Not Another Post Box!

Yes, I'm afraid so! I'd forgotten I'd taken this photo of the Penfold post box opposite the Cheltenham Ladies College and the poor thing missed out on being part of my series the other week. Today I right that wrong!

I really liked this photo because of the trail of red going off into the distance - the red post box, the red roadwork bollards and the red light. Sometimes things just come together.

Second Class

Following on from yesterdays post box post here is another. I promised you an original and complete Penfold letter box but when I uploaded the photo I spotted that part of the Royal Coat of Arms is missing! Never mind, what can you expect after standing on Douro Road for over 100 years?!

I've found out a bit more about these Penfold post boxes (one of eight in Cheltenham.) They were manufactured between 1866 and 1879 by the Cochrane Grove Company in Dudley. Obviously they differ from the normal round post boxes, what with them being hexagonal, but they also have a beaded edge and are topped with acanthus leaves.

I'm not the only person to become suddenly obsessed with post boxes, check out this news story.

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Peek-A-Boo Post Box

Or how about the title - 'Penfold Peeking'?

"Why the Penfold?" I here you ask. This hexagonal designed letter box is called a Penfold and is one of eight in Cheltenham. Apparently Cheltenham has the highest number of Victorian post boxes in the country - eight of these ones and six round ones, all with the VR insignia (Victoria Regina.) In the UK letter boxes are inscribed this way in relation to the reigning monarch at the time of installation (most now have ER on them.) This letter box on Lansdown Road used to have the finial on the top missing but it has been replaced with a replica one, tomorrows post box is the original version (yes, the start of a mini-series!)

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