J3476 : Metered-mail box, Belfast

taken 13 years ago, near to Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland

Metered-mail box, Belfast
Metered-mail box, Belfast
Metered-mail box at the southern end of Duncrue Street – part of a commercial area to the west of Belfast harbour..
Postboxes, Belfast BT1-15

A series of photographs showing some of the postboxes within postcodes BT1-15. LinkExternal link shows the postboxes in the rest of Northern Ireland.

Duncrue Street, Belfast :: J3475


Duncrue Street is a long commercial road, running north/north east from Nelson Street, between the railway/M2 and Belfast harbour. The first part was built just before 1880 when it was much shorter than now. For many years the southern part was associated with railway workshops and operations. Much of that area was cleared and is now the site of the M2 motorway.

Business postbox for franked mail

The distinctive business postbox for franked mail was introduced in the mid-1990s. Before the advent of such boxes, franked mail could not be posted in a letter box and thus had to be handed in at a post or sorting office unless the business had a visit from the postman. (The reason for this is that ordinary stamped mail would be sent to the sorting office and postmarked, whereas franked mail is already dated by the sender's franking machine.)

Because it is designed for business mail, it is found usually in business parks and industrial estates or in areas of town which are heavily occupied by businesses – and has relatively late final collection times.

It is opened by pulling down the black handle on the sliding opening, and when the final collection of the day is made it will be locked shut and reopened the next weekday morning (including Saturday if the box has a Saturday collection). This is because, as franked mail is dated by the customer rather than at the sorting office, it must be posted on the same day as the date indicated on the franked impression. By accepting later items which would not be collected till the following day, it would give the false impression that Royal Mail had taken a day longer to deliver the item.

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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J3476, 98 images   (more nearby search)
Photographer
Date Taken
Wednesday, 4 May, 2011   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 4 May, 2011
Geographical Context
Business, Retail, Services  Suburb, Urban fringe  Communications 
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 345 760 [100m precision]
WGS84: 54:36.8782N 5:55.0828W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! J 345 760
View Direction
Northeast (about 45 degrees)
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Other Tags
Belfast  Duncrue Street  Postbox 

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