An American living in England has shared that he knows something you probably don’t about postboxes, and it unlocks a whole new fasincation with British history
A Texan living in England has explained that he has extensive knowledge about postboxes and wants to share it with others so they can gain a deeper understanding of the structures. TikToker @grande_americano asked his followers: “Did you know that British postboxes have a secret message hidden on them, right in plain sight?”
He captioned the video: “British post boxes aren’t just iconic red boxes — they each carry a royal cypher that tells you exactly which monarch was on the throne when it was made. Once you know how to read them, you start spotting pieces of UK history everywhere…including the post box in London that a tree grew around”.
The US man then zoomed in on a red postbox, saying: “See those little initials on the front? They’re royal cyphers, and some people call it cypher spotting.
“They’re tiny marks showing which monarch was on the throne when that box first began its job. VR for Victoria, GR for George, ER for Elizabeth, and now CR for Charles”.
He explained that once you’ve noticed them, you “start seeing history everywhere,” as you’ll be able to identify from which era the postbox was originally erected.
Postboxes can be found in so many locations too – “on street corners, quiet lanes, even tucked away behind garden walls”.
He said: “But there’s one postbox that feels almost magical, on Fitzjames Avenue in London.
“A tree has grown right around the postbox itself, its trunk wrapped gently around the red iron, holding it the way time holds a memory”.
The Texan explained that the postbox “still works” and “letters still slip inside and collections still happen”. He said it’s a small reminder that “in this country, small things can become extraordinary”.
Also, the “past never really disappears,” instead it “waits quietly in plain sight for someone to notice”.
In the comments, someone wrote: “Edward VIII boxes are pretty rare as he abdicated pretty quickly in 1936. Only 57 in the country. We have two in Liverpool”.
Another penned: “Dunblane in Scotland has a gold painted post box to commemorate Andy Murray’s Gold Olympic Medal in 2012″.
A Brit proudly shared: “I live in Cambourne, Cambs, and we have the very first King Charles III post box!”
The TikTok creator responded: “Is it the one in the picture in my video? I remember reading about the first one when I searched it”. She said it was.
Someone shared a story about a postbox in Manchester, writing: “There’s an interesting post box in Manchester City centre! In 1996, the IRA rigged up a van with a bomb in it.
“The area was evacuated pre-explosion, and amazingly, there were no fatalities, but a huge amount of damage to the surrounding buildings. The post box survived the blast with minor damage. It was repaired whilst the city was rebuilt and is still there to this day with a little plaque on it”.
