A Victorian wall box in Ballyoughter, c. 1881–1901
Set into the wall of an outbuilding within the grounds of what used to be Ballyoughter Parochial House is a surviving Victorian post box dating from the late nineteenth century. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage dates the box to 1881–1901 and records it as a structure of regional artistic, historical and social significance.
Cast in iron and supplied by W.T. Allen & Company of London, the box bears the royal cypher VR — Victoria Regina — identifying it with the reign of Queen Victoria. Originally part of the British postal system in Ireland, it survived the political changes of the early twentieth century and, like many pre-independence post boxes, was subsequently painted green while retaining its Victorian royal insignia.
This Royal Post Box is set in the wall of an out-building on the site of the Parish House which dates from the late 19th century.
The Post Box displays the royal cipher “VR” (Victoria Regina). It was supplied by W.T. Allen and Company, London, and is a fine example of mass-produced cast-iron work produced by this company.
Mail was deposited in these wall boxes and pillar boxes to be collected by the Royal Mail. The boxes have been in use since 1852, just twelve years after the introduction of the first adhesive postage stamps (Penny Black) and uniform penny post.
Not all Royal Post Boxes survived the Irish War of Independence (1919 – 1921). The presence a very recognisable symbol of the British Empire presented a challenge in 1922 to the new government of the Irish Free State. Instead of replacing all the red British post boxes, it ordered that the post boxes be painted green. A perfect Irish solution to an Irish problem. The boxes still, of course, featured the royal cipher symbols– either ER (Edward Rex), GR (George Rex) or in this instance the more common “VR” (Victoria Regina), complete with a large crown.
Check out further details of this historic feature (Reg No: 15701129) on the ‘National Inventory of Architectural Heritage’ website.
A Victorian Wall Box
The Royal Post Box at Ballyoughter is set into the rendered wall of an outbuilding within the grounds of Ballyoughter Parochial House. It is a wall-mounted cast-iron wall box, a form of post box developed as a less expensive alternative to the larger free-standing pillar box.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage dates the Ballyoughter post box to 1881–1901. It was supplied by W.T. Allen & Company of London, a firm that manufactured large numbers of cast-iron post boxes for the postal service during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The front of the box carries the royal cypher VR, meaning Victoria Regina — Queen Victoria — together with a crown. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 until 1901, and the cypher identifies the post box with the Victorian period.
The Ballyoughter box is an interesting surviving example of the mass-produced cast-iron street furniture that accompanied the expansion of the nineteenth-century postal service. Although practical objects, Victorian post boxes were also carefully designed, with cast lettering, royal insignia and other details giving them a distinctive appearance.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records the Ballyoughter post box as Registration No. 15701129 and rates it as being of Regional importance, with artistic, historical and social significance. The inventory also records that the box was still in existence in 1921 and remains in use as a post box.
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Registration number: 15701129
Date: 1881–1901
Original use: Post box
Current use: Post box
Rating: Regional
Special interest: Artistic, Historical, Social
Supplier: W.T. Allen & Company, London
[BUTTON: View the NIAH Record →]
The Postal Service in Ireland
The nineteenth century transformed the way letters were sent and received. In 1840, the introduction of the Uniform Penny Post greatly reduced and simplified postal charges, while the Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp, allowed postage to be prepaid by the sender.
These reforms made sending letters more affordable and contributed to a rapid expansion of the postal service. Growing railway and steamship networks also allowed mail to travel more quickly between towns, cities and rural communities.
Public post boxes followed soon afterwards. The first roadside pillar box was introduced in Britain in the early 1850s, while Ireland received its first pillar boxes in 1855. The novelist Anthony Trollope, who worked for the Post Office in Ireland for many years, played an important role in the introduction and development of roadside letter boxes.
As the postal network expanded, several different types of post box appeared. Large free-standing pillar boxes became familiar in towns and cities, while smaller wall boxes provided a less expensive alternative. Wall boxes could be manufactured in different sizes and built directly into existing walls, making them particularly suitable for smaller communities and rural locations.
