Pillar Box At Barnes Cross At St 693 118

The pillar box at Barnes Cross was built in 1853 and is a notable example of a non-standard type of pillar box. Manufactured by John Butt and Co. at the Sweetbriars Street Foundry in Gloucester for the Gloucester and Western District of the Post Office, this pillar box features a polygonal plan with a moulded plinth. It has a collecting door with an inset for a collection-times display below the crown, which is flanked by the initials "V R." The design includes a vertical slit for letters, a moulded cornice, and a peaked top. This pillar box is believed to be the oldest in public service, with only two other examples of different designs by the same manufacturer still in existence: one at the National Postal Museum in London and another as a private posting box at Stonehouse Hospital in Plymouth. It is only slightly later than the original design used in the Channel Islands.