Plaque

Penfold pillar box - EC1

Erection date: 6/9/2016

Inscription

The Penfold Postbox designed by John Penfold in 1866.
This postbox was unveiled by their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on 6th September 2016.
It commemorates 500 years since the knighting of Brian Tuke, the first Master of the Posts, by King Henry VIII in 1516.
The act was the catalyst for the creation of the Royal Mail we know today. Tuke had the influence and authority to establish key post towns across the country and build out a formal postal network.
The building that this postbox is now situated outside was the General Post Office (GPO) headquarters from 1894 - 1984.
The earlier GPO building was located opposite this site from 1829 - 1912.

Painted in the authentic green then in use, this is a reproduction of the Penfold design, first installed in 1866.

Site: Penny Post & Penfold pillar box - EC1 (2 memorials)

EC1, St Martin's le Grand

The building with the plaque, to the right of our photo, was the General Post Office (GPO) headquarters 1894 - 1984.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Penfold pillar box - EC1

Subjects commemorated i

General Post Office

The first general post office in London opened in 1643, after King Charles I ...

Read More

King Henry VIII

Son of Henry VII. Born Born Greenwich Palace, as the spare, not the heir but ...

Read More

John Penfold

Surveyor and architect. Born John Wornham Penfold in Haslemere, Surrey. He wa...

Read More

Sir Brian Tuke

Administrator. He was secretary to King Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey, and t...

Read More

Penfold pillar boxes

Designed by John Penfold. They are distinguished by their hexagonal shape, wi...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Penfold pillar box - EC1

Created by i

Camilla, Queen Consort

Born London as Camilla Rosemary Shand. 1973 married Andrew Parker Bowles, 199...

Read More

King Charles III

One-time patron of the Goon Show Preservation Society. On the death of his m...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Penfold pillar box - EC1

Also at this site i

Penny Post  - 1890 jubilee

Penny Post - 1890 jubilee

This stone was laid by the Right Honourable Henry Cecil Raikes, M. P., Her Ma...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Henry Labouchere

Henry Labouchere

TW1, Cross Deep, St James Independent School

Henry Labouchere, 1831 - 1912, radical MP and journalist, lived here 1881 - 1903. English Heritage

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
PP - 4J - Simpson

PP - 4J - Simpson

EC1, Edward Street

This garden acquired its name due to its popularity as a lunchtime garden with workers from the nearby General Post Office (long gone). ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
de Gaulle

de Gaulle

SW1, Carlton Gardens, 4

In 1940, after briefly being in Mayfair and Victoria, de Gaulle moved here with his French National Committee. On 18 June that year he ma...

3 subjects commemorated
Herbert Asquith - NW3

Herbert Asquith - NW3

NW3, Maresfield Gardens, 27

Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, 1852 - 1928, Prime Minister, lived here. Erected by the Hampstead Plaque Fund

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Tottenham Outrage - Ralph Joscelyne

Tottenham Outrage - Ralph Joscelyne

N17, Mitchley Road, Good Shepherd Church

In memory of Ralph Joscelyne, 1899 - 1909 who was shot on this spot during the Tottenham Outrage on Jan. 23rd 1909. May he rest in peace...

2 subjects commemorated