Dover: unusual Victorian/George V postbox in St. Radigund?s Road
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Dover: unusual Victorian/George V postbox in St. Radigund?s Road by Chris Downer as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Image: © Chris Downer Taken: 27 Feb 2016
This is a particularly unusual postbox, as the main body is Victorian (or possibly from the early years of Edward VII), while the door is from the reign of George V, as clearly denoted by his GR cipher. The telltale sign is the fact that the door is not full-height. Victorian and early Edward VII boxes had the slot in this position, flanked by the words POST and OFFICE, above the top of the door. Midway through Edward VII's reign, the design was modified so that the door was full-height, incorporating the slot within it. This prevented posted items from getting stuck in the top of the box. It is therefore the case that the GR door is nonstandard; by the time of George V a short door would have no reason to be in ordinary supply. The GR cipher and keyhole are also higher than on a standard George V box, almost reaching the information plate. Compare with examples of the two standard layouts: Image] (top half of crown level with keyhole) Image] (tip of crown level with keyhole) The absence of the standard POST OFFICE below the cipher is also notable, and also the absence of the door-pull which is standard on George V boxes. Attached to the box, and arguably not enhancing its appearance, is a modern fibreglass pouch box or drop box - see below.