This plaque commemorates
the bicentenary of the birth of
Anthony Trollope (1815 - 1882),
who introduced pillar boxes to the
United Kingdom in 1852.
In 1855 this street became
one of the
first in London
to have a pillar box.
Famous as a novelist, Trollope is also known as the person who introduced freestanding postboxes or pillar boxes to the UK from 1852 during his time working at the Post Office, after seeing them first in France.
The first pillar boxes in the British Isles were erected in Jersey in 1852 as a trial. This was in response to public demand for improved posting facilities, due to an increase in mail following postal reform in 1840. The trial was considered a success and boxes began appearing across mainland Britain from 1853.
Many of the UK’s first postboxes were painted green, to blend in with the landscape. However, to make them more visible to the public, bright red was chosen instead. The new colour was introduced in 1874 and it took 10 years to repaint all postboxes. Red has remained the standard colour for UK boxes from then on with only a few exceptions, one being blue postboxes for overseas mail.
Royal Mail now has 115,300 postboxes of all shapes and sizes across the United Kingdom and they play a valuable role in helping people and businesses communicate with friends, family and customers around the country and overseas.