Decorated Pillar Box - Isle of Arran, Ayrshire UK
Posted by: 
martlakes
N 55° 33.338 W 005° 16.810
30U E 356177 N 6158985
In the centre of the island, at the junction of two roads, stands this impressive, carved sandstone pillar box. It has an interesting tale.
Waymark Code: WM3F0H
Location: United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/26/2008
Views: 41
This stone pillar box stands at the junction of the String and Machrie Moor. Settlements around Machrie on the west coast of the island brought their mail to a white wooden postbox at this spot to be picked up by the horse drawn mail brake running between Shiskine and Brodick. In the 1870s a horse shied at the spot, supposedly startled by the white wooden postbox, and threw its rider. Hearing of the event one of the guests at the Earl of Arran's Dougarie Hunting Lodge paid for David Wilson, a Shiskine stonemason, to build a more permanent replacement, less startling to equine travelers.
Supposedly Wilson produced this most decorative of postboxes because he felt that he had been paid too much for a simpler stone box. The actual carvings which decorate the Permian sandstone blocks on three sides of the letterbox are copies of mason's marks, although very much larger and more prominent than the originals. Unfortunately the Stone Pillar Box was toppled by a car in modern times, but the pieces were saved and this most unusual of letter boxes was open for business again in November 1993 on reinforced foundations.
Tell us about the area the post box is situated.:
Moorland junction of roads
Condition of the box: Good/Average/Poor: Good
Is this post box still in use?: Yes
Is VR embossed on the post box or is it an "anonymous" box?: No
Any other embossed lettering, such as manufacturer?: Machan Scotland
Manufacturer Inscription: Not listed
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