Membership

If you are interested by what you are reading please consider becoming a member.

As an active group of individuals devoted to the study of letter boxes, we need to replenish and increase our membership numbers. We need people to maintain and enhance LBSG’s status as the recognised authority on British roadside letter boxes. The basic cost is £34 a year.

You will be joining a highly-respected, serious and authoritative study group that is also fun to be part of. Even the newest member can make a valued contribution to the group’s important task of maintaining accurate records.

Members enjoy recording the state and status of these important heritage assets. Strolling and seeking unusual, undocumented, or picturesque boxes is a timeless pleasure. Members find their interest augmented as associations with the history of communications in an urbanisation, industrialisation and post-industrialisation emerge. There is an engineering, design and manufacturing context. There are architectural associations to be explored and, with the ciphers, connections with the British Royal family.

Many of British postboxes have done service for over a hundred years; but LBSG’s work is a living study. New boxes, sometimes of new designs, are being installed at new locations all the time. Recording and studying these is as much a part of the Group’s work as the boxes of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. We look forward as well as back.

Meetings

The Group currently holds two meetings for members each year, one in the Spring and one in the Autumn which includes our AGM.  These are held at venues around the UK and recent locations have included Torquay, Farnham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Stoke on Trent.

Meetings vary, but give members the chance to meet like-minded individuals and also members of the Committee. There are usually illustrated talks by experienced members on aspects of our study, and often displays and the opportunity to buy letter box-related items.

Partners are always welcome at Group meetings

The extent of any member’s involvement with the group is a matter of individual choice. We have many members who have never attended a group meeting and never will, while there are others who would not miss one for any reason. We even have members who have flown thousands of miles just to attend. The meetings give members the chance to get to know each other – and discover what a friendly lot we are!

Membership Benefits

New members receive a Welcome Pack, a bumper-sized set of written materials that outlines the essentials of letter box heritage and how to get actively involved in LBSG work. It includes a copy of the latest Newsletter, a copy of the LBSG’s Register of Box Types, our publication Beginner’s Letter Boxes, to get you started with your new interest, an edition of A Brief History of the British Roadside Letter Box, and a membership card.

Every Member receives the quarterly magazine. The Letter Box Study Group Newsletter usually runs to 56 pages and is printed in full colour; bumper issues of up to 96 pages are published most years. The Newsletter is lively and substantial, covering all the activities of the Group. It is the chief means of communication within the Group. The NL includes details of the latest information sent in by individuals, lengthier articles on specific aspects of letter box study alongside correspondence, notices of meetings, and reports from the Group’s officers. The Editor is keen to get new Members contributing to the Newsletter. The publication is frequently described as the best produced by any hobby group in the UK.

All members are invited to meetings, usually held three times a year. We hold one in the spring and another in the autumn which incorporates the group’s AGM. These are held at different locations around the country, and provide an excellent opportunity to socialise and exchange letter box expertise. There is normally a presentation on a letter box theme in the afternoon. In addition, we hold a virtual meeting each January. In particular, this gives those members living overseas or who cannot travel, an opportunity to take part. Partners are very welcome to join us at our meetings.

Membership brings an invitation to join the two LBSG internet mailing lists. These are forums where questions are answered, information and pictures are exchanged and news is posted.

Members also have access to The Directory and The Guide to British Letter Boxes, two of the most comprehensive sources of data on British roadside letterboxes in existence.

Members are encouraged to send details of individual letter box sightings and take part in LBSG-organised surveys of pre-specified postal districts. New member can join this work straight away. Help and guidance will be provided by the LBSG.

Membership currently costs £34 a year.

Membership fee details, together with other introductory information about the LBSG can be obtained from The Secretary. The Letter Box Study Group, 7 Bow Close, NEWPORT, TF10 7GR, UK.

Trustees of the Letter Box Study Group aim to maintain membership rates at levels which offer sound value for money.

ELIZABETH II TYPE K PILLAR BOX

Introduced in 1980, the Type K Pillar Box was designed by Tony Gibbs and reverted to the familiar cylindrical shape, following unsuccessful trials with rectangular shaped boxes. Its design was seen as ultra-modern at the time, and was intended to be the letter box of the future; in service a design flaw with the hinging of the door led to frequent and costly repairs, and after only twenty years in production a return to the traditional style of Pillar Box was made.

Particulars

  • Name: Type K Pillar Box
  • Manufacturer: Lion, Carron, Carronade, Abbot and Machan
  • Introduced: 1980
  • Construction: cast iron
  • Height: 63 inches
  • Width: 19¼ inches
  • LBSG type number: PB1048, PB1048Sc
  • Total in LBSG records: 4,722
type-k