Post box, Upper Malone Road, opposite Malone Meadows, Belfast

A free-standing cast-iron post box dating from the reign of King George V (1911–1936), erected on the pavement of Malone Road opposite Malone Meadows between 1931 and 1936. The box first appears on the Ordnance Survey town plan of 1938.

The post box is of the cylindrical type introduced to Britain in 1879, standing 5 feet high with a fluted shallow cap. It is painted pillar box red throughout except for the base, which is black. The shaft measures 15½ inches in diameter, with the base 17 inches and the cap 21 inches. Below the cap sits the door, hinged at the left with a raised cup handle on the right and a raised lock with keyhole above. At the top of the door is a hooded rectangular aperture for inserting letters. Above the aperture is a small removable plate indicating the next collection day, with the words 'NEXT COLLECTION' in raised letters beside it. Below the aperture is a notice plate holder displaying collection times and the box number. The lower section bears a 'GR' cipher (standing for George Rex) with a raised crown above and 'POST OFFICE' inscribed below.

The foundry plate at the base identifies the maker as 'CARRON COMPANY STIRLINGSHIRE'. Carron Company, founded in Falkirk in 1759, was among the most celebrated Scottish ironworking firms. This appears to be a B-type post box, the smaller of two standard sizes produced.

The cylindrical pillar boxes introduced in 1879 were almost uniform in design; the principal changes made between then and the 1950s concerned the height of the letter aperture and the design of the Royal ciphers. Early boxes, produced before 1887, were unmarked by any Royal cipher and informally called 'anonymous boxes'. This deficiency was remedied in 1887 when new boxes were inscribed with 'VR' (Victoria Regina) and 'POST OFFICE' flanking the aperture. The introduction of the Royal cipher marked an important step in the standardisation and official identity of the pillar box network.

Post boxes of this era held considerable social significance as the principal means by which people communicated with one another. By the end of the nineteenth century, the postal network across the United Kingdom had been transformed by the widespread installation of pillar boxes and wall-mounted post boxes in major urban centres. The cylindrical pillar box has continued since 1879 to be recognised as one of Britain's most iconic symbols.