Much like the Routemaster bus or the red telephone box a British design classic could go the way of the dodo.The iconic design of Royal Mail pillar boxes could soon be at the mercy of a foreign buyer. The digital age has made the sending of letters increasingly redundant and certainly less profitable, resulting in the Royal Mail’s current downward spiral. New owners would be at liberty to change the boxes as they see fit. This could entail a complete make-over from the world famous red paint to the Royal “ER” crest. One potential owner of the Royal Mail is the Deutsche Post, which leaves the unsavoury possibility of yellow, German style mailboxes.
Nia Griffith, Labour Party’s business spokeswoman, said: “The postboxes are much-cherished national icons but there is nothing to stop a new owner painting them yellow or plastering them with advertising. It’s disgraceful.”
A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: ‘We cherish our red postboxes. We are absolutely committed to ensuring that they remain a distinctive part of communities throughout the UK.’
The first of Britain’s 115000 pillar boxes appeared just over 150 years ago
One comment on “Red in the face”
We have two very rare postboxes in close proximity our area. One is an Edwardian one – the other is a Victorian one. The Edwardian one is particularly rare, as he only reigned for about 9 years. It would be a shame if these were to be lost.
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