Post your Post Boxes! (Photos and fun facts)

[weepingwillowb]

The building's no longer there, but the box still is.

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

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[WesternLancer]

The building's no longer there, but the box still is.

Street View · Google Maps

Explore a place in a more immersive way in Google Maps.

www.google.com

and the new building pictured seems to be called Peggy's Post Office - so the previous building must have one been a post office I would have thought.

 

[weepingwillowb]

and the new building pictured seems to be called Peggy's Post Office - so the previous building must have one been a post office I would have thought.

I didn't see that! Thanks for being more on the ball than me.

 

[WesternLancer]

I didn't see that! Thanks for being more on the ball than me.

well- you did the leg work finding the location on street view and sharing a handy link - that's the time consuming bit

 

[weepingwillowb]

Spotted this letter box in 2012 while walking the B4203 south from Tedstone Wafer to Bromyard, Herefordshire. I recorded it as being in 'Norton,' but I can't find the box or what's visible of the structure on google maps; maybe the building was demolished? There's a modern box outside the entrance to Saltmarshe Castle Park, which might be the replacement in a different spot.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Great "snare" from fourteen years ago, @weepingwillowb and it's a variant I know of but have yet to discover in person. The clues are two-fold:
1) the wider posting-aperture than a VR wall box typically has (compare to other photos on this thread).
2) the ornate, truncated, beading in that area around its wider posting-aperture.

The below linked article explains in detail; I'll paraphrase:
"Between 1956 and 1965, the Post Office improved posting facilities by installing larger apertures, that involved cutting out the apertures on existing wall boxes in-situ and fitting a larger aperture."

Trail talk: the ‘one in every village’ wall box scheme

In the 50s and 60s the Post Office enlarged the aperture on 1000s of postboxes. The results from this 'one in every village' scheme are to be seen on many a hike across Britain

threepointsofthecompass.com

 

[WesternLancer]

Spotted this letter box in 2012 while walking the B4203 south from Tedstone Wafer to Bromyard, Herefordshire. I recorded it as being in 'Norton,' but I can't find the box or what's visible of the structure on google maps; maybe the building was demolished? There's a modern box outside the entrance to Saltmarshe Castle Park, which might be the replacement in a different spot.

View attachment 203084View attachment 203085

Zooming in I can see part of the address of the box location I assume. Two words I can’t read and then I think church street.

 

[DelW]

Zooming in I can see part of the address of the box location I assume. Two words I can’t read and then I think church street.

Unfortunately I think that just says that a later collection is made from "Bromyard Post Office Church Street" - as Bromyard's post office is indeed in Church St. Which doesn't help with the location of the box in the photo

(Edited to add) Norton seems to be a parish name (?) for an area just north east of Bromyard - screenshot attached of an OS map from the NLS website. I can't see where the postbox might be though.

 

[weepingwillowb]

Zooming in I can see part of the address of the box location I assume. Two words I can’t read and then I think church street.

I think that's likely to be Church Street, Bromyard, where the nearest post office is, and where a Saturday collection was at 11.45 (12.00 now).

* DelW beat me to it!

 

[WesternLancer]

I think that's likely to be Church Street, Bromyard, where the nearest post office is, and where a Saturday collection was at 11.45 (12.00 now).

* DelW beat me to it!

Aha. Thanks both! Quite so.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 26 Apr 2026 ==

Meanwhile, here’s one conveniently located for Windermere chain ferry jetty, western side

I like the wording cast into the bit that shelters the slot from rain. As seen here before of course.

Ferry image taken from eastern shore.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Post box in drystone wall - that concept seems incongruous! Thanks @WesternLancer
Lake Windemere's Victoria box is of identical style to post 1's Bosham example. I was curious why my Bosham "find" has two screw/bolt-holes but nothing in them. I notice your photo shows two roundhead bolts (or screws); but I'm still none the wiser as to their purpose!

