Crosby post boxes: delivering an unusual angle on local history

Over the past two weeks we embarked on an unusual expedition to document the post boxes in our local area and do some research into the history of these cultural landmarks. We thought this would be an interesting and tangible way to learn more about our town and its history. Along the way we encountered 39 red-faced fellows. Notable mentions included a lonely village wall box, a rebellious black box, an ironworks forging the way for the Industrial Revolution, a dateable Edwardian model, and even a pillar that appears to have been moved to the other side of the road. We hope you enjoy accompanying us on our casual meander, and that you might be compelled to take a peek at your local box next time you’re out on a wander. Let's begin with a bit of post box history!

 

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BRITISH POSTAL SERVICE

Penny Black.

FIRST CLASS!

In a world before online ordering, e-mail, and real-time video calls, writing letters was the only way to communicate with friends and family. The cost of sending a letter from Britain could be expensive as it depended upon the distance travelled, the length of the letter concerned, and even had to be paid for by the recipient! In 1840, the Uniform Penny Post - brainchild of Sir Rowland Hill - changed all this. It standardised postage costs at one penny and introduced Victorians to the world's first pre-paid adhesive postage stamp - the Penny Black.

Britain's oldest working post box - Holwell, Dorset.

NO POST ON SUNDAYS

Now people could afford to pay for postage, but many ordinary folk were still miles from their nearest post office. Channel Islanders in particular faced problems with Royal Mail steamboats as they relied on weather and tides. In 1852, Anthony Trollope was posted to the islands of Guernsey and Jersey to ascertain how this problem might be solved. Inspired by contemporary Parisian 'letter-receiving pillars', he proposed the introduction of similar post collection methods in Britain. Nine were installed in the Channel Islands that year and in 1853, the mainland followed suit. Britain's postal system today is little changed, and the humble red pillar box has become an intrinsic part of British culture.

ANATOMY OF A POSTBOX

The most obvious way to approximate the age of a post box is by its royal cipher - the identifying mark of a reigning monarch. Here is a handy table so you can spot some yourself.

From The Postal Museum website.

L to R: Green Penfold outside Brecon Museum, George V Type A & Edward VII Type B (Crosby).

Post boxes were originally painted 'bronze green', a colour in vogue in the mid-nineteenth century. Unfortunately, being trendy came with a price as these boxes blended in with garden hedges. There are stories that they were camouflaged so well that residents couldn't find their nearest letter box! From 1874, post boxes began to be painted red instead. 

There were many experimental designs in the early production of post boxes. Of the early designs, the most famous was the 'Penfold', produced between 1866-79. These were hexagonal in design and heavily ornate. About 20 of the original Penfold boxes still exist today in the UK and are protected as Grade II listed buildings. From 1879, cylindrical post boxes became the norm and came in two sizes - A (wider) and B (thinner). Generally, if you wrap your arms around a modern post box and your hands don't touch, it's a type A. We would encourage you to feel the difference in your local letter box by giving it a hug!

CROSBY POST BOXES

1. THE BLACK BOX

Decommissioned GeorgeVI lampbox, Crosby.

Have you ever thought about what happens to a post box at the end of its life? This George VI lampbox we spotted in a front garden is a good example. Stripped of their red livery and often sealed, decommissioned boxes are left in situ. In some areas, the steadfast letter box, forged in cast iron, may be the only remaining piece of the Victorian street. Through noninterference, these stubborn relics can provide a glimpse into the past communities to whom they belonged at the time of their installation. 

Curiously, this lampbox appears to still be privately used by the residents as it is unsealed. We joked that postmen might get confused when delivering letters to this house!

2. WHY DID THE POST BOX CROSS THE ROAD?

Great Crosby Windmill c.1960. Credit: Francis Frith.

Tucked away in the corner of a 1960s photograph of the Great Crosby Windmill is a post box. Naturally, we were excited to match it to one of our own, but when we came to do this, noticed it was missing. However, to our delight, one stood directly across the street predating the photograph (Edward VII). Pondering the disappearance, we had an inkling the photographed box might have been moved. Cable TV manhole covers now line the pavement on Moor Lane and we considered this a possible explanation for the relocation of the post box. 

