Church Lane, West Dean

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• Luke

  These types of box are often referred to as "Carpenter’s boxes", a term I heard used by Steve Knight of the Colne Valley Postal History Museum during a recent talk. The name comes from how posting facilities were provided at many sub-post offices in the late nineteenth century. At that time, a newly appointed sub-postmaster was normally responsible for supplying a suitable letter box at their own expense if one was not already installed. Because standard cast-iron wall boxes were relatively expensive, many sub-postmasters instead commissioned a locally made wooden posting box, often built by a village carpenter to suit the building. To make these locally made boxes official for postal use, the GPO supplied a standard enamel POST OFFICE plate and aperture surround. Once fitted, the box functioned in exactly the same way as a centrally supplied post box. These locally produced installations became known informally as Carpenter’s boxes. They are closely related to Ludlow boxes, which were commercially manufactured wooden wall boxes introduced from 1885 as a cheaper alternative to cast-iron types and widely purchased by sub-postmasters for the same reason.

  23 Apr 2026, 14:33

• Keith Stroud· replying to Luke

  Absolutely Luke. Ludlow were wooden as you say, but the door was clad with a thick steel plate with a Chubb lock installed. So sub post masters would buy the frontage for security and have the wooden carcass made by the local carpenter, which probably would have been more beneficial (and cheaper) as they could be 'taylor made' to suit their wall depth etc. By 1908 the Post Office supplied rural sub post masters with post boxes as they had done for town post masters.

  23 Apr 2026, 15:09