I say ‘matters philatelic’ though, in
truth, this post is not about stamps but rather about the objects into which we place our stamped articles
in order to have them collected and whisked away to their destinations, i.e.
the various types of post and pillar boxes I spotted in Cornwall – and one
phone box, for good measure, for no good reason other than the fact that I
liked it. So, jumping right in ...
This first box dates from the reign of
George V, so would have been installed some time between 1910 and 1936. Though
George V’s post and pillar boxes only used the initials GR, they can be
distinguished from the later George VI’s by the mere fact that they don’t show
a regnal number. This box is slotted into the front wall of the Post Office at
St Mawes but it appears to be front opening so mail collection would presumably
be by a P.O. van driver rather than by local Post Office staff.
Sadly, this wall box in Porthscatho is now
out of service, and the interior of the building to which it is attached is
empty. A little googling resulted in the information that the quay-side Post
Office at Porthscatho was closed and the services re-assigned to a local shop in
early 2015, despite a significant protest by the local community. This box also
dates from George V’s era but is a different design to the one in St Mawes: the
king’s initials are placed lower on the box and are more prominent.
Next up is this typical example of a George
V pillar box that I found just uphill from the old harbour at Newquay. As I
have written previously, pillar box design was initially quite random but was
standardised from 1859, though there have been many modifications to the basic
design over the years. And, of course, as the kings and queens have changed, so
have the royal initials on the front of the boxes.
These boxes are made of
cast-iron so, as long as they’re given a regular coat of paint, they will last
a long time, as this box bears witness.
This lamp box (those designed to be fitted to lamp posts or on their own
free-standing pedestal) takes the prize as the newest box I’ve ever seen. It
looked like it had never been used.
To be honest, the box looked very incongruous
as it was located in Mevagissey, one of Cornwall ’s
gorgeous historic fishing villages, where I would have expected to see much
older boxes being preserved and used.
However, I may have found a clue to why
this new box is there: I found photos online (from the St Austell Voice, issue
545, dated 28 September 2016) showing contractors illegally removing a post box
from the Grade-II listed former Post Office building (illegal as they did not
having planning consent to do this) and a story about the catastrophe on
another website.
Perhaps this modern lamp box is the replacement. A sad tale
indeed!
My last two boxes were found in the
historic village
of Tintagel . No, they don’t
date from the time of King Arthur, but not only is there a very nice George VI wall
box (at right; note the king’s regnal number subtly placed between his scripted initials,
which is how you know this is George the sixth not the fifth), there is also a
wall box dating from the reign of Queen Victoria (above), not something you see very
often these days.
This looks to be one of the earliest wall box designs as it
doesn’t have a pediment to prevent rain entering the mail slot (an early design
flaw), though it does have that rather odd-looking rectangular attachment along
the top (perhaps a modern-day modification). As you may be able to read, the
box can only be used during the summer months.
But wait, there’s more. Not only is this a
wonderful VR wall box, this box is set into the wall of Tintagel’s Old Post
Office, a building that is now owned and administered by the National Trust.
As
you can probably tell from that wavy roof line, this building is old: it is
believed to date from the 14th century, beginning life as a humble farmhouse
and gradually being added to over the centuries to become a manor house. One
room of the house was used as the village post office from around the 1870s and
summertime visitors can still see that room, with its old post office
equipment. Obviously, that’s yet another reason for me to return to Tintagel.
And last but not least, a fun addition to
this post – a charming old phone box I saw in St Ives. I couldn’t see if it was
still functioning but I liked the addition off the hanging plant, clock and
flag.
Quite recently I read in a newspaper
article (The Telegraph, 3
January 2016) that ‘even in a country (England) famous
for its eccentric past-times, photographing and cataloguing post boxes is the
most niche and inexplicable of all hobbies’. Obviously, I cannot possibly agree
but what do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment