Description
A 1936 pillar box style, cast iron post box, probably made by the Carron Company, Stirlingshire. It is located on the north footpath of Crown Road South, opposite the junction with Hyndland Street in the west end of Glasgow.
The cylindrical cast iron pillar box is painted black at the base with a red shaft above. There is a swept frieze under a shallow domed cap which is dentilled at the rim. The full height left hinged door has a cup handle and lock to the right. The lower part of the door bears the cipher 'EVIIIR' in raised gothic lettering, with a crown above and 'Post Office' embossed below. There is a rectangular opening for letters and notice frame above.
Historical development
The current pillar post box was installed during the brief reign of Edward VIII in 1936. It is first shown on a National Grid map (surveyed 1949, published 1950) and its position has not been changed since this time.
A post box is shown in this location on the Ordnance Survey maps of 1896 (revised 1893 to 1894), 1913 (revised 1909) and 1935 (revised 1932). However, this appears to be an earlier post box that was replaced by the current Edward VIII type in 1936.
The Royal Mail letter box was introduced following the reforms of the Postal Act of 1839. Rowland Hill was a social reformer who championed a single postage rate, paid for in advance, for any standard weight letters. Hill's postal reform model led to the creation of post offices and roadside letter boxes in all towns and villages in the country and standardised the cost of sending letters. The first free standing pillar box in the United Kingdom was introduced in 1852 in Jersey, the Channel Islands, and the boxes were extended to mainland Britain by 1853. The first cylindrical design pillar box was cast in 1879. The royal cipher forms part of the branding of the post box and the current monarch's monogram is normally added to every box erected during their reign. Exceptions to this include Scottish boxes erected from 1952 onwards, where the Scottish crown is used in place of the royal cipher.
Edward VIII came to the throne on 20th January 1936 and reigned for less than a year before his abdication on 10th December 1936. The majority of the wall post boxes that bore his royal cipher had their doors replaced with ones bearing that of George VI. However, the doors on pillar boxes were mostly left unaltered.
Statement of Special Interest
In our current state of knowledge, the Edward VIII Post Box on Crown Road South meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:
- It is a notable example of a pillar type post box, which survives in its original location and remains largely unaltered.
- It forms part of an architecturally significant group of earlier residential terraces.
- It is a rare example of a post box that had a very limited period of production and is among a very small number that are unaltered and have remained in continued use.
- It has special interest as it is a tangible reminder of an important period in British modern history.
- It has a close historical association with King Edward VIII, which is of national importance.
Architectural interest
Design
The pillar box on Crown Road South is a cylindrical pillar box which follows the standard design for this box type. The design was in use from 1879 and there are two sizes, either a 'large pillar' (Type A) or a 'small pillar' (Type B). This post box is a type B. Although adhering to the standard box type, the Edward VIII cipher on the door panel, is only found in a relatively small number of boxes remaining across the United Kingdom due to the short reign of the monarch (see Age and Rarity below).
The pillar box has some functional design features that are of interest. The embossed words 'next collection', also found on many types of post boxes, is located alongside a holder for a small panel near the letter slit. The postman was expected to change each collection to indicate when the box was last emptied and when the next clearance was due. This feature was first introduced on Type A and B pillar boxes and the large size wall boxes in 1905. The letter openings are part of the door itself, and not separate, as had been the case with earlier boxes. Furthermore, the dentilled design feature around the cap of the pillar box is to facilitate rainwater run-off.
The post box is made of cast iron and was manufactured by renowned Scottish iron foundry Carron Company. The Carron Company was one of the major suppliers of post boxes during the twentieth century for the General Post Office. From their foundry in Stirlingshire they cast pillar boxes (from 1922), wall boxes (from 1952) and lamp boxes (from 1969 to 1982) (Letterbox Study Group website).
The Carron Company was established in 1759 near Falkirk, Stirlingshire, and became one of the most prominent and largest iron works in Europe during the 19th century. They became famous for their decorative ironwork products and for producing munitions in both World Wars. They were one of several foundries in the UK that produced pillar boxes for the post office, and one of five foundries that cast Giles Gilbert Scott's iconic design of red telephone boxes. The company became insolvent in 1982.
Setting
The post box is located on the north footpath of Crown Road South, and is set in a prominent location opposite the junction with Hyndland Street. It is clearly visible from both streets and remains in its original location.
Pillar box post boxes were often prominently positioned on residential street corners and the positioning of this box is not unusual. It is set within an affluent mid-to-late 19th century residential development of terraced townhouses with private communal gardens, which includes Crown Terrace (listed at category B, ref: LB32493) and Crown Circus (listed category A, ref: LB32489). The post box replaced an earlier post box in this location but the surrounding buildings add to our understanding of its' historical context.
Historic interest
Age and rarity
Edward VIII pillar post boxes are a rare sub-type of an otherwise common and prolific type of street furniture. Edward VIII reigned for less than a year and the number of post boxes created during his reign was therefore correspondingly small when compared to other monarchs. Only a small number of post boxes installed during this period survive largely unaltered.
Information from the Letter Box Study Group (2019) suggests that a total of 271 post boxes were made in 1936, 161 of which were the pillar box type. It is thought that 171 Edward VIII post boxes survive in Britain, with around 30 of these being in Scotland. Approximately 13 Edward VIII post boxes are listed in Scotland, four of which are located in Glasgow, where Edward VIII visited during his short reign.
While post boxes are not rare, this example on Crown Road South is a rare survival of a post box that had a limited term of production and is one of a small number of examples that remain largely unaltered.
Social historical interest
Social historical interest is the way a building contributes to our understanding of how people lived in the past, and how our social and economic history is shown in a building and/or in its setting.
The continued social historical interest in commemorating Edward VIII as the king who abdicated the throne for love over duty in 1936, adds to the special interest of this post box.
Association with people or events of national importance
The post box has a close historical association with a person and an event of national importance. It is a rare example of a post box that was installed within the 325-day reign of King Edward VIII, whose brief reign and subsequent abdication of the throne was a notable historic event in British modern history.