Survey Data
Reg No
50080944
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social, Technical
Original Use
Post box
In Use As
Post box
Date
1880 - 1890
Coordinates
314970, 232669
Date Recorded
11/11/2013
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding cast-iron pillar post box, erected c.1885, having domed cap and fluted neck. Framed collection notice beneath moulded frame of letter slot. Maker's insignia to moulded base.
Appraisal
Manufactured by A. Handyside & Co of Derry and London, this post box is a notable example of late nineteenth-century mass-produced cast-iron work. It may originally have had the cipher of Queen Victoria on the door, although in the early years of manufacture of cylindrical post boxes (1879-87) this was not used. These are referred to as anonymous boxes. It is an attractive piece of street furniture, enlivened by elegant fluted and moulded detailing, and an important reminder of the role the postal service in communications throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.