Day 25. The Post Box

 

From the earliest days, letters were carried across the country by messengers on horseback. By the 16^th century this had evolved into a relay of men and fast horses stationed at strategic 'posts' along principal roads. A regular delivery service was soon set up and mail coaches – with the title 'Royal Mail' painted on the sides – were introduced in 1784.

Only  the wealthier tiers of society, with legal and political concerns, used the costly post service. Literacy rates were low amongst the general population. Many had no reason to leave their communities, and no reason to contact anyone outside them.

In 1840, the postal system was revolutionised. Warwickshire schoolmaster Rowland Hill coined the Penny Post. A pre-purchased adhesive stamp, costing one penny, paid for the delivery of a letter.
Letters and postcards were now sent quickly and cheaply, by all tiers of society. Literacy rates were rising, and many people were leaving their rural homes for towns and cities. They could now send messages home just as we make a phone-call or email today.

Post Offices were set up in communities of modest size – Preston's opened in the 1890s – and the career of 'postman' became a respectable and coveted job.

The red-painted post box followed. That in Preston is inscribed 'GR' – George V's reign [1910-35]. It has stood in several places over its history as the Post Office moved location. Many remember it set into the pillar at the bottom of the steps next to No.28 in the 1960s. It has been in its current position since the 1970s.

Another consequence of the Penny Post was house numbers. Every dwelling  now had to have an individual address to facilitate the delivering of mail. The simplest answer was to give each house a number. Preston's houses were allocated numbers in the late 1850s.

Preston Post Office is now closed, and few letters are posted into the post box. Rowland Hill has served his time, replaced by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the internet, and Mark Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook.