Post Boxes

Post Boxes at Cork Public Museum

In the autumn of 2024, Cork Public Museum was fortunate to receive a donation of four historic post-boxes from now retired, An Post archivist and curator, Stephen Ferguson. Each post box has its own unique story to tell and despite their mundane appearance and utilitarian nature, post boxes offer fascinating insights into Irish history at the beginning of the 20^th century.

Three of the four boxes acquired by the museum were originally manufactured before the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and would have been red in colour, like the post boxes found across the UK. These also have the names of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII or King George V inscribed on them. However, the new Irish Free State did not have the finances to replace every single post-box in the country, so they opted to paint the boxes green instead.

The formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 was a seismic event that forever changed Irish political, social and cultural life, as well as ushering in a new era in Anglo-Irish relations. Understanding fully Ireland’s transition from former colony to independent nation is a daunting task, but these types of post boxes, found in many Irish towns and cities, visually convey the complexity of the period quite succinctly.

Here is a brief description of each post box:

This large wall mounted post box was supplied by London based iron founders, W. T. Allen & Co who operated between 1881-1955. They employed James Maude & Co who operated out of Sherwood Iron Foundry in Mansfield to make the boxes. This box has the initials and numerals E R VII with a crown that represent Kind Edward VII who ruled between 1901-10. The post-box would originally have been red before being painted green after 1922. At some point, a new door with the inscription ‘SE’ or ‘Saorstat Eireann’ (Irish Free State) was added to the box.

This ‘Hovis-Top’ post box or ‘lamp-box’, named after the famous loaves of bread, were typically attached to telegraph poles. The post box was made by Andrew Handyside & Co, based in Derby and London. Andrew Handyside was a Glaswegian who took over the Britannia Foundry in Derby in 1848. The castings manufactured by the firm were renowned all over the world for their strength and quality and the firm would continue to make post boxes well into the 20^th century until they ceased trading in 1931. Inscribed over the letter slot of this box is the phrase Letters Only and underneath the door are the initials G R and a crown. These letters refer to King George V who reigned between 1910 – 36. Just as with the last example, this post box was also painted green sometime after 1922.

This is another ‘Hovis-Top’ box but unlike the previous example, it was made in Ireland after 1922 by Thomas Jessop Davis, who operated out of St. John’s Ironworks and Foundry in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford. David’ company superseded other British based foundries, such as W T Allen and A Handyside, in supplying the Irish market. Despite this however, the style and shape of the lamp box remained the same as it was pre-independence. St John’s Foundry would remain in operation until 1962. The box had P & T on its front door that stands for Post and Telegraphs, the government department responsible for managing the Irish Postal service until 1984.

This wall mounted post box was manufactured by H & C Smith from the King Street Foundry, located on what is now known as MacCurtain Street, Cork City. They had taken over the management of the foundry in the early 1860s from their uncle, Paul MacSwiney who had set up the business in 1816. On the door of the box are the initials VR which refers to Queen Victoria who sat on the throne from 1837 to 1901. As H & C Smith no longer managed the firm by 1883 so it can be assumed this post box was created sometime between the early 1860s and 1883. The post box was still in service in New Ross, Co Wexford, until recent years. Again, this box was painted green soon after Irish Independence.