A Victorian Country House Oak Letter Box

A mid-nineteenth century oak pillar box with pitched roof, brass letter flap and lock escutcheon with glazed door and set upon a plinth.

The oak tree is characterised by the strength and durability of its wood. With age, its palette becomes mellow and honey coloured, as can be seen here. Although letterboxes were already common across the continent, the British Post Office started encouraging individuals to install post boxes around 1849. During the 1960s the hexagonal post box, on which this example is modelled, became the national standard. It was then that the colour red was adopted as the shade public mailboxes are still known for today.