Description

A wall-mounted cast iron post box, dating from around 1871 to 1877 and set within the front wall of Number 19 West Road. The box is a rectangular 'Type C (small) box' model manufactured by Eagle Range and Foundry Co., Birmingham and is painted Post Office Red. It has a moulded surround and a raised door panel with an integrated handle, a keyhole, an information panel and an off-centre tablet holder. The top has raised lettering 'VR' (the cypher of Queen Victoria) with the Imperial State Crown set between them. Below this, the hood of the letter slot has raised lettering 'POST OFFICE' with 'LETTER BOX' and a moulded (blank) panel below. The name of the manufacturer is at the bottom of the box in raised lettering.

The post box is set within the principal (north) elevation of 19 West Road, the former village post office, which is located at the north end of a row of terraced houses in the Woodend area of Newport-on-Tay.

Historical development

The post box is first marked in this location on the Ordnance Survey 2^nd Edition Map (revised 1893, published 1894). Historical maps do not show a post box anywhere in the Woodhaven area of Newport-on-Tay prior to this (see Ordnance Survey map revised 1854, published 1855).

Wall-mounted post boxes were first introduced in Britain in 1857 as a cheaper alternative to pillar boxes, suitable for smaller towns and rural areas. They were initially manufactured for the Post Office by Smith & Hawkes who operated the Eagle Foundry on Broad Street in Birmingham and later became Eagle Range & Foundry Co., from 1871/72. Originally, there were only two wall boxes: 'Large No. 1' and 'Small No. 2'. In 1871, a new, larger box was added and named 'Type A'. The old 'No. 1' was renamed 'Type B', and the old 'No. 2' was renamed 'Type C' (Colne Valley Postal History Museum).

This example in Newport-on-Tay matches the Smith & Hawkes/Eagle Range & Foundry Co.'s variation on the standard 'Type C Small' design, which were manufactured between 1871 and 1881. This box can be dated to between 1871 and 1876/1877 as it features the Imperial State Crown cypher, which was use up until Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1876.

Woodhaven is a small village situated between the towns of Newport-on-Tay and Wormit in the north of Fife. It developed as a small harbour and pier with late 18^th and early 19^th century villas and some smaller workers cottages. It did not have its own dedicated post office until the later 19^th century. There was a post office in Newport-on-Tay located on the principal road between the harbour and the pier from at least as early as the 1850s (Ordnance Survey Six Inch: Revised surveyed 1854, published 1855).

Statement of Interest

The post box in the front wall of 19 West Road, Newport-on-Tay meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

• It is a good example of a wall type post box dating from around the early to mid-1870s, which remains largely unaltered.
• The present location is typical for wall-mounted post boxes, and the setting retains its historic character.
• It is amongst the earlier standard designs of wall-mounted post boxes that were used by the Post Office. These survive in smaller numbers when compared to later models.
• It is a good example of a model that had a limited period of production, from 1871 to 1881, which survives largely unaltered and has remained in continued use.

Architectural interest:

Design

The post box in the front wall of 19 West Road, Newport-on-Tay is a standard 'Type C Small' design, introduced from 1871. It is amongst the earliest casting designs for wall-mounted post boxes, which were first debuted in the UK in 1857. The 'Type C Small' model was the successor to the 'No. 2 Small' type, which was introduced in 1861 as a variation of the Second National Standard design (1859).

There are slight variations between the 'No.2 Small' and 'Type C' wall post boxes but their overall design is largely the same. Neither has a pedimented hood, which was a feature of the Second National Standard design (introduced in 1859), but both have a large, lower placed door that made clearing the contents easier. They also retained the landscape orientation of the information panel, which is a feature of early wall boxes, whilst the display panel was relocated onto the door in the 'Type C' model to make it easier to update collection times.

The post box is made of cast iron and was manufactured by renowned Birmingham-based iron foundry Eagle Range & Foundry Co. (formerly Smith & Hawkes). The company were one of the earliest manufacturers of British post boxes and held contracts for both pillar boxes and wall boxes from the 1850s to the 1880s. The company underwent a series of ownership changes until the contract passed to W.T. Allen in 1886.

Setting

The post box is located in the Woodhaven area on the south side of Newport-on-Tay. It is mounted within the front wall of 19 West Road, which is located at the northeast end of a terrace of mid-19^th century houses, at the junction of West Road and Woodmuir Crescent and is clearly visible.

The post box is prominently located within the wall of the former post office, within a row of modest workers housing. The present setting is a typical location for a wall-mounted post box, which were often intended for smaller rural towns, villages and rural areas. The post box forms part of the historic character of Woodhaven, which now forms part of the Newport-on-Tay urban area and is largely made up of 19^th century villas and terraces, with a historic harbour and pier.

Historic interest:

Age and rarity

Wall post boxes are a common and prolific type of street furniture but the post box at 19 West Road, which dates from 1871-1876/77 is amongst the earlier examples of a standard wall box design in Scotland. Information from the Letter Box Study Group website indicates that there are around 2,900 wall-mounted post boxes from the reign of Queen Victoria surviving across the UK. The earliest surviving example in Scotland is dated 1861 and is mounted on the wall of the former Sutherland Arms Hotel on Bank Street in Golspie (listed at category B, ref: LB7007). It is the earlier Second National Standard type, which was first introduced in the UK in 1859, and features a pedimented hood.

Smith & Hawkes, later known as Eagle Range & Foundry Co., were one of the first manufacturers of wall post boxes for the Post Office (1857-86), and the 'Type C' model was brought in to use 14 years after wall post boxes were first introduced in the UK.

While wall post boxes are not rare, the number produced during the 1850s-1870s was considerably less when compared with later decades. This example in Newport-on-Tay is a good surviving example in Scotland of one of the earlier casting models dating to Queen Victoria's reign. It is in its original location, within the wall of a former post office, is still in use and remains largely unaltered.

Social historical interest

Social historical interest is the way a building contributes to our understanding of how people lived in the past, and how our social and economic history is shown in a building and/or in its setting.

The post box has some social historical interest as it represents the development of the early postal communications in the Woodhaven area of Newport-on-Tay during the later 19^th century.

Association with people or events of national importance

There is no association with a person or event of national importance.

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