Tramore Hidden History
Post Box
Have you ever taken time to look at a Post Box as you post your letters?
The cast-iron wall embedded Post Boxes were originally set up to collect the Royal Mail. Like all British Mail Boxes the local Post Boxes in Tramore and all-around Ireland were red in colour before the setting up of the free state of Ireland. A lot of the boxes still show the Royal Crown and sometimes the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch when the letter box was first installed.
This one has the Royal Crown above the slit to deposit your letter. Below on the door the Cypher is the markings for Edward V11. His reign as king was from 1901 to 1910.
1922
The first act of the new Irish Government was to order the Post Boxes painted green. It was found not to be feasible to remove the Royal Cyphers and they have remained on the old Post Boxes to this day.
One thing that may interest you is that pre-1874 the post boxes in Britain and Ireland had been painted an olive or bronze green. Sometimes history does repeat itself!
History by Paul Brent
