A long search for the fast-disappearing pre-independence post and pillar boxes

A once elegant but now rusting pillar box from the reign of Edward VII close to the railway station in Bray, Co Wicklow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Patrick Comerford

For six years or more, I have occasionally taken photographs of old post boxes and pillar boxes that predate the formation of the Irish Free State and a separate Irish postal service in 1922.

They are spread throughout the country, from Co Mayo to Co Wexford, and from Co Louth to Co Wexford.

I have not gone in search of them with any purpose or method, so my collection of almost four dozen photographs, from eleven counties, is representative only of places I have visited in recent years, and of how alert I was on any particular day.

Most of these post boxes and pillar boxes are embellished with royal monograms. The simpler boxes inserted into walls, have plain ‘VR’ initials with crown insignias, while the stand-alone tubular pillar boxes often have the ‘VR’ initials in a cursive flourish, but despite the decorative approach have no crowns.

The initials become more elaborate in the calligraphic flourishes that adorned them during the reign of Edward VII, but they return to more simple fonts in the reign of George V reflecting not only the harsh times of World War I and the War of Independence but also the design and development of new typefaces for typography and printing that emphasised clarity and legibility.

The green post box, in various shapes and sizes, is a familiar sight on city streets and country roads throughout Ireland. But all the post boxes illustrated here were originally painted in Post Office Red, and the embossed crowns were painted in gold, as may have been the lettering.

The post box was introduced over 160 years ago by the novelist, Anthony Trollope, who worked for the Post Office in Ireland for several years. He wanted to make it easier for people to post their letters and make it unnecessary for them to have to wait for a post office to open.

The first boxes appeared on the streets of cities like Dublin, Belfast and Cork over 150 years ago and they were introduced to other towns and villages from the 19th century on. The big pillar boxes were soon joined by smaller boxes that fitted into walls and later by lamp boxes that were cheaper to make and could be attached to lamp and telegraph poles.

The first letter boxes were first put in place in 1855, when five boxes were erected in Belfast, Ballymena and Dublin. The first Dublin box was rectangular in shape and is now on display in the National Museum in Kildare Street, Dublin.

By early 1857, pillar boxes had been placed in many Irish cities. The Post Office went on to put wall boxes in place throughout the island, and the cylindrical boxes were introduced in March 1879. A new design was introduced in 1887, incorporating the royal cypher on the door and the words ‘Post Office’ on the collar below the rim of the roof.

Most of the early pillar boxes were painted dark bronze green throughout the United Kingdom, but in 1874 the Post Office decided to make pillar boxes more obvious by painting them a striking royal red. All the boxes illustrated here were originally painted in red, but after Independence the Irish Post Office changed their colour to green.

A number of these old post boxes remain in use today and they are an elegant feature in many towns and suburbs. But many are neglected, left to rust, blocked up, and in some cases the royal insignia has been wilfully razed or filed away.

They are an important element in the street architecture of Ireland, and it would be a shame if they were lost because of neglect or wanton abandon.

The reign of Queen Victoria:

These letter boxes date from 1887 to 1901:

Merrion Square, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin … the graffiti illustrates how many of these legacy pillar boxes are neglected (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Orwell Road, Rathgar (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Harrington Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2011)

Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin … this box is a state of abject neglect (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford 2013)

Tullow Street, Carlow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Killarney, Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2011)

Parliament Street, Kilkenny (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

Drogheda, Co Louth … the lid is partly broken, and the box needs careful attention (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)

Cong, Co Mayo … this box is rusting and neglected despite being in a popular tourist location associated with ‘The Quiet Man’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

The Bull Ring, Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

John Street, Wexford … set in the wall of private house, but all the worse for the weather (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Avoca, Co Wicklow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)

Seapoint Road, Bray, Co Wicklow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

The reign of Edward VII (1910-1910):

Burgh Quay, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Dame Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Kildare Street, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Merrion Square, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Rathgar Road, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Ashdale Road, Terenure, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Whitehall Road, Churchtown, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Pembroke Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Park Lane, Sandymount, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Foxrock, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Upper Main Street, Rush, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)

Kimmage Road, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Abbeyleix, Co Laois (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Kildimo, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Bettystown, Co Meath … this letter box, inserted in the boundary wall of a private house, is unique in having the words ‘Letters Only’ instead of ‘Post Office’ in (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Main Street, Gorey, Co Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

Close to the Friary, Wexford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

By the railway station in Bray, Co Wicklow … notice the sad accumulation of rust at the base (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Dublin Road, Bray, Co Wicklow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Rathdrum, Co Wicklow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Leitrim Place, Wicklow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2015)

The reign of George V (1910-1922):

The simplicity of the lettering on these boxes is enhanced by the royal ciphers. Although the boxes from the previous reign bore the initials EVIIR, these boxes bore the initials GR rather than GVR. It is almost like a premonition that an older order was passing that there would be no GVIR, or EVIIIR for that matter.

Near Annesley Bridge, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

On the streets of Kilkenny (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

Seen in Kilkenny (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2013)

Greystones, Co Wicklow (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2012)

Rathdrum, Co Wicklow … the ‘Out of Service’ label is battered and crude and the box is in a lonely state of neglect (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2014)

Post boxes without royal cyphers

The royal monogram or cypher has been filed away with intent on these three letter boxes, although in two cases the words ‘Post Office’ have been lift on the lid.

Green Street, Callan, Co Kilkenny (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2016)

Askeaton, Co Limerick … this one, in a wall at a field close to the Rectory, no longer in use, making my walk to an appropriate box that little longer (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)

Ferrybridge, between Kildimo and Clarina, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2017)