You've Got Mail!
A trail around the historic letter boxes of Buxton
You may be familiar with the red post boxes around Buxton, or you may not even notice them until you actually have to post something. But do you know that they are all different ages? Some are over 150 years old!
If you could write to any person in history and post your letter (or postcard) in one of the Buxton letterboxes, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Once upon a time if you wanted to ask someone a question you had either to do it in person or write to them.
Nowadays, as well as writing, we can telephone, email, or text using our mobile phones, or use WhatsApp, Messenger, Snapchat and Instagram. We can Tweet, Zoom or use any number of other modern ways of communicating.
In some ways we have had something of a revolution in the way we communicate recently, but in the past there were a number of other ‘revolutions’ in how people communicated. One of these was in the time of Queen Victoria when the letter box was invented
"Revolution” = an important and often quick change in the way things are done
The first Post Office pillar box was put up in 1852 on the island of Jersey. The next year they were introduced in mainland Britain. They are traditionally cylindrical in shape and are free standing but, in time, some were placed within walls or on posts.
Some of the letterboxes in Buxton
We do have one very special post box here in Buxton and that is the one in front of the Opera House. It was put there in 1866 and it is protected by law to keep it safe by being what we called ‘listed’. See its listing information here on Historic England's website .
This is hexagonal in shape rather than round and is called a ‘Penfold’ named after the man who designed it – J. W. Penfold.
The Grade II listed letterbox, the 'Penfold', opposite Buxton Opera House
The cypher for King Edward VII on one of the letterboxes in Buxton
Other than shape though, one of the most interesting things about the letterboxes in Buxton is that we can find out how old they are because of their ’cypher’. A cypher (also spelt 'cipher') can be found on most letterboxes. It is the Latin initials of the reigning king or queen at the time it was put up. Because it’s Latin, you won’t see KG for King George for example, but you will see GR. This stands for Georgius Rex, which is Latin for King George. We know the dates when the Kings and Queens reigned, so we can then work out how old the letter box is!
Latin is the language that the Romans spoke and is still sometimes used for official purposes
Here is a list of the Queens and Kings of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the reign of Queen Victoria, when the first letterbox was put up:
Victoria: 1937 - 1901
Edward VII: 1901 - 1910
George V: 1910 - 1936
Edward VIII: 1936
George VI: 1936 - 1952
Elizabeth II: 1952 -
Although letterboxes were not invented until Queen Victora's reign, people could still send letters before this.
In fact, the Royal Mail can be traced back to the time of Henry VII who established a ‘Master of the Posts’ in 1516, but it wasn’t until Charles I's reign that it was open to the public to use. At that time postage was paid by the person who received the letter
KIng Charles I who was beheaded in 1649 (Daniël Mijtens, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
In the years that followed, there was much turmoil—what with King Charles I’s head being cut off and a civil war happening.
Because people did not trust one another at this time, your letter could be opened and read to see if you were up to something before it reached the person you had sent it to! Now it is illegal to open and read someone else’s post without their permission.
A 'Penny Black' postage stamp (William Wyon, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
The first stamp, however, was not invented until 1840 – the Penny Black – which proved that the sender had paid before posting a letter.
Why do you think the stamp was called the Penny Black?
Whose head do you think is on it?
Now you have learnt something about the history of posting letters, why not find out more about the historic letterboxes of Buxton by following our trail.
Identify six different letterboxes and answer the questions!
Keep scrolling to follow it online, then why not do it in person? Complete the trail using the map, which you can pick up from the Buxton Festival Fringe Office, the Tourist Information Centre in the Pump Room, or the Green Man Gallery. Return with your completed trail and get a souvenir badge and postcard!
Our trail map, drawn by Lois McGill
Answers: 1. six; 2. coat of arms; 3. the words ‘Post Office’; 4. Royal Mail; 5. Edward VII; 6. King George V – he was the first King George since pillar boxes were made so putting his 'number' on was thought unnecessary.
We hope you enjoyed our trail around the historic letterboxes of Buxton!
Thanks goes to Keith Savage, Lois McGill, Donna Dee-McGill, Robbie Carnegie and Maria Carnegie for working hard to put this trail together, along with the South West Peak Cultural Heritage Officer, Catherine Parker Heath
Funding to make this possible came from National Lottery Heritage Fund through the South West Peak Landscape Partnership, and Keith Savage.
Supported by the Buxton Festival Fringe
7th - 25th July 2021
