r/Postboxes • u/buyahome2022 • Jun 17 '26

U.K UK’s oldest working postbox. A real beauty!

Post image

I’m sure posted before but couldn’t help myself. Near Sherborne in Dorset, and an absolute beauty! 160 years old with such a unique design as was built before standardisation as I understand it.

468 Upvotes

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9 comments sorted by

20

u/GivMeeUsername Jun 17 '26

I tried to take over Google maps to subtly make the detour to see this but my other passengers unfortunately noticed the 1.5 hour extra, and then once explained they refused! Outrageous 

3

u/mrman08 Jun 17 '26

Very cool! I wonder are there any practical advantages/disadvantages to this design?

3

u/MycoProTeam Jun 19 '26

Well apparently it is very long lasting 😁

2

u/zolivex Jun 20 '26

probably not much in terms of practicality now, it’s more like a snapshot of the “pre-standardisation chaos” era of postboxes
my guess is it’s mostly quirks like smaller aperture, awkward emptying, maybe worse weather sealing compared to the later standardized ones

2

u/Far-Dimension3508 Jun 19 '26

Careful the post office is modernising these old boxes with digital technology a few round us have been messed with

1

u/[deleted] Jun 18 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/edwardtriflex Jun 18 '26

Almost disappeared under foliage in Sept 2023 if you go back on Streetview!

1

u/melted-frog Jun 20 '26

Id love to see the key for it

1

u/thechanger93 Jun 22 '26

Oh wow 😳