J3471 : Pillar box and drop box, Belfast
taken 13 years ago, near to Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland
A series of photographs showing some of the postboxes within postcodes BT1-15. Link shows the postboxes in the rest of Northern Ireland.
A ‘drop box’ is an item of Royal Mail street furniture. It is a receptacle where the postman can securely store part of his morning round, at a convenient location. Sometimes, the Royal Mail van may drop off the postman with his bike and morning deliveries, saving him carrying a heavier load or frequent returns to the sorting office.
Originally drop boxes were attached to pillar boxes and, therefore, painted red to match. Nowadays, they are separate free-standing boxes – usually close to a postbox – generally painted grey, although red stand-alone boxes are also to be seen.