Talk:Pillar box

Sturdy-looking

Geez, they're so ornate and sturdy-looking compared to American mailboxes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.210.241.6 (talk • contribs) 20:20, February 21, 2007

That is because they are made of cast iron not thin sheel metal, and about 24" - 36", depending on the model, is buried in the ground. ww2censor 05:53, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Wowsers

I have no idea how I got here, but this article seems like it could be featured. Comradeash 05:43, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

I just arrived via Random Article -- and I agree.HG | Talk 21:29, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

Type F

I vaguely remember an odd-looking box in Colmore Row, Birmingham (as mentioned in the text) but can't find a pic anywhere - could someone add one, or at least point me to one so I can see if it was a Type F I remember? 86.132.140.13 23:29, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

Is this not a double version of the F type? I will have to look up some references to confirm? ww2censor 01:19, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

Royal Cipher

Someone should mention the different ensigna on the boxes representing the king/queen of the time. g —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.104.24.123 (talk) 19:40, August 26, 2007 (UTC)

Rephrased slightly per your suggestion. ww2censor 20:49, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Could someone add a link to this in the Scotland section? https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/history/edinburgh-post-box-war-saw-24155234 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C6:B808:7701:8FF:8766:772:6891 (talk) 16:55, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

Mice

Wasn't there a point when couriers put mice into these boxes to destroy the mail, in fear of losing business? I vaguely remember reading it somewhere, I think. Alx xlA 23:41, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

I have no recollection of ever hearing this. What time-period are you suggestion? ww2censor 00:48, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

That's one huge letter box

The picture of the carcass of the George VI box being removed from the ground makes it look about 100 feet tall.Annatto (talk) 11:37, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

True, but that is what they look like because about 3' is buried in the ground when in-situ. ww2censor (talk) 16:12, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

Air Mail

A rare Air Mail box in original colour scheme, now at the Isle of Wight Postal Museum

In 1932, the Air Mail service commenced in Great Britain with special services operated by Imperial Airways. To facilitate easy collection of air mail and its speedy onward transmission, a fleet of special vehicles and dedicated postboxes were introduced. To distinguish them from regular post boxes, they were painted Air Force blue, with prominent royal blue signage. The service ran successfully until the outbreak of war in 1939, when it was suspended. Although Air Mail re-commenced after the War, the postboxes and vehicles were no longer identifiable, as Air Mail could now be posted anywhere.

The above section is a bit incorrect as Airmail in GB began in late 1919 with commercial airmail flights to the continent that continued and expanded throughout the 1920s. The date cited may be correct for Imperial Airways or for the use of the Blue Boxes, but it is not the date airmail commenced in GB. --Mike Cline (talk) 10:58, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:P&T (Ireland).png

The image Image:P&T (Ireland).png is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

• That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
• That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --02:37, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

First National Standard in Havant?

According to this article, there is an example of the First National Standard Pillar box in Havant. Does anyone know where this is, please? I may take a photograph of it and upload it here as proof of its existance so that it can be cited. UNI^|SOUTH 10:42, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

I am certain that the LBSG catalogue is the best source for this info. I will see what I can find. ww2censor (talk) 15:18, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Possible Copyvio

Following the rewrite in May 2007, it would appear that sections of this article are now a copyright violation.

For example the paragraph on anonymous boxes is a verbatim copy from The Colne Valley Postal History Museum. If we have permission for this or it is written by the same original author that's OK, but I don't see any indication that that is so. -- Solipsist (talk) 07:37, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

Actually that revision was done in cooperation with Kitmaster who is the owner of The Colne Valley Postal History Museum and as discussed here. We used his sandbox User:Kitmaster/postbox for this work but that page has since been deleted but unfortunately as you are not an admin, you cannot view the deleted page. I know that he has not been active on the wiki for quite a while, but if you have an issue, I may be able to contact him offline to affirm his writing the text for wikipedia also. ww2censor (talk) 15:16, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

Color

There is a color of Manic Panic hair dye called "Pillar Box Red" apparently named after this noun" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.16.7.181 (talk • contribs) 03:44, July 9, 2006

There is a wine called "Pillar Box Red" from Australia (which has many good reviews.) "Pillar Box Red" is also referred to as a color: "..a traditional English home, with a small rose garden at the front of the property and a door painted in bright pillar-box red." (Affinity Bridge by George Mann p 125). Looking at the pictures I think it is the same color that in the US is called "fire-engine red". The term "Pillar Box Red" seems to be used for any bright red color, as in the wine and hair dye.--Bibblebabble (talk) 16:38, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

Slot size

Could/should the different slot dimensions be included? This can prove critical when trying to post larger letters or packets into certain boxes. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:13, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Lack of inline referencing in history section

The history section is very detailed and interesting, but it unfortunately isn't clear which bits of it correspond to which sources as there are very few inline citations. This makes me question the Class B rating to an extent as well, as I assume the material is backed up by one of the sources listed at the end, but it would be difficult to verify as the reader would have to skim through multiple books. In particular statements like

The committee designed a very ornate box festooned with Grecian-style decoration but, in a major oversight, devoid of any posting aperture, which meant they were hewn out of the cast iron locally, destroying the aesthetic of the box.

should really have an inline citation as it is highly WP:LIKELY to be challenged. User:GKFX^talk 00:42, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

No Carcass Photos!!!!

The article mentions the carcass in passing, but it's very sad that there are no photos like this one: https://twitter.com/fecklessfox100/status/1522902283511545856 Isaac Rabinovitch (talk) 03:18, 8 May 2022 (UTC)

Isaac Rabinovitch This image File:Installing a postbox, Canal Walk, Swindon (2 of 4) - geograph.org.uk - 1749745.jpg in the article looks like what you want. Please see WP:TILDE. ww2censor (talk) 22:00, 7 June 2022 (UTC)

Scottish Reference

I'm not a wiki editor, but there's a 'where/when' request for a reference on the Scottish section - would this do? https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/history/protesters-blew-up-edinburghs-first-25000095 92.237.159.77 (talk) 08:20, 15 September 2022 (UTC)

Proposed external link: PostboxMap

I would like to propose adding PostboxMap to the External links section of Pillar box.

• Link: https://postboxmap.co.uk/
• What it is: A crowdsourced, moderated map of UK postboxes with photographs, royal cyphers (reign), form (pillar, wall, lamp, Ludlow, etc.) and browse by town or reign.
• Why it may fit: The article already links to the Letter Box Study Group (taxonomy and history) and Royal Mail utility tools in the body and references. PostboxMap fills a different gap: a public interactive map with heritage fields and stable per-box URLs for researchers. The LBSG directory is not publicly browsable in the same way.
• Suggested wording for External links:

  PostboxMap – crowdsourced map of UK postboxes with photos, royal cyphers and browse by location or reign

PostboxMap is intended to complement, not replace, the Letter Box Study Group, Royal Mail, and OSM-oriented tools such as Dracos and Post Hoc. It is also documented on the OpenStreetMap Wiki as a UK heritage/cypher cross-check after on-the-ground survey (not for bulk coordinate import).

Related on-site pages (not proposing as separate external links): identification guide, guide to UK postboxes.

If editors prefer, this could go under "Further reading" instead, or wait until independent coverage exists. Happy to reword or withdraw.

Disclosure: I maintain PostboxMap.

PBM26 (talk) 16:09, 1 July 2026 (UTC)