Post box, outside No.1 Lockview Rd, Belfast

A free-standing early twentieth-century King George V cast-iron post box erected outside 1 Lockview Road between 1920 and 1931. The box stands 5 feet high and is a B-type pillar box manufactured by McDowall Steven & Co Ltd London & Glasgow, a firm that began manufacturing post boxes around 1912.

The post box is painted in the distinctive 'pillar box red' throughout, except for the black base. It features a fluted cap with shallow oversailing edge. Below the cap is the hinged door, hinged at the left with a raised cup handle on the right and keyhole above. At the top of the door is a hooded rectangular aperture for letter insertion. Above the aperture is a removable collection-time plate with 'NEXT COLLECTION' in raised letters beside it. Below the aperture is a notice plate holder containing collection days, times and the box number. The most significant feature is the Royal Cipher 'GR' (George Rex) with a raised crown above and 'POST OFFICE' below, denoting the reign of King George V (1910–1936). The maker's name 'MCDOWALL STEVEN & CO LTD LONDON & GLASGOW' is carried on the box.

A large modern demountable steel box approximately 18 inches by 18 inches by 15 inches is attached to the side of the post box, canted where it connects to the cylinder. It has a locked door and was possibly used for storing excess post during deliveries.

The pillar box first appears on the Ordnance Survey town plan of 1931. The iconic cylindrical red pillar boxes were introduced in Britain in 1879 and have remained largely unchanged in design since then, with only the height of the letter aperture and Royal ciphers varying by reign. McDowall Steven & Co was established with roots dating back to the 1820s and assumed that name after 1862. This post box is of historical importance as a surviving example of King George V post boxes in Belfast, which appear to be more numerous than those from previous monarchs' reigns. Post boxes of this era were of great social importance as the principal means by which people communicated with one another.