 

[weepingwillowb]

Did the State-owned GPO have to pay the owner of a wall if it wanted to put a letter box in it? Or did it have the power to install one without needing permission?

 

[mailbyrail]

Did the State-owned GPO have to pay the owner of a wall if it wanted to put a letter box in it? Or did it have the power to install one without needing permission?

The GPO - and the present day Royal Mail - have the right to install public letter boxes in any street should it so chose with no need for planning permission or other authority as well as having the right to access the box to provide a universal postal service.
Earlier legislation recognised that there may be circumstances where the letter box was on private property where different regulations would apply - a classic case is inside a hotel. The legislation doesn't seem to recognise how a box on a railway station platform rather than in the street would be treated.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Hello @weepingwillowb - a little online info from Scribd and The Postal Museum; I'll add to what @mailbyrail mentions:

The Post Office, generally, did not have legal power to impose installation of a post box upon private property (i.e.in a wall) or land, without a landowner's consent before the box's initial installation. I find no evidence of monies being paid for that.

Wall boxes built into local store / sub-post office wall, or in a property's boundary-wall, were perceived positively as being a convenience for the local community; thus the property- or landowner usually endorsed its installation.

Once a box had been installed:
1) If a post box already exists within private building-wall or land perimeter-wall, it is legally protected under a "deemed licence". This includes replacing an existing wall box.
2) Even embedded in a private wall, Royal Mail retains legal ownership of that box.
3) Under the Postal Services Act, a landowner can request the removal of a box on their property.

 

[weepingwillowb]

Thank you very much @mailbyrail and @Sun Chariot. Some of the rural letter boxes I've come across made me wonder, as they're a real asset to somewhere too small to have a post office. Below is the hamlet of Upperdale, near Cressbrook, Derbyshire, in 2012.

 

[Forty29]

Been on a weekend break in Holmfirth area, looking out for interesting boxes but found none. Probably missed one right under my nose.

 

[Sun Chariot]

In the eye of the beholder...
Two latter 20th Century pillar box designs followed contemporary styling, although I personally don't find them as appealing:

Elizabeth II type G (1974-1979) was a short-term solution to 1968's welded sheet-steel type F (which had rapidly rusted - thus all required replacing).
Elizabeth II type K (1980-2002) followed on from the Type G. Design icon? Or a lipstick canister? You decide...

Some of the rural letter boxes I've come across made me wonder, as they're a real asset to somewhere too small to have a post office.

The arrival on mainland UK, of the first pillar box in 1853 and the first wall box in 1857, might have been rather exciting for most rural recipient areas.
My "within one hour's drive" scope has led me to post boxes in some (even now) remote spots in the South Downs; some of those seem to serve only one dwelling!

 

[WesternLancer]

In the eye of the beholder...
Two latter 20th Century pillar box designs followed contemporary styling, although I personally don't find them as appealing:

Elizabeth II type G (1974-1979) was a short-term solution to 1968's welded sheet-steel type F which rapidly rusted and all required replacing).
Elizabeth II type K (1980-2002) followed on from the Type G. Design icon? Or a lipstick canister? You decide...



The arrival on mainland UK, of the first pillar box in 1853 and the first wall box in 1857, might have been rather exciting for most rural recipient areas.
My "within one hour's drive" scope has led me to post boxes in some (even now) remote spots in the South Downs; some of those seem to serve only one dwelling!

Thanks for these - I don't think I have ever seen a Type G.

Seen a few Type K's but as I've mentioned before it's annoying they don't feature a collection tag slot so you know if the mail has or has not been collected on a particular day (a minor matter)

I tend to think these (esp Type K's) can look good when the streetscape / architecture around them is from the era the pillar boxes date from eg if on a 1980s housing estate or shopping parade, a Type K can look good - I assume the same would go for a Type G if I'd seen one in context.

 

[Sun Chariot]

I tend to think these (esp Type K's) can look good when the streetscape / architecture around them is from the era the pillar boxes date from

Funnily enough, a similar thought was in my mind - Type G's mid-1970s design reminiscent of those angular Lamborghini Countach / first-generation Lotus Esprit; and the curvaceous Type K invoked my memories of the first Ford Sierra models.

