Contents
Lamp box history
Pillar box history
Telephone kiosks

Boxes in detail:
Lamp boxes
Pillar boxes
Wall boxes

Boxes in Nottingham:
VR pillar boxes
Edward VII pillar boxes

Sources of information
Woodward home page

Introduction

This site contains a small sample of pictures taken by me over the last thirty years. My interest started quite by chance when as part of a photographic study of Nottingham I came across an old pillar box from the reign of Queen Victoria which I mistook to be rare. Later I discovered that these old boxes are located all over the country.

Many old letter boxes have been removed from service due to wear and tear or because their narrow posting apertures (4" in some cases) were no longer suitable for modern envelopes. English Heritage have listed a number of old pillar boxes as Grade II listed buildings, especially Penfold boxes (left), and some wall boxes have attained protection by being sited in the wall of a listed building. Many redundant boxes have been donated to local museums, taking pride of place in replica street scenes, and a small number of reproduction Penfolds have been sited in cities or towns where regeneration projects have been undertaken. Thankfully this collective action will ensure the preservation of these iconic items of street furniture.

The site also includes a brief history of telephone kiosks, while a further link looks in detail at old letter boxes in Nottingham. For more information please select one of the links on the left.

Early pillar box - 1852	VR wall box - 1857	VR lamp box -1896