"or post office. Such houses were usually coaching inns or turnpike houses where the Royal Mail coach would stop to pick up and set down mails and passengers. People took their letters, in person, to the receiver, or postmaster, purchased a stamp (after 1840) and handed over the letter. The advent of the British wayside letter box can be traced to Sir Rowland Hill, Secretary of the Post Office, and his Surveyor for the Western District, and noted novelist, Anthony Trollope. Hill sent Trollope to the Channel Islands to ascertain what could be done about the problem of collecting the"
"the novel-reading public and amply justifying the high price that Smith had paid for it. The early connection to ""Cornhill"" also brought Trollope into the London circle of artists, writers, and intellectuals, not least among whom were Smith and Thackeray. By the mid-1860s, Trollope had reached a fairly senior position within the Post Office hierarchy, despite ongoing differences with Rowland Hill, who was at that time Chief Secretary to the Postmaster General. Postal history credits Trollope with introducing the pillar box (the ubiquitous mail-box) in the United Kingdom. He was earning a substantial income from his novels. He had overcome"
"Delivery postmen were first employed in 1756 and post boxes were installed firstly in 1762. In the United Kingdom, prior to 1840 letters were paid for by the recipient and the cost was determined by the distance from sender to recipient and the number of sheets of paper rather than by a countrywide flat rate with weight restrictions. Sir Rowland Hill reformed the postal system based on the concepts of penny postage and prepayment. In his proposal Hill also called for official pre-printed envelopes and adhesive postage stamps as alternative ways of getting the sender to pay for the postage,"
"Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters. Hill later served as a government postal official, and he is usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp. Hill was born in Blackwell Street, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. Rowland's father, Thomas Wright Hill, was an"
"In 1849, the British Post Office first encouraged people to install a letter box to facilitate the delivery of mail. Before then, letterboxes of a similar design had been installed in the doors and walls of post offices for people to drop off outgoing mail. An example of such a wall box (originally installed in the wall of the Wakefield Post Office) is dated 1809 and believed to be the oldest example in Britain. It is now on display at the new Wakefield Museum. Letter Box Study Group identifiers appear in brackets. The first pillar box was erected in the"
"the USA. Pillar box A pillar box is a type of free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and in most former nations of the British Empire, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and British overseas territories, such as Australia, Cyprus, India, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, Malta, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Pillar boxes were provided in territories administered by the United Kingdom, such as Mandatory Palestine, and territories with agency postal services provided by the British Post Office such as Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait and Morocco. The United Kingdom also exported pillar boxes to"
"Pillar box A pillar box is a type of free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and in most former nations of the British Empire, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and British overseas territories, such as Australia, Cyprus, India, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, Malta, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Pillar boxes were provided in territories administered by the United Kingdom, such as Mandatory Palestine, and territories with agency postal services provided by the British Post Office such as Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait and Morocco. The United Kingdom also exported pillar boxes to countries that"
"its introduction in 1635, mounted carriers had ridden between ""posts"" where the postmaster would remove the letters for the local area before handing the remaining letters and any additions to the next rider. The riders were frequent targets for robbers, and the system was inefficient. John Palmer, a theatre owner from Bath, believed that the coach service he had previously run for transporting actors and materials between theatres could be utilised for a countrywide mail delivery service, so in 1782, he suggested to the Post Office in London that they take up the idea. He met resistance from officials who"
"pillar box (the ubiquitous bright red mail-box) to Britain. Anthony Trollope died in London in 1882 and is buried at Kensal Green Cemetery. Charlotte Brontë had a brief association with Banagher in the mid-1850s when she married one Arthur Bell Nicholls, her father's curate. Nicholls was born of Scottish parents in County Antrim in 1818. He was orphaned early and subsequently brought up by his uncle, Alan Bell, in Banagher. Alan Bell was headmaster at the Royal School at Cuba Court at that time. The couple honeymooned in Ireland and stayed at Cuba Court for a period in June 1854."