The retention of this pillar may be a small event historically, but it demonstrates a recognition for post boxes as part of the fabric of cultural history.  In modern times, post boxes have been canvases for public expression, being painted gold to commemorate 2012 Olympic and Paralympic gold medal winners, blue to thank the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic,  and most recently black to honour Black History Month 2020. So why did the post box cross the road? To allow for the installation of Cable TV? Or to keep in our peripheral an acknowledgement of the past? 

3. DATING YOUR EDWARDIAN POST BOX

L to R: Victorian, two Edward VII Type Bs (Crosby).

Since 1879 there has been little alteration to the form of the British post box. The final element of the familiar post boxes we see today came in 1904 when the door height increased, incorporating the aperture.  Whilst this detail might go unnoticed to the average pedestrian, it narrows down the age of an Edwardian postbox, since these were only produced between 1901 and 1910 (during the reign of Edward VII). 

 

As an example of this narrow dating window, we could pinpoint the centre box pictured to the period from 1901-1904 as the aperture was not yet part of the door. We delighted in conjuring up an image of fashionable Edwardian ladies in S-bend corsets posting letters, whilst farm labourers passed the new box and the Great Crosby Windmill on their way to the loamy pastures of Thornton!

4. WHO ON EARTH MAKES POST BOXES ANYWAY?

Carron Company logo.

Despite the fact that post boxes have been on our streets for over 150 years, only about two dozen companies have ever been contracted to manufacture British post boxes. After surveying Crosby, the most commonly found manufacturer was Carron Company, prompting us to explore them a bit further. 

Founded in 1759, the Scottish-based ironworks have manufactured everything from stoves, sewing machines, industrial lathes, radiators, car parts, short deck cannons, telephone boxes, and of course post boxes.  They were the first company to produce parts for James Watt's new commercial steam engine in 1776, instrumental in the Industrial Revolution. During the 1770s, the company began production of a new design of shorter cannon, the 'Carronade'.  By 1814, Carron were the largest ironworks in Europe, and their cannons were still widely used by the British Navy until the 1850s. Their solid reputation is the reason they were able to produce such a wide range of products from household furniture to early steam ships like Charlotte Dundas. Despite going into receivership in 1982, the company's successor Carron Phoenix still uses cannons in their logo! As part of their long-standing repertoire, Carron Company post boxes are a tangible legacy of the Industrial Revolution that can still be seen on British streets today. 

Clockwise from top left: Garden Roller advertisement from 1903, Carronade cannon aboard the HMS Victory in Portsmouth, drawing of James Watt's steam engine, Carron company employees making pillar boxes c. 50s/60s, company logo on a telephone box.

5. LITTLE CROSBY'S LONELY WALL BOX 

Little Crosby EII wall box

Featured in the Domesday Book, Little Crosby is a rural settlement eight miles north of Liverpool, noted as perhaps the oldest enduring Roman Catholic village in England. In 1901 it had a population of just 563.

The only post box we found in Little Crosby was an Elizabeth II wall box serving the small population. Since Royal Mail endeavours to retain post boxes in their original position wherever possible, we speculated that an old settlement like Little Crosby may have lost an earlier letter box, or previously never had its own.  Despite sifting through many archived photographs of the village, we have currently found no evidence of an earlier post box. The question of how Little Crosbeians posted their letters in the century before 1952 remains a mystery. 

Growing up in Crosby, it was surprising to us that we were unfamiliar with some of its ordinary objects.  Their stories are hidden in plain sight, despite being painted bright red. We really enjoyed exploring and researching our local area over the past few weeks and we hope you enjoyed a peer through a different lens. Whether post boxes are your thing or not, perhaps you might be inspired to look with fresh eyes at the objects you see and use every day, and posting a letter won't be such a chore!

Until next time,

The Anoraks

Further reading:

The Postal Museum, Letter Boxes

The Postal Museum, Rowland Hill's postal reforms

The Letter Box Study Group

Royal Mail and Historic England, Royal Mail Post Boxes

Heritage Calling, A Brief Introduction to the Post Box

Grace's Guide to British Industrial History, Carron Company

British History Online, Townships: Great Crosby [1907]