Queen Victoria post boxes
Contents
Overview
This page depicts examples of Victorian era (VR) post boxes in the UK. Queen Victoria reigned from 20th June 1837 to 22nd January 1901, but the first wayside UK postbox was installed in 1853, based on a principle that originated in the Channel Islands in 1852. The photos were taken during my various walks, from the Home Counties and London.
Examples
Bedford
Pillar box along Shakespeare Road, Bedford; photos taken on pylon hunt 22, 14/10/2023.
The manufacturer appears to be Handyside (who were Derby-based), and appears to give a location of “Derby & London”.
Wheathampstead
I spotted this VR wall box late at night when it was too dark to take decent photographs of it:
Thus, I made a point to come back to it, giving rise to post box hunt 1, 26/12/2023.
Decades of paint jobs has obscured the maker’s name but it is almost certainly W T Allen & Co, London.
Lower Gustard Wood
This was one of the discoveries on post box hunt 1; like the other examples in Wheathampstead and Bedford, I had passed by before without noticing.
This is a different design of VR wall box, and is installed into the outer wall of a house named Guelders. Unlike more common examples that are flush with the wall, this one protrudes out from it.
Kettering
Kettering station features an “anonymous” post box: one without a royal cypher. Apparently the cylindrical pillar box was introduced in 1879, but the royal cypher and the “POST OFFICE” inscription were not added until 1887, when they had been “produced for five years”. (Not my maths, and how did it take so many years for anyone to notice the error?) These early pillar boxes were manufactured by Handyside, as can be just about made out in this example.
This was the only interesting find on post box hunt 6, 24th February 2024. It was worth some better photos; maybe another time …