"Post Office (novel) Post Office is the first novel written by Charles Bukowski, published in 1971 when he was 50 years old. In Los Angeles, California, down-and-out barfly Henry Chinaski becomes a substitute mail carrier; he quits for a while and lives on his winnings at the track, then becomes a mail clerk. Chinaski drifts from place to place, surviving through booze and women, with his biting sense of humor and a cynical view of the world. An autobiographical account of Bukowski's years working as a carrier and sorter for the United States Postal Service, the novel is ""dedicated to"
"prominent crown representing the British government. The post pillar box was introduced in the 1850s during the reign of Queen Victoria following Sir Rowland Hill's postal reforms in the 1830s where the reduction in postal rates with the invention of the postage stamp (Penny Black) made sending post an affordable means of personal communication. The red telephone box has appeared in British pop culture, such as in Adele's video ""Hello"", the front cover of One Direction's album ""Take Me Home"", and the back cover of David Bowie's album ""The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars""."
"should not walk with their letters to a respectable post-office instead of chucking them into an iron stump"". British songwriting duo Flanders and Swann included a song, ""Pillar to Post"" on their album ""And Then We Wrote"" (1975). In The Beatles' film ""Help!"" (1965), a member of the cult tries to obtain the ring while hiding in a pillar box. Two Walt Disney films set in London feature a very accurate wooden prop pillar box of the Penfold type. It appears in several scenes of ""Mary Poppins"" (1964) and in the Portobello Market scene of ""Bedknobs and Broomsticks"" (1971). In"
"The Tinder Box (novella) The Tinder Box (1999) is a crime novella by English writer Minette Walters. First published in Dutch as part of their annual ""BookWeek"" scheme, the story wasn't available in English until 2004. Following the savage murders of Lavinia Fanshaw and her personal nurse, Dorothy Jenkins, in the small Hampshire village of Sowerbridge, Irish labourer Patrick O'Riordian is arrested for the crime, stirring up violent racial hatred from the other residents against his family. Friend and neighbour Siobhan Lavenham suspects that Patrick was the victim of an already prejudiced investigation, and defies her community so she can"
"began its telegraph service in 1870. The first Post Office pillar box was erected in 1852 in Jersey. Pillar boxes were introduced in mainland Britain the following year. British pillar boxes traditionally carry the Latin initials of the reigning monarch at the time of their installation, for example: ""VR"" for ""Victoria Regina"" or ""GR"" for ""Georgius Rex. Such branding is not used in Scotland due to dispute over the current monarch's title. Some Scottish nationalists argue that Queen Elizabeth II should have simply been Queen Elizabeth as there had been no previous Queen Elizabeth of Scotland or of the United"
"had been up in Leitrim inspecting the accounts of an errant postmaster. He thought the ruins of Ballycloran ""one of the most melancholy spots I had ever visited"" and he later described it in the first chapter of his novel. Although, his first novel was initially unsuccessful, Trollope was undeterred and in all, went on to write forty-seven novels, as well as dozens of short stories and a few books on travel. He returned to England in 1856 and by the mid-1860s had reached a fairly senior position within the Post Office hierarchy. Postal history credits him with introducing the"
"The world's first postcard was received by Theodore Hook from Fulham, London in 1840. The first pillar boxes had the distinctive Imperial cypher of Victoria Regina. Most pillar boxes produced after 1905 are made of cast iron and are cylindrical, and have served well throughout the reigns of George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II. The sending and receiving of greeting cards is an established tradition in the UK, with card sending or card display in the home being an important part of British culture. Sir Henry Cole devised the concept of sending greetings cards at Christmas time."
