Britain’s first post box was in St. Helier, Jersey – a recommendation of novelist and Post Office-employee, Anthony Trollope, in 1854. Cheltenham has eight Grade-II listed Victorian post boxes!

These are cast-iron Penfold Post Boxes which were first used in 1866, Cheltonians still post letters in these. Read the BBC article on Cheltenham’s Penfold post boxes here.

The Penfold was the standard pillar box in Britain manufactured between 1866 and 1879 by Cochrane, Grove & Co. in three sizes. The originals had the posting aperture high up under the cap, protected by a hanging flap, leading to a downshoot. Below this was a royal coat-of-arms.

The collection plate and door hinges were plain, with the ‘VR’ cipher was low on the door. There were four modifications. The first replaced the aperture downshoot and flap with an upshoot to prevent rain ingress. The second comprised the aperture being lowered, changing places with the coat-of arms, to stop letters being caught in the top of the boxes.

The third made the collection plate holder and door hinges more ornate. Finally, the collection plate holder changed places with the ‘VR’ cipher, which meant the public had to stoop to see when the next box collection was! According to Wayne Cox of the Letter Box Study Group who provided this information, there are 106 extant-Penfolds in the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands, of which 17 are in use: 34 have been recorded overseas.

Seven Cheltenham the eight boxes are the original medium size: including the one in The Wilson Gallery & Museum. There were eight until the College Lawn box was replaced by a modern reproduction after an altercation with a lorry in 2017. An aside, the enamel flaps on the Cheltenham Penfolds are reproductions, though some are quite old: the original flaps had white text.

The gallery below shows Cheltenham’s original Penfolds. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the photos. You can visit them on a leisurely stroll round Cheltenham, during which can you find:

• the only small size, third modification box?
• which boxes have upshoots to stop rain getting in?
• which boxes still have the enamel flaps inscribed ‘letters’

While the Penfold in the Wilson is in storage we will display some other post boxes from Gloucestershire.