It's hard to imagine that post boxes can endanger health, but a friend of mine found himself very roughly 're-educated' by Red Guards when he tried to obtain a photograph for me of a Beijing Post Office at the height of Mao's Cultural Revolution. I have been amazed at the trouble friends take to acquire pictures of boxes, often from the most obscure and distant places. I now have photographs from over 60 countries, but it is seeking out interesting examples in remote and not so remote, parts of the British Isles that proves fascinating.
Many people believe we invented the metal letter box, as well as the postage stamp, but this is only true about the latter. Street collection boxes in parts of Europe long pre-date the first British Isles pillar boxes set up in 1852 in St Peter Port, Guernsey. However, it is the familiar red boxes that have been imitated around the world and were first set up in our streets in 1859. A few 'Penfold' hexagonal post boxes, named after their designer, can still be seen in some parts of the country, but mostly only in museums. I am with those enthusiasts who claim that this box has never been surpassed for style. Sadly this design lasted only 13 years as it was difficult to empty. The familiar cylindrical boxes remained more or less unchanged until 1968, when all sorts of designs have been introduced from'upturned guardsmen' to the square boxes which soon show signs of wear and tear. These don't appeal to anyone and have the untrustworthy look of vending machines.
We have become very conscious of the historic value of local post boxes and many a battle is being fought in villages and town to keep the Post Office from removing old boxes and replacing them with more 'efficient' ones. Members of the Letter Box Study Group give legal advice about how to defeat officialdom. Being aware of the presence of an historic box in your area is the first step in ensuring it stays there and it is now possible to have some protected by preservation orders.
We have had six monarchs since the introduction of the letter box in the British Isles. The trick is to seek out rare and interesting examples and most enthusiasts find the Victorian ones with their distinctive VR the most appealing. These boxes have a remarkable survival record, having been a fixture on our streets for nearly a century and a half, remain in working order and are still easy to maintain. Their only problem is that most have very small apertures as they were only designed to take letters. The main threat to the boxes are cars knocking them down, as they tend to be sited close to the kerb.
What all enthusiasts want to do is to 'discover' an Edward VIII box. Only about a score are thought to have been installed in the country. Two exist in Leicestershire and can be found outside the sub post-offices in Hugglescote and Earl Shilton.
Not all boxes are the pillar sort. Some are installed in walls or attached to posts and have a high survival rate. They are also picturesque and, at Christmas see how many cards arrive through your door which feature a snow-obscured, robin-perched pillar box or other similar design.
But be warned; looking at post boxes to determine their date can become addictive and one is not advised to try to do it from a car. When my three children were little we passed the time on tedious car journeys by playing spot the letter box. Small prizes were awarded for the most historic finds and, to this day they say they cannot pass a letter box without looking for the cypher indicating the monarch in whose reign it was installed.
There are interesting boxes in the Kibworth area. The only Victorian box (a wall one) can be found at Laughton and a lone example of an Edward VII box at West Langton, although I would be happy to be told otherwise as it would mean that others were out there looking. If you see a box with the cypher GR it's George V as nobody expected another George to come to the throne.
Today more people are conscious of historic 'street furniture'. Maybe we take our post boxes for granted and accept without question these brightly painted red metal objects in our streets or even in the greenest setting. They remain a colourful part of our heritage and need our protection.
© David Still 1994
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© Kibworth & District Chronicle 1998