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In the pre-post box era, there are two main methods for delivering instructions; senders would be necessitated to bring their mail with a Receiving House, or would await the Bellman. The latter would patrol the streets, collecting post in the community. In order to distinguish himself, and make his presence known, the Bellman has on a uniform and sound familiar.

It was in 1852 how the suggestion of road-side boxes finally became a reality, having a trial proposed for the Channel Islands. Three cast-iron pillar boxes were placed on Jersey to test out the newest system.

The success with the experiment resulted in a different four being placed on Guernsey, one of these now forms part of the British Postal Museum & Archive collection. Letter boxes then began appearing for the mainland by 1853.

However, there was clearly to date no universal pillar box design with which were currently familiar. Design and manufacture was in the discretion of local authorities, and it was in 1859 that attempts were made to standardise the structures.

Horizontal slits became the favoured option over vertical ones, and had become the norm in letterbox design. Further improvements upon the initial included the addition of the protruding cap to shield the contents from the elements.

As of 1859, this area ended up being to be accessible in 2 sizes; a greater and wider size for highly populated areas, plus a smaller version for elsewhere. However, the standardised pillar boxes would not receive universal acclaim. It was against the backdrop of which criticism that the Liverpool Special was formulated.

This prompted the Post Office (opened in 1861) to produce another standard letter box in 1866. Again, this became not only a huge success therefore, an extra design arrived 1879. This final design will be the one with which we are familiar with today. It was 24 months ahead of this that the iconic red colour of the post boxes became a standard feature.

Before now, the most well-liked colour option was green as a way to blend in with all the green British pastures. However, after having a barrage of complaints how the structures were to tough to locate due to their camouflage, it was agreed that bright red was your best option. The programme of re-painting lasted for approximately 10 years.

For the population at large, the introduction and refinement of letter boxes enhanced the capability for sending and receiving mail effortlessly. With the exception of oversized parcel delivery, everyone was afforded access to a delivery service no time before witnessed in Great Britain.