent antique shopping locations. We sourced much of the information by searching through listings on OpenStreetMap and verified each one with the aid of Google Street Maps. If you’d like to see which post boxes are in your area, then visit: https://osm.mathmos.net/postboxes/ and the Post Box Progress section will lead you by postcode to a map of post boxes in your area, and where known, their cypher and box type.
Penfold
The ‘Penfold’ letter box was one of the earliest standard design boxes. The hexagonal box was expensive to produce and a classic case of style over substance. The slot was too near the top and letters would get caught in the cap, but at least that was an improvement on a design ten years earlier in which they forgot to put a slot at all!
Designed by J W Penfold, the design, made in three sizes, lasted from 1866 to 1879 before being superseded by the cylindrical flat capped design we’re familiar with today. The key design elements are on its hexagonal cap – acanthus leaves upon a border of balls, topped with an acanthus bud. Such was the popularity of the Penfold box, 100 replicas were cast in 1989 to be placed in historical and beauty spots. The wider slot opening and cleanness of design (having not been repainted numerous times) are the clues to them being replicas.
Talking of Penfold…
1980s cartoon hero Danger Mouse and his sidekick Penfold lived inside a pillar box, albeit not one of the style Penfold was named for.
A case for Danger Mouse?
Along with telephone boxes, post boxes are an iconic part of the British streetscape, and at least once a year a news story will appear reporting their theft. This time last year it was a spate of thefts across East Cambridgeshire, the year before that was West Norfolk. In 2017, a man was convicted of stealing 37 post boxes near the Welsh border over a two year period and selling them on eBay.
The most easily stolen post box is the lamp box – smaller boxes that are freestanding on posts, tied to posts or lamps, or sometimes set into walls. They are common in rural areas due to their smaller size and stealing one can be as easy as cutting through a slim post with an angle grinder. Of course, it is their relatively portable nature (compared to the mighty pillar box!) that makes them desirable as wedding props or for domestic use.
While the assumption may be these are your typical scrap metal thefts, post boxes are actually made from fairly low value cast iron, making it more likely they are being targeted for resale to collectors. ‘Reclaimed original Royal Mail post boxes’ are readily available online from a few hundred pounds to over a thousand pounds for fully restored ones.
Unused and unwanted post boxes used to be sold off by Royal Mail, but in 2002, English Heritage and Royal Mail agreed a policy for the retention and conservation of post boxes. Since then, no additional boxes should have entered the resale market, with boxes being retained for future operational use, conserved for museums or salvaged for parts to repair others boxes.
Baron Greenback, prepare to be defeated, again!
To try and protect vulnerable boxes against theft, forensic tags, permanent metal marking systems and electronic tracking are used. Buyers should be wary of bargain marketplace listings and purchase from respectable sellers (like those in this magazine!) where provenance is known.
From Greenback to green all over…
In the early days of the post box, before a standardised design, there were a variety of colours in use, but most commonly green. Bronze Green (green dusted with bronze powder) was fashionable at the time, but complaints were received that post boxes were hard to find. Judging by these recent examples, it’s lucky they decided to go with red instead.