"in 1842. A post box originally installed in the wall of the Wakefield Post Office is dated 1809 and believed to be the oldest example in Britain. It is now on display at the new Wakefield Museum. In the British Isles, the first red pillar post boxes were erected in Guernsey in 1852. Roadside wall boxes first appeared in 1857 as a cheaper alternative to pillar boxes, especially in rural districts. In 1853 the first pillar box in the United Kingdom was installed at Botchergate, Carlisle. In 1856, Richard Redgrave of the Department of Science and Art designed an ornate"
"1839: After many years of research, innovation and campaigning, Rowland Hill (of Kidderminster and later Birmingham) is given a two-year contract to run his new postal system. Hill is an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigns for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment facilitates the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters. Hill later serves as a government postal official, and he is usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp (his brother Edwin"
"prove him innocent. However, after learning of some terrible secret's from the O'Riordian's past, she begins to question her loyalties. The Tinder Box (novella) The Tinder Box (1999) is a crime novella by English writer Minette Walters. First published in Dutch as part of their annual ""BookWeek"" scheme, the story wasn't available in English until 2004. Following the savage murders of Lavinia Fanshaw and her personal nurse, Dorothy Jenkins, in the small Hampshire village of Sowerbridge, Irish labourer Patrick O'Riordian is arrested for the crime, stirring up violent racial hatred from the other residents against his family. Friend and neighbour"
"system. For the centenary of the first stamp, Portugal issued a miniature sheet with 8 stamps mentioning his name, later on his death centenary omnibus issue of stamps commemorating Hill were produced by approximately 80 countries. Altogether, 147 countries have issued stamps commemorating him. Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters. Hill later"
"to the General Post Office, where he strongly opposed the introduction of the Penny Post, a plan championed by Rowland Hill to charge a fixed price for postage (as is now the normal practice in most of the world). One of Maberly's principal secretaries during his time at the Post Office was the novelist Anthony Trollope, who later parodied Maberly as Sir Boreas Bodkin in the novel ""Marion Fay"". On stepping down from the Post Office in 1854 he was appointed a Commissioner of Audit, remaining in post until 1867. In 1865, the Canadian Post Office Department Secretary William Dawson"
"were installed on 11 April 1855. The earliest surviving UK designs are four Butt boxes made in Gloucester for the Western Area. These are at Barnes Cross, near Sherborne, Dorset, inside the former Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse in Plymouth, in the Haverfordwest town museum (formerly at Merlin's Bridge) and in the British Postal Museum & Archive store at Debden (formerly at Ventnor railway station, Isle of Wight). All date from 1853–59, with Barnes Cross being one of the later batch. The oldest pillar boxes still in use by the Royal Mail are at Framlingham in Suffolk; this pair were founded"
"were buried in the churchyard of St Stephen-in-Brannel. Joseph Hocking Joseph Hocking (7 November 1860 – 4 March 1937) was a Cornish novelist and United Methodist Free Church minister. Hocking was born at St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, to James Hocking, part owner of a tin mine, and his wife Elizabeth. In 1884, he was ordained as a minister. Working in different parts of England over the next few years, he wrote his first novel, ""Harry Penhale - The Trial of his Faith"", while in London in 1887. He regarded fiction as a highly effective medium for conveying his Christian message to"
"In the Cage In the Cage is a novella by Henry James, first published as a book in 1898. This long story centers on an unnamed London telegraphist. She deciphers clues to her clients' personal lives from the often cryptic telegrams they submit to her as she sits in the ""cage"" at the post office. Sensitive and intelligent , the telegraphist eventually finds out more than she may want to know. An unnamed telegraphist works in the branch post office at Cocker's, a grocer in a fashionable London neighborhood. Her fiancé, a decent if unpolished man named Mr. Mudge, wants"
"John Palmer (postal innovator) John Palmer of Bath (1742 – 16 August 1818) was a theatre owner and instigator of the British system of mail coaches that was the beginning of the great British post office reforms with the introduction of an efficient mail coach delivery service in Great Britain during the late 18th century. He was Mayor of Bath on two occasions and Comptroller General of the Post Office, and later served as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bath between 1801 and 1807. Palmer was the eldest son of a prosperous Bath brewer and theatre owner who"
