Manufactured by W. T. Allen & Co London (the
makers name is covered in multiple layers of paint, but is just discernible).
The Letter Box Study Group: Type B (33” high x 14” wide)
with plain ERVII Cypher (no serifs on VII) is designated WB89/iii.
Historic England: -
The roadside post box was introduced in Britain following the 1840
postal reform which provided for universal affordable postage. New adhesive
stamps made pre-payment of postage easy. However, letters usually had to be
taken to the nearest letter receiving office which could be miles away. This,
together with the growth in demand for postal services linked to
industrialisation and urbanisation, led to the need for many more convenient
places where stamped letters could be deposited. The novelist Anthony Trollope,
a General Post Office (GPO) official sent to Jersey to make recommendations,
provided a solution. He adopted a system used on the Continent of placing
locked cast-iron pillar boxes at the roadside and the provision of regular
collection times. His scheme began in the Channel Islands in 1852 and was
extended to the mainland in 1853.
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