Dorset postboxes – Poole
| Fri, 21 May 2010 13:14 Chris Downer |
There are 258 postboxes in the Poole/Broadstone postal area, which comprises the BH12-17 (Poole) and BH18 (Broadstone) postcode districts. This area makes up the majority of the Borough of Poole (excluding Bearwood which is postally in Bournemouth and Merley which is postally in Wimborne), and also extends to Upton, Lytchett and Holton Heath (in Purbeck district), Brownsea Island (also Purbeck), and one BH18 box which is across the border in Corfe Mullen (East Dorset). Being a mainly urban area, there is a great prevalence of pillar boxes over lamp and wall boxes. Standard pillar boxes There are in total 153 standard pillar boxes. Eight are Victorian (the first here is an ‘anonymous’ box, made during 1879-87 when the cipher was omitted):         Twelve are from the reign of Edward VII:             49 of George V (the first three here have post office direction signs on top, the last of which has since been painted over following the closure of the office):                                                 (this one was graffitied in gold paint!)...and  which has replaced an Edward VII box  Two are very rare boxes from the short reign of Edward VIII:     19 of George VI:                    And 63 of Elizabeth II:                                                                Modern pillar boxes The area also has fourteen of the ‘Type K’ design:               ...and one of the square ‘Type G’ design:  Large pillar boxes There are 21 of the fatter version of the standard box: One Edward VII-reign, two George V and one George VI:     And the other 17 are Elizabeth II:                  Double-aperture boxes There are eight of these, again all Elizabeth II:         |
|---|---|
| Fri, 21 May 2010 13:16 Chris Downer |
Wall boxes There are in total thirteen boxes set into various types of wall: One is a large one, possibly Victorian but without a cipher:  Ten are standard wall boxes (one Victorian, one Edward VII, six George V, one George VI), and one Elizabeth II which is actually a lamp box set into a wall:           (NB The one on its side has, of course, been taken out of service and has not been replaced.) Two are incorporated within the fabric of the building – firstly Parkstone Post Office and secondly the main Dorset Sorting Office:   Lamp boxes There are 35 lamp boxes in the area, all Elizabeth II-reign. Three are affixed to a telegraph pole and three to their own wooden post:       And the remaining 29 are mounted on a metal pole:                              Business boxes These boxes started appearing in the mid-1990s and are for franked mail only – franked mail cannot be put in ordinary boxes and previously had to be handed in at a post office counter unless the Royal Mail collected from the business. There are eight in the Poole area:        Interior boxes There are five internal boxes, one inside the main post office in WH Smith, two inside a Tesco superstore and two similarly within a Sainsbury’s:      |
View Image Detail - View in Browser - View as Slide Show - KML - photo RSS - topic RSS