"ran their own postal services, such as Argentina, Portugal and Uruguay. Mail is deposited in pillar boxes to be collected by the Royal Mail, An Post or the appropriate postal operator and forwarded to the addressee. 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. Mail may also be deposited in lamp boxes or wall boxes that serve the same purpose as pillar boxes but are attached to a post or set into a wall. According to the Letter Box Study Group, there"
"when clearing the boxes. The carcass or body of the box that supports the door and cap, and may protrude substantially down below ground level. This provides security and stability to the pillar box. There is a wirework cage inside to prevent mail falling out when the door is opened, a hinged letter chute to allow mail to fall into the collecting bag or sack and a serrated hand-guard to prevent unauthorised tampering with the mail through the aperture. Before the introduction of pillar boxes, in the UK, it was customary to take outgoing mail to the nearest letter-receiving house"
"business. He is believed to have been poor at his death. William Dockwra William Dockwra (c. 1635–1716) was an English merchant who along with his partner Robert Murray created the first Penny Post in London in 1680. He was also the founder of British independent Slave Trade. In latter 17th century London there was no official postal system for mail delivery within the city of London and its suburbs. Dockwra's London Penny Post was a mail delivery system that fulfilled this need. His system worked so well that it compromised the interests of private couriers and porters and royal officials"
"The Post Office (play) The Post Office (Bengali: Dak Ghar) is a 1912 play by Rabindranath Tagore. It concerns Amal, a child confined to his adoptive uncle's home by an incurable disease. W. Andrew Robinson and Krishna Dutta note that the play ""continues to occupy a special place in [Tagore's] reputation, both within Bengal and in the wider world."" It was written in four days. Amal stands in Madhav's courtyard and talks to passers-by, and asks in particular about the places they go. The construction of a new post office nearby prompts the imaginative Amal to fantasize about receiving a"
"Joseph Hocking Joseph Hocking (7 November 1860 – 4 March 1937) was a Cornish novelist and United Methodist Free Church minister. Hocking was born at St Stephen-in-Brannel, Cornwall, to James Hocking, part owner of a tin mine, and his wife Elizabeth. In 1884, he was ordained as a minister. Working in different parts of England over the next few years, he wrote his first novel, ""Harry Penhale - The Trial of his Faith"", while in London in 1887. He regarded fiction as a highly effective medium for conveying his Christian message to the public, and combined his writing with his"
"Pillar Box War The Pillar Box War refers to a number of politically motivated acts of vandalism against post boxes in Scotland during the early 1950s in a dispute over the correct title of the new British monarch, Elizabeth II. Ascending to the throne in February 1952 following the death of her father, George VI, the former Princess Elizabeth adopted the Royal style of Elizabeth the Second of the United Kingdom. This was reflected in the Queen's Royal Cypher, which took the Latin form 'EIIR'. Some objected to this usage as the new Queen was in fact only the first"
"collection through gifts and purchases when possible. The collection currently amounts to roughly 23 boxes, and includes original manuscripts for many of his works and an extensive series of correspondence. ""The Balconinny"" (1931) J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley, OM (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984), known by his pen name J.B. Priestley, was an English novelist, playwright, scriptwriter, social commentator and broadcaster. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ""The Good Companions"" (1929), which first brought him to wide public notice. Many of his plays are structured around a time slip, and"
"letter-receiving pillars used in France. Before the use of pillar boxes, on the mainland, individual letters would be taken by hand to a letter receiving house or post office, which was often a coaching inn, a postage stamp purchased and the letter handed to the receiver or postmaster, to connect with the mail coach and later the railway. In the Channel Islands, people took their letters to the mail steamer when it was awaiting the tide in the harbour – the particular problem of an island mail service then. Pillar boxes allowed letters to be posted at any time and"