Loughborough's letterboxes, Pt 1

September seems to have flown away in no time at all, and left me wondering just what exactly has happened. I mentioned in an earlier post about some of the events that took place following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and there has been much discussion in the media about what happens with coins and banknotes, and postage stamps, which carry a picture of the queen's head.

While I was out shopping the other day, I happened to notice a headline in one of the national daily newspapers, about the royal ciphers that are on [most] postboxes across the country (and in other countries like Guernsey etc.). I've always been interested in postboxes, and have been a member of the Letter Box Study Group for many years, so it had not occurred to me that there might be any mystery behind the inscription and wording that appears on the boxes. 

I've had a look through my photograph collection, and see that over the years I've taken many pictures of the postboxes in Loughborough, but not of all of them. So, I went out last week and took some pics of one specific postbox to share with you.

But first, perhaps I should say that the initials - sometimes intertwined, sometimes not - represent the initials of the monarch who was on the throne at the time the postbox was installed in its position. So, EIIR represents Queen Elizabeth II (where E is the initial of her first name, and R is for 'regina', meaning Queen, and II indicating that she was the second queen who had the name Elizabeth). You can see a similar cipher on the uniforms of the Beefeaters (Yeoman of the Guard). 

Briefly, you will find the initials VR on postboxes installed during the reign of Queen Victoria (reigned 1837-1901); EVIIR on those placed when Edward VII was on the throne between 1901 and 1910, where in this case, the R is for 'rex' or king. The cipher for George V, however, who reigned from 1910-1936, is simply GR. Edward VIII was only on the throne for 325 days, so there are not many postboxes in existence that bear the initials EVIIIR.

George VI reigned from 1936 until 1952, and postboxes installed during this period bear the cipher GVIR. Once Queen Elizabeth was crowned, new postboxes carried the EIIR cipher, and now that King Charles III has taken the throne, any new postboxes created will be identified with CIIIR.

Postboxes came into being in 1852, but there was no standardised design until 1859, and even then that standardised design was regularly changed. Some of the early postboxes were made by Andrew Handyside, whose ironfounding firm was based in Derby, but the first standardised ones, between 1859-1866, were made by a firm called Cochrane, probably at their Woodside works near Dudley. Cochrane also made the distinctive Penfold boxes, designed by architect J.W. Penfold, between 1866-1879.

Anyway, back to the specific postbox which is the subject of this blog! Our postbox was created between 1879 and 1887, and in the year 2000, there were 300 of these boxes still standing. These boxes are known as anonymous boxes, because they do not carry any royal cipher! The initials on these should have been VR, but the Post Office, who were responsible for the design, admitted there had been an oversight. These boxes were created by Handyside, at his Britannia Works in Derby. Despite not having any cipher on the front, the boxes do carry the name of the company around the base, although in many cases the box has been re-painted so many times, that the embossed lettering is difficult, and in some cases impossible to read.

Here are some pictures of our anonymous postbox which can be found at the mini roundabout that links Park Road, as it leaves Royland Road, to Beacon Road.

Handyside Derby appears on the base

The top of the postbox

Posting aperture and collection plate

Well, that's one Loughborough postbox covered, only another 60ish to go!!!

Here's a link to Part 2 of the Loughborough letterbox blogposts.

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posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

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Dyer, Lynne (2022). Loughborough's letterboxes Part 1. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2022/10/loughboroughs-letterboxes-pt-1.html [Accessed 2 October 2022]

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