post box

Wall-mounted cast-iron post box, c. 1915, with raised crown motif over letter flap, and ' G.R.' royal cipher to door. Raised 'Post Office' lettering to letter flap and foundry name to the base (W.T. Allen & Co, London). Still in use. Set into rendered gate pier in rendered boundary wall. Located adjacent to rural crossroad junction to the south-east of Malin Head, and to the north-west of Malin.

An attractive item of street furniture that represents an early surviving artefact of mass-produced cast-iron ware. The modest design of the box is enhanced by the royal cipher (identifying the reign of King George V between 1910-1936) and the crown motif, which enliven the appearance of this otherwise functional object. Post boxes with the G.R. insignia are quite rare in Ireland, as they were erected only during a few years before independence. Many pre-independence post boxes were simply painted green and retained their royal insignia but are now becoming an increasingly rare sight and are worthy of retention as historical artifacts. It was cast by W.T. Allen and Company of London (1881- 955), who were responsible for many of the British era post boxes in this area. The raised insignia demonstrates the artistic qualities of mass production at the time of its casting. This post box is sited at a prominent crossroads, which is a common site for post boxes for obvious reasons. The repainting of post boxes following the foundation of the state was a simple and practical method of reclaiming these artefacts of Ireland's colonial past. This is the smallest type of wall box, known as the C type, and was used where the volume of mail didn't justify a pillar box.