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Royal Mail

Categories: Transport

Before the 2012 Olympics started the Royal Mail committed to turn a red post box gold for each British Gold medal, Olympic and Paralympic. In the event this meant that over 100 boxes turned colour. Each one is associated with a particular gold medal and has been chosen to be close to the medallist's home town/borough. Here's the map. We don't believe that the Royal Mail despatched an employee with a pot of gold paint the instant the medallist crossed the line but they have said the colour is permanent.

The Royal Mail have their own website of memorials, nationwide: https://www.royalmail.com/memorials/home .

2022: Londonist have posted (ha ha) an excellent page on postboxes

2024: We read a WW2 'Letter from London' by Mollie Panter-Downes with: "Posting a letter has acquired a new interest, too, since His Majesty's tubby scarlet pillar boxes have been done up in squares of yellow detector paint, which changes colour if there is poison gas in the air and is said to be as sensitive as a chameleon." 

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This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Royal Mail

Creations i

Anthony Trollope - pillar box - Fleet Street

5 similar plaques have been erected.

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Anthony Trollope - pillar box - Piccadilly

This plaque commemorates the bicentenary of the birth of Anthony Trollope (18...

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Anthony Trollope - pillar box - Rutland Gate

5 similar plaques have been erected.

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Anthony Trollope - pillar box - Strand

5 similar plaques have been erected.

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Charlotte Dujardin gold post box

{On plaque attached to side of box:} This post box has been painted gold by R...

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Other Subjects

Rotherhithe Tunnel

Rotherhithe Tunnel

Road tunnel crossing under the River Thames, connecting Rotherhithe to the Ratcliff district of Limehouse. Designed by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, it was constructed using both a tunnelling 'shield' a...

Building, Engineering, Transport

7 memorials
Samuel Plimsoll

Samuel Plimsoll

Born Bristol. "The sailors' friend", whose Load Line prevented ships becoming dangerously overloaded.  Sand shoes were renamed for him since the lower section is rubber and the upper is canvas: dry...

Person, Politics & Administration, Transport

1 memorial
Walham Green Station

Walham Green Station

Walham Green station originally served the Metropolitan District Railway's extension from West Brompton to Putney Bridge.  The first station was opened in March 1880 (see the Picture source for a p...

Building, Transport

1 memorial
Grove Road Toll Bar

Grove Road Toll Bar

"In use in the 18th and 19th centuries" so the dates we give are very approximate.

Building, Commerce, Transport

1 memorial

Previously viewed

Sir Joseph Banks

Sir Joseph Banks

From the British Library: "Joseph Banks was a prominent botanist, who served as President of the Royal Society, and advised on the development of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. He was a key figu...

Person, Science

2 memorials
John Flaxman

John Flaxman

Born in York. Neo-classical sculptor.

Person, Sculpture

7 memorials