Pillar boxes
The BPMA's letter box collection includes over 50 pillar boxes. It reflects their history from one of the first boxes trialled in the UK to modern designs and prototypes. It includes rarities such as boxes from the short reign of Edward VIII but also more common types of boxes.
It depicts the significant variations in pillar box design in the years following their introduction and the evolution to the standard red, cylindrical box first used in 1879 that has today become such a well-known British icon.
Here are four examples of pillar boxes in our collection:
Channel Island Box, 1853, accession number: OB1996.653
This pillar box was originally from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It was one of the first pillar boxes to be introduced in the UK as an experiment in the Channel Islands in
1852-3. Anthony Trollope, who at the time worked for the General Post Office oversaw this trial. The success of these boxes triggered the introduction of pillar
boxes on the Mainland later in 1853.
This box was made locally of cast iron by John Vaudin. It came to us from Bristol. There, it had been standing outside the South Western Postal Region Headquarters since it was presented to the British Post Office by the Guernsey Post Office Board in 1969.
It is very rare as it is one of two left surviving; the other is still in use in Union Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey.
London Ornate Box, 1857-1859, accession number: OB1994.26
This box, first introduced in 1857, is highly ornate. It was designed in collaboration with the Government's Department of Science and Arts in an attempt to make pillar boxes more attractive. Fifty of these boxes were produced.
Manufactured by Smith and Hawkes, the earliest versions of these boxes, including this one, even incorporated a compass on top in case you got lost when posting your letter! They were made a foot shorter than earlier boxes. As well as being used in London they were also sent to Dublin, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester.
In the original design, the aperture was missed off this box and so was added later in the roof. It was found that this positioning, however, meant a lot of rain water entered the box and so a flap was added to prevent this.
An economy version of this box was produced without all the elaborate mouldings for use outside the major cities. The BPMA hold two other boxes like this one, one of which is painted red.
Penfold Pillar Box, 1872-79, accession number: OB1994.30
This box is perhaps the most popular type of pillar box ever introduced. It was named after its designer, J W Penfold who was an architect.
First erected in 1866, this box was hexagonal in shape with the top decorated by acanthus leaves and balls. It was manufactured by Cochrane, Grove and Company in three different sizes. The Penfold pillar box continued to be manufactured for thirteen years but with fifteen modifications to the design.
This particular box is an example of the larger size of the second modification. This modification lowered the aperture after a complaint from the public that letters were getting stuck in the top. Surviving examples of this type are very rare.
Penfold pillar boxes can still be seen on the streets today. Because of its popularity, in 1990 a replica Penfold was introduced and erected in designated conservation areas, places of historic interest and tourist attractions.
The BPMA holds three other Penfold pillar boxes, two other originals, but red in colour, and one replica.
'Anonymous' Pillar Box, 1883-1887, accession number: OB1994.35
This iconic cylindrical pillar box was first introduced in 1879 but with a few minor modifications, is still in use today. The box pictured was one of the first of its type and was known as the 'Anonymous' box as the royal cypher, crown and the
words 'Post Office' had been accidentally omitted.
The oversight was not corrected until 1887. Since this time all boxes have featured the cypher of the current monarch. In Scotland, however, boxes nowadays feature only the Scottish Crown as Queen Elizabeth II is only the first Queen Elizabeth of Scotland.
These boxes came in two sizes, type A (large) and type B (small). The box pictured is a B type box but we also have an Anonymous type A in the collection. This box is an example of one manufactured between 1883 and 1887, when the aperture was lowered after complaints from the public that letters were trapped in the top. Surviving examples of these types are not as common as those with the higher aperture.
