"On the road..." is a series of posts about our Discovery
of Britain's highways and byways. Whether it be some family fun, a
surprising connection or just a beautiful spot we want to share our love for
this country with you.
Today we visit Gloucester
In between Gloucester's Cathedral Precincts and King's School you will discover an unusual Royal Mail post box - unusual in that it does not have any markings
on the front.
Post boxes usually have
the initials of the reigning monarch when the box was erected clearly displayed
on the door. The oldest red pillar post boxes date from
1852 and have VR for Queen Victoria (1837-1901) engraved on the front – the R
is for Regina or Rex – the Latin for Queen or King. Then in 1879 a series of boxes were produced
which have become known as “Anonymous boxes”.
Queen Victoria is not acknowledged!
This practise was rectified in 1892 and the Queen and all subsequent monarchs
have their initials depicted including
ER VII (King Edward VII 1901-1910),
GR V (King George V 1910-1936) ER
VIII (Edward VIII 1936), GR VI (King
George VI 1936-1952) and ER II (Queen Elizabeth II 1952- ?). The iconic red colour was not standardised
until 1874. Prior to that time no colour
was specified - although green was quickly decided as too well camouflaged as
people kept bumping in to them.
This
is an excerpt from the tour Gloucester City Tour - Part One which
explores the streets around the Cathedral. The full tour is found
on www.obelisktours.co.uk
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