Post box, outside 721 Lisburn Road, Belfast

A free-standing cast-iron post box of early twentieth-century date, erected outside 721 Lisburn Road between 1920 and 1931. The box is of the standard cylindrical design introduced to Britain in 1879, standing 5 feet high with a fluted cap. It is painted in the distinctive 'pillar box red' throughout, except for the black base which carries the maker's name 'CARRON COMPANY STIRLINGSHIRE'. The base measures 17 inches in diameter, the shaft 15½ inches, and the cap 21 inches.

The design follows the established pattern with a shallow oversailing cap, beneath which is the hinged door with a raised cup handle on the right and raised lock and keyhole above. The letter aperture is a hooded rectangular opening, above which sits a removable plate holder showing the next collection day, marked 'NEXT COLLECTION' in raised letters. Below the aperture is a notice plate holder for collection times and box number. The most significant feature is the Royal Cipher of King George V ('GR' with raised crown above and 'POST OFFICE' below) inscribed on the door, dating the box to the reign of 1911–1936. The appearance of this box on the Ordnance Survey town plan of 1931 confirms its erection within the stated period.

This is a B-type post box, the smaller of the two standard sizes. It was manufactured by Carron Company, the renowned Scottish ironworks founded in Falkirk in 1759. The cylindrical pillar box represents one of Britain's most recognisable symbols since 1879. The first such boxes, introduced in 1853, lacked a Royal cipher and were known informally as 'anonymous boxes'. The addition of Royal ciphers began in 1887 with 'VR' (Victoria Regina), and George V examples such as this are believed to be comparatively numerous in Belfast. These post boxes held significant social importance as the principal means by which the public could deposit correspondence for dispatch, transforming postal accessibility throughout urban centres by the late nineteenth century.