Mail deposited in boxes such as the one at Ballyoughter was collected by the postal service and carried through an increasingly extensive network that connected even relatively small rural communities with the wider country and beyond.
From Red to Green
The nineteenth century transformed the way letters were sent and received. In 1840, the introduction of the Uniform Penny Post greatly reduced and simplified postal charges, while the Penny Black, the world’s first adhesive postage stamp, allowed postage to be prepaid by the sender.
These reforms made sending letters more affordable and contributed to a rapid expansion of the postal service. Growing railway and steamship networks also allowed mail to travel more quickly between towns, cities and rural communities.
Public post boxes followed soon afterwards. The first roadside pillar box was introduced in Britain in the early 1850s, while Ireland received its first pillar boxes in 1855. The novelist Anthony Trollope, who worked for the Post Office in Ireland for many years, played an important role in the introduction and development of roadside letter boxes.
As the postal network expanded, several different types of post box appeared. Large free-standing pillar boxes became familiar in towns and cities, while smaller wall boxes provided a less expensive alternative. Wall boxes could be manufactured in different sizes and built directly into existing walls, making them particularly suitable for smaller communities and rural locations.
Mail deposited in boxes such as the one at Ballyoughter was collected by the postal service and carried through an increasingly extensive network that connected even relatively small rural communities with the wider country and beyond.
The Ballyoughter post box was installed when Ireland formed part of the United Kingdom and the postal service was administered as part of the British system. Like other surviving Victorian post boxes in Ireland, it would originally have been painted red and displayed the royal insignia of the reigning monarch.
The creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 left the new state with an extensive postal infrastructure inherited from British administration. Thousands of existing post boxes remained in towns, villages and rural areas throughout the country.
Rather than replacing this entire network, the existing boxes were retained and gradually repainted green. The change of colour gave the postal system a recognisably Irish appearance while allowing valuable existing infrastructure to remain in use.
The original royal cyphers were not generally removed. As a result, surviving pre-independence post boxes can still display the initials of the monarch during whose reign they were manufactured. These include VR for Victoria Regina, ER for Edward Rex and GR for George Rex.
The Ballyoughter post box therefore preserves two distinct layers of Irish history. Its cast-iron VR cypher and crown record its origins during the reign of Queen Victoria, while its green paint reflects its continued use following Irish independence.
New post boxes produced for the Irish state increasingly carried Irish markings rather than British royal cyphers. Examples include SÉ, representing Saorstát Éireann, and later P&T, representing the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.
The survival of older boxes such as the one at Ballyoughter provides a particularly visible reminder of political change: the colour and administration changed, but the durable Victorian cast-iron structure remained.
The Ballyoughter Post Box Today
The Victorian wall box remains in place at Ballyoughter and continues to provide a visible link with the development of the postal service during the late nineteenth century.
Its survival is particularly significant because many features of its original design remain clearly visible. These include the wall-mounted cast-iron construction, the crown and the prominent VR royal cypher, identifying the box with the reign of Queen Victoria.
The photographs below record the post box at different times and show both its setting and surviving Victorian details.
[PHOTO 4 – the maker’s mark]
Detail of the manufacturer’s mark on the Ballyoughter post box. W.T. Allen & Company of London supplied cast-iron wall boxes to the postal service during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Photographs: Credit: Shane Eivers
Sources and Further Reading
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. “Balloughter, Co. Wexford.” Registration No. 15701129.
An Post. Anthony Trollope Gets Stamp of Approval.
An Post. About Postboxes.
Davies, Mary, and Damian Murphy. “Victorian Post Boxes.” History Ireland, Vol. 16, No. 3, May/June 2008.
Cork Public Museum. Post Boxes.
Ferguson, Stephen. The Irish Post Box: Silent Servant and Symbol of the State. Dublin: An Post and Associated Editions, 2009.