 

[WesternLancer]

Funnily enough, the same thought was in my mind: Type G's mid-1970s design reminiscent of those angular Lamborghini Countach / first-generation Lotus Esprit; and the curvaceous Type K invoked my memories of the first Ford Sierra models.

Good points

Not sure Barratt homes in the 80s fully embraced the Ford Sierra styling concept for the streetscape aspect, but....

 

[Sun Chariot]

A cypher conundrum...
This George V wall box at Hinton Ampner, Hampshire, has a curious secret and I have yet to unearth its backstory:
- Its cypher uses a different font to George V's official regal cypher. Yet, the Post Office was one of the first recipients of each new monarch's cypher.
- G R are cast quite roughly - the letters don't line up and the top of "G" is thicker than top of "R"; it's almost insulting to a monarch's pedigree! Yet, its founder - W.T. Allen of London - was experienced in casting post boxes by then.

Here's another W.T. Allen GV wall box, with the correct official cypher. Spot the differences. Its G serif is most noticeable.

Lastly, a George VI box of a style already upthread - but look how those ivy roots took hold! If it can do that into cast iron, woe betide anyone with ivy growing up their bricks & mortar!


EDIT: having found no information about the "rogue" G R font on my usual website sources, I tried an AI approach...
- "Hinton Ampner is a Ludlow design box". Errr, no it isn't.
- "Early George V post boxes had the king's cypher with ornate entwined G R letters". No they didn't - and his cypher wasn't.
- Some foundries added their own flourishes or interpretations to the monarch's cypher". Utter rubbish; that is akin to paying with a home-made "own-style-of" banknote!

 

[WesternLancer]

EDIT: having found no information about the "rogue" G R font on my usual website sources, I tried an AI approach...
- "Hinton Ampner is a Ludlow design box". Errr, no it isn't.
- "Early George V post boxes had the king's cypher with ornate entwined G R letters". No they didn't - and his cypher wasn't.
- Some foundries added their own flourishes or interpretations to the monarch's cypher". Utter rubbish; that is akin to paying with a home-made "own-style-of" banknote!

a good edit there!

 

[weepingwillowb]

Some of the photos I took today. First was taken outside Kendal Post Office, and the lamp box is at Stott Park, not too far from Lakeside railway station (Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway).

 

[DelW]

I forgot to post a picture of the Easter topper on my local box (taken a couple of weeks ago).

Its creator was just about to remove it, and the box has been bare since. She said that she didn't yet have a particular theme in mind for a new one ...



Apologies for the intrusive background, I couldn't get a shot without trees behind it.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Top toppers, @weepingwillowb and @DelW
That Easter one, complete with fabric "tree", is wonderful.
That topper, covering the parcel-post box's required solar panel, will be lucky to atay!

 

[weepingwillowb]

Top toppers, @weepingwillowb and @DelW
That Easter one, complete with fabric "tree", is wonderful.
That topper, covering the parcel-post box's required solar panel, will be lucky to atay!

It wasn't there three weeks ago. I'll keep an eye on it, see what happens.

 

[chipbury]

Holt near Bradford on Avon.
Photo’s of fire engine box topper.

 

[Sun Chariot]

That has to be one of the best knit toppers I've yet seen; and intricately-sized to fit onto a lamp box. Brilliant! Many thanks for taking and sharing the photos, @chipbury

 

[weepingwillowb]

Holt near Bradford on Avon.
Photo’s of fire engine box topper.

Wow! That's brilliant. Thanks for sharing it with us.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 5 May 2026 ==

An 'anonymous' pillar box outside Bare Post Office, north end of Morecambe.

 

[Sun Chariot]

Thanks - another great find @weepingwillowb Ever since @WesternLancer posted an "Anonymous", very early in this thread, I've searched for one here deep south. I have yet to find one!