Celebrating 100+ EIIR Pillar Boxes!

I have now located and photographed over one hundred Elizabeth II Post boxes! Being the latest Monarch there are very few different designs.

Pillar Boxes: The main types being Type A Pillar boxes. Sometimes you do find some gems such as a Type G (or ‘Square’) Pillar box or a Type K which are of the classic eighties modular design, these are often found in council and industrial estates.

In my opinion the Type K is one of the most good looking Pillar boxes I have seen but unfortunately the locks were badly designed and often corroded so the Type K was discontinued in 2001 and replaced with ‘modern’ versions of the traditional Type A Pillar box. The difference to the original being the far larger aperture (10 inches).

Lamp Boxes: These are perhaps as common now as the Pillar box due to the decline in writing letters thus not needing the much larger Pillar box. The Lamp box has had three different variations over it’s lifetime, the 1897 Pattern, 1935 Pattern and the 1940 Pattern (which was replaced by the similar 1977 Pattern). Of course only the 1940 and 1977 Patterns were produced with the EIIR Cipher. Being so many Lamp Boxes these days means they very quickly get boring to look at which is why I would rather search the countryside for a decent 1897 or 1935 Pattern Lamp Boxes (which didn’t have the EIIR Cipher).

Wall Boxes: There are relatively few Elizabeth II Wall Boxes due to them being discontinued in 1980. This means there are a good lot of older Wall Boxes especially from Victoria. The decline of writing letters meant that the Wall Box was not needed as it’s needs could be met by a Lamp Box or Pillar Box. These often appear in the walls of Train Station buildings.

Click here to see my full collection of photographs of Post Boxes!