Preserving the character of Sussex’s post boxes

A commitment to preserve the “character and heritage” of Sussex’s and the rest of the country’s post boxes has been set out by Royal Mail and government agency Historic England.

There are some 85,000 post pillar, wall and lamp boxes across England, and around 115,300 across the UK as a whole - with some of them listed as protected heritage for their historic importance and unique features.

Under the new policy, Royal Mail has pledged to manage, repair and conserve its network of post boxes in their existing locations and has set out how the organisation works to prevent illegal damage or theft of the boxes.

The new commitments update the original policy from 2002 to recognise changes in legislation and allow for recent developments, such as painting 110 post boxes gold to celebrate London 2012 British Olympic and Paralympic champions.

And it renews Historic England’s commitment to work with Royal Mail using heritage protection measures to ensure that post boxes are kept and well cared for wherever possible, the organisations said.

The agreement will be adapted to reflect the individualities of post boxes around the UK, Royal Mail said, with equivalent policies with heritage agencies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Post box: factfile

The roadside post box was introduced in Britain following the 1840 postal reform which provided for universal affordable postage.