Post box, Bristow Park, Belfast

A free-standing cast-iron post box erected between 1931 and 1936 in Bristow Park, close to the junction with Camborne Park. This is a King George V pillar box of the standard cylindrical design introduced to Britain in 1879, painted pillar box red throughout except for the black base. The maker's plate at the base records it was cast by the Carron Company of Stirlingshire, one of Scotland's most celebrated ironworking firms, founded in Falkirk in 1759.

The post box stands 5 feet high and measures approximately 21 inches in diameter around its cap, 15½ inches around the shaft, and 17 inches around the base. Below the shallow oversailing cap with fluted edges is the hinged door, fitted with a raised cup handle on the right and a raised lock and keyhole above. At the top of the door is a hooded rectangular aperture for letter insertion. Above this aperture is a holder containing a removable plate for the date of next collection, marked 'NEXT COLLECTION' in raised letters, though heavily overpainted. Below the aperture is a notice plate holder containing collection times and the box number (BT9 565). Beneath this is the 'GR' cipher with a raised crown above and 'POST OFFICE' below.

This box appears to be a B-type post box, the smaller of the two standard sizes produced. It was first recorded on the 1938 Ordnance Survey town plan of Belfast, confirming its erection date within the 1931–1936 period.

The pillar box represents a significant development in British postal history. The first pillar boxes appeared in the British Isles in 1853, following Rowland Hill's original suggestion in 1840 for roadside letter boxes. By the late nineteenth century, such boxes had transformed the postal network across all major urban centres. The iconic red cylindrical design was introduced in 1879 and has remained largely unchanged since, with modifications limited to letter aperture height and Royal cipher designs. The earliest cylindrical pillar boxes lacked Royal ciphers and were known as 'anonymous boxes' until 1887, when new boxes were inscribed with 'VR' (Victoria Regina). This George V example, marked with the 'GR' cipher, belongs to the reign of King George V (1911–1936). Since 1879, this distinctive cylindrical pillar box has remained one of Britain's most recognisable symbols, serving as a principal conduit for public communication throughout the twentieth century.