Paul's Unofficial Letterbox Pages: Anatomy of a Letter Box

Anatomy of a Letter Box

If you have looked at the other pages you will have gathered that not all letter boxes are the same. On this page is a diagram showing what the different parts of a letter box are called with a brief description of how they might vary. This is followed by some examples of Royal Ciphers and then Standard letter box dimensions.

CAP

The top of a letter box may be referred to as the roof. The cap on a pillar box helps to keep rain out of the aperture.

INDICATOR TABLET

Indicates the 'Next Collection', usually with a number.

APERTURE

Sometimes referred to as the mouth. The height and width can vary. On modern post boxes a hood over the aperture helps prevent rain from entering. On some early Victorian boxes the aperture was placed vertically rather than horizontally.

NOTICE PLATE

The notice plate gives details of collection times. It may be an enamelled plate, some form of paper or cardboard notice, or made from plastic.

CROWN, ROYAL CIPHER & POST OFFICE LEGEND

The style and relative positions of these three items can vary greatly. For example on some GR boxes the crown is placed higher in comparison to the cipher than on others. See below for some examples of Royal Ciphers. On some letter boxes the words POST OFFICE appear either side of the aperture.

BASE

On pillar boxes the base is usually painted black. The name of the manufacturer can often be found either at the front or the rear of the base.

Royal Ciphers

Victoria -1901	Edward VII 1901-1910	George V 1910-1936
Edward VIII 1936	George VI 1936-1952	Elizabeth II 1952-

Letter Box Dimensions

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Copyright © Paul Wicks 2002