While in the pre-put up box period, you'll find two primary ways of offering a letter; senders are going to be necessitated to take their mail on your Receiving Household, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, gathering article throughout the community. As a way to differentiate himself, also to make his existence known, the Bellman dons a uniform and ring a bell.
It what food stuff was in 1852 the suggestion of highway-aspect packing containers ultimately grew to become a fact, using a demo proposed with the Channel Islands. A few Solid-iron pillar containers were being put in on Jersey to try out The brand new technique.
The achievements While using the experiment resulted in one more four being create on Guernsey, certainly one of which now varieties portion within the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter containers then started showing around the mainland by 1853.
Nonetheless, there was Plainly as but no common pillar box style that we have already been currently familiar. Structure and manufacture was on the discretion of neighborhood authorities, plus it was in 1859 that attempts ended up meant to standardise the structures.
Horizontal slits took over as being the favoured selection in excess of vertical kinds, and took more than as norm in letterbox layout. More enhancements upon the key bundled the addition through the protruding cap to defend the contents during the things.
As of 1859, this area ended up getting to be offered by 50 % sizes; a higher and wider size for extremely populated places, as well as a more compact Edition for elsewhere. Nonetheless, the standardised pillar containers here failed to acquire universal acclaim. It was against the backdrop for these criticism how the Liverpool Particular was formulated.
This prompted the Publish Office (opened in 1861) to build A further common letter box in 1866. Once more, this was not simply a big good results and so, One more design arrived 1879. This closing design and style can be the a person that we are already informed about nowadays. It absolutely was two yrs in advance of this how the iconic crimson colour Along with the put up packing containers became an ordinary feature.
Right before this time, chosen colour alternative was inexperienced so as to blend in using the environmentally friendly British pastures. Nevertheless, following a barrage of problems how the structures were being to tough to Find because of their camouflage, it Completely was agreed that shiny red was the best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for around 10 decades.
For the people today particularly, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the ability for sending and receiving mail with ease. Aside from outsized parcel supply, folks had been afforded accessibility to your shipping and delivery support hardly ever right before witnessed in Excellent Britain.