The Post Box

Whether you are a private resident, an individual working from home, or a business, you will need a letter box to receive your incoming mail.  Letter boxes are available in many designs, but there are only four basic styles.  The slot in the door, the letter box which fixes to a door or wall, a multi occupancy mail box and free standing letter boxes which can be mounted on a post.  Letter boxes were first introduced into Britain the Post Office in 1849 in an effort to reduce the workload of the postman.  When letters were delivered, there was often nowhere to put them so post boxes started to appear to make mail delivery quick and easy.

Despite the growth in electronic mail, there is still a great demand for letter boxes to receive mail which cannot be sent by electronic means such as magazines and secure correspondence.  Private residents find letter boxes useful as they are often at work when the mail is delivered. The growth of on line shopping means that many more parcels are delivered. If the recipient is not at home, a card can be put in the letter box to advise the recipient that there is a parcel waiting at the post office.

With an increase in the number of people who work from home either on a permanent or temporary basis, letter boxes are required by home based workers for the delivery of important documents and parcels from head office.  While the majority of correspondence can be done electronically, some items may be sent by post to the home worker, and a letter box to receive them is required.

Businesses also receive mail at offices, and again letter boxes are required.  In a multi occupancy building where there are many offices, it saves time for the postman to deliver the mail to the individual post boxes in a multi occupancy post box on the ground floor rather than visit every floor in the building.  This would be very time consuming especially in a large building, although items requiring a signature must be delivered by hand.

Post boxes are a valuable addition to any building, saving time and money for the post office, as well as the recipient who need not visit the post office to collect the mail.  The location of the post box should be as convenient as possible for the postman, so that he does not have to spend time walking round the property to find it.

Mail can be delivered through the letter box at any time of the day.  Security of the mail must be considered, and most letter boxes are sold with a key.  There are also anti arson letter boxes in case someone tries to set fire to the mail.   Where confidential correspondence is sent through the post, a secure letter box is essential, and if in any doubt, you can send letters by recorded delivery to be signed for by the recipient.  Large capacity post boxes are particularly useful for receiving newspapers and large envelopes which would not fit in a standard letter box.

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