So much a part of our streets that we tend to take them for granted, the bright red free-standing pillar box is still a unique feature of Britain. Introduced in 1853 - in green but painted crimson from 1874 - the ruling monarch’s cypher is the best guide to their age. London’s first was at the corner of Fleet Street and Farringdon Street.
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Pillar Boxes
Victoria: 1837-1901
The VR of Victoria decorates the first pillar boxes, first seen in London in 1855, 15 years after the first postage stamps. Post Office surveyor Anthony Trollope (later a noted author) came up with the idea but the most famous early design is this hexagonal Penfold, named after the architect who designed it in 1866.
High Street Kensington W8
Tube: High Street Kensington
Anonymous 1879-1887
In 1879, Derby’s Handyside foundry cast a new set of round boxes but left off the royal cipher. They were also notorious for letters getting stuck under the rim. This so-called ‘Anonymous’ box was replaced with a new design in 1887 when the words ‘Post Office’ were added with a lowered postal slot.
Brompton Road SW3
Tube: Knightsbridge
George V: 1910-1936
The mystery of George V is why there is no ‘V” in his cypher. In 1924 oval enamel signs were added to some boxes pointing to the nearest post office. Much subject to vandalism and now valuable collectors items, there are few such signs left in the wild. In 1930, King Edward Street saw the first blue airmail box.
Prince Of Wales Road NW5
Tube: Kentish Town
Edward VIII: 1936
The abdication of Edward VIII left few pillar boxes in his name as, although 161 were made, most were vandalised or had the cypher ground off. There are perhaps 15 left in London. Every pillar box made has a unique key, meaning a postman has to carry a large bunch - note how it scores older boxes.
Great North Road N2
Tube: East Finchley
Edward VII: 1901-1910
About 6 per cent of UK boxes have the ER VII cypher. The main change in this design was putting the posting slot in the door to stop mail getting caught up in the top of the box. The aperture was now fairly rainproof, and this same design continued through the reigns of George V and George VI to the present day.
Kennington Lane SE11
Tube: Vauxhall
Elizabeth II: 1952-present
The ‘National Standard K’ box was designed in 1978 by Tony Gibbs. Modern materials were studied but cast iron remains the best choice for durability. With no cap, the cipher is also recessed, so the boxes can be rolled without damage. This first one was put outside the Royal Albert Hall in 1979.
Prince Consort Road SW7
Tube: South Kensington
Elizabeth II: 1952-present
The 50 year reign of Queen Elizabeth means that more than half the UK’s 115,000 boxes bear the ER cypher and there are many different styles. The division into ‘First’ and ‘Second Class’ mail dates this one after 1968, though it is well before the rebranding from ‘Post Office’ to ‘Royal Mail’ in 1991.
Hyde Park W8
Tube: South Kensington
George VI: 1936-1952
George VI’s time is notable only for some changes to the design of lampboxes. Lamp boxes are attached to lampposts or even embedded in a wall, though there are different wall box designs specifically for that. A pillar box is a freestanding box. A letter box is properly a slot for mail, as in our front doors.
Vauxhall Street SE11
Tube: Vauxhall
Victoria: Vertical Slot
Fluted and with a vertical slot, this 19th-century design is a very early Victorian pillar box. And it’s easy to see where the name ‘pillar’ came from with this fluted Doric style. One of only ten survivors of the 1856 design, there are - sadly - none in London itself.
High Street, Eton
Rail: Windsor & Eton
