Even more of our Elizabethan collection
Finally to wrap up this section, a couple of special function boxes and a pair of old favorites. The most recent development in the form of a Garage Box and an older design from the 1970s for a First Day Cover Posting box are joined here by our Elizabeth IILudlows.
 
The RoMEC (Royal Mail Engineering Contracts) Garage Box (PB60) was introduced in 2002. Designed to sit on the forecourt of a filling station, they replaced nasty plastic boxes which were given permission to tout for business by Royal Mail some years earlier. Both types were supposed to carry advertising panels on the front. The commercial operation was a disaster and it would appear that Royal Mail did not have much luck either as most boxes seem to have only the Guaranteed Next Day service advertising. Indeed the example at the Walsgrave BP garage in Coventry (above right)has now had the advertising door removed to reveal the inner security door. Construction is galvanised sheet steel throughout.
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Another box with a featured space for advertising is this 1970s First Day Cover posting box. The advertising panel in this case is only A3 size and designed specifically for promoting the latest Special Stamp issue. Appropriately enough our poster is in celebration of the 350th Anniversary of the General Letter Office. The box is made of plastic with a sheet steel back is designed to be wall mounted inside a main post office where First Day of Issue posting facilities were provided. It is of very cheap and simple construction, with no security features. It merely ensured that items which should receive the special FDI handstamp were kept separate from general mails. When no FDI service is appropriate, an internal shutter is used to close off the posting apperture. NSB351 |
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The first Ludlow to join our collection came from Thrilby in Yorkshire via a Mansfield-based collector. It is of the later type with the simple Post Office casting rather than an ornate enamel plate seen on the one next to it. It has no collection plate (LWB 173/2). The box with the EiiR enamel plateis a composite box made up from spare parts (LWB172). Our latest box is the larger version of this Ludlow which was formerly at Wivenhoe Cross in Essex. It came as a kit of parts, but is now fully operational and fitted with the original CP from nearby Little Clacton SO. This one does have the special recess for the CP and the tablet. (LWB 160/1). Next to it is a Scottish Crown Ludlow of a similar type which had to be assembled from spare parts. (LWB161/2)
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Left: Later style with cast Post Office on door
Right: Early style (1952-3) with full enamel plate |
 
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(LEFT) The latest addition to our Elizabethen collection is the PB58 Pillar Box by Broadwater Mouldings. These are fibreglass mouldings which have a curious screw-together construction. The box had been out of service for sometime and there are many surface marks which will need attention. It came as a basically complete unit, but with the nine 10mm bolts that hold the cap on all missing. These were simple enough to replace, but the assembly of top to bottom proved difficult without first removing the internal letter chute.
In addition, it seems to take a non-standard pillar box lock, as there are no raised blocks on which the lock can mount. After extensive cleaning to remove caked on masking and gaffer tape, it was fitted with a local collection plate (Halstead box 27) to represent the box recently installed in the new Halstead FSPO. This varient of the Broadwater box has Royal Mail in all upper case script and so is technically a PB58/3.
Whilst tidying up the garage after some restoration work I noticed that what I thought was a duplicated EiiR wall box is actually one we have not got already. It is by W T Allen but is the later design with the full 10" aperture. The interesting black vinyl plate is from the Paddington District office. (RIGHT) |
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This Carron box sports the full 10" wide aperture in an E size box. It was previously located at Cavendish SPO Suffolk. |
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