Victorian Post Boxes - Laurence Pountney Hill, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 30.638 W 000° 05.331
30U E 702004 N 5710630
This pair of Victorian post boxes are attached to the railings of a former churchyard in Laurence Pountney Hill in the City of London.
Waymark Code: WMT3BM
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/18/2016
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Dragontree
Views: 3

Both boxes are in good condition and still in regular use. Together with the railings and retaining walls, they are Grade II listed with the entry at the Historic England website advising:

Churchyard retaining wall and railings with overthrows, gate, and letter boxes.

Late C18, minor alterations. Pink and yellow brick wall with Portland stone coping; wrought-iron railings, overthrows and iron gate. The walls and railings are in 2 sections, linked by an overthrow, each section forming 2 sides of a rectangle (along Laurence Pountney Lane and returning to flank alleyway between them) and returning a short distance along the 3rd side. Each has entrance with overthrow to the shorter, 3rd side, and the northern section has gate to entrance and double letter box next to it.

Walls: height varies with slope of ground between approx 0.5m and 2m, and has flat coping; some patching.

Railings have square bars with spike finials, urn finials to standards, straight and curved brackets. Overthrows have decorative, scrollwork and lamp holders.

Gate is plain.

The double letter box is of 1870s type, having royal cipher flanking crown at top, above aperture, and door with collecting plate at base.

These railings surrounded the 2 old churchyards that once belonged to the Church of St Laurence, Pountney Hill, destroyed in the Great Fire and not rebuilt.

In 1779 an entry in the Churchwardens' accounts records the resolution, "that liberty be given to lower the walls of the 2 churchyards on St Laurence Pountney Hill, and to fence the same with a coping of stone and iron railings'. The existing railings are almost certainly the result of that resolution.

Tell us about the area the post box is situated.:
The area contains various buildings that are mainly used as offices.


Condition of the box: Good/Average/Poor: Good

Is this post box still in use?: M-F 6.30pm; Sat 12 noon

Is VR embossed on the post box or is it an "anonymous" box?: Yes

Any other embossed lettering, such as manufacturer?: Manufacturer name

Manufacturer Inscription: WT Allen & Co, London (1881-1901)

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