Post box, Myrtlefield Park, Belfast

A free-standing cast-iron post box erected in Myrtlefield Park, between the Malone and Lisburn Roads, in the Malone Conservation Area, Belfast, sometime between 1920 and 1931. The box is of the standard cylindrical design introduced in Britain in 1879 and painted throughout in pillar box red, except for the base which is black. The maker's name on the base has been over-painted and is now illegible.

The post box stands 5 feet 0 inches high and measures 21 inches in diameter around its cap, 15½ inches around its shaft, and 17 inches around its base respectively. Below a shallow oversailing cap with a fluted edge is the door, hinged at the left with a raised cup handle on the right and a keyhole above. At the top of the door is a hooded rectangular letter aperture. Above the aperture is a small holder containing a removable plate showing the day of the next collection, flanked by raised letters reading "NEXT COLLECTION". Below the aperture is a notice plate holder containing collection days, times, and the box number (BT9 215D). Below this is a "GR" cipher with a raised crown above and "POST OFFICE" below.

This box bears the Royal Cipher of King George V and dates from his reign (1911–1936). The first pillar boxes in the British Isles were introduced in 1853, following Rowland Hill's original suggestion in 1840 for roadside letter boxes. The iconic red cylindrical design was first introduced in 1879 and remained largely unchanged until the 1950s, with modifications only to the letter aperture height and Royal cipher designs. Early cylindrical boxes, introduced without a Royal cipher and known informally as "anonymous boxes", were rectified in 1887 when new boxes were inscribed with "VR" (Victoria Regina) and "POST OFFICE". This example appears to be a B-type post box, the smaller of two standard sizes produced.

Post boxes of this era held great social importance as the principal means by which people communicated with one another. The cylindrical design has become one of Britain's most recognisable symbols.