We Have a Rare Postbox

Royal Parade has a rare Penfold postbox, potentially only one of 20 in the country

Author

Simon Cooper
May 30, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

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Hello, reader!

Welcome to this Friday’s edition of The 8:01

This week we cover:

  • A rare postbox on Royal Parade

  • The V&E East Storehouse opens

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As a resident of Chislehurst, or nearby, you will no doubt have visited Royal Parade and in doing so, you might walked past a Post Box at the northern end on the corner of School Road, you might even send your post from here. But did you know that this no ordinary post box?

A rare ‘Penfold’ post box

This design of postbox was made during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), indicated by the VR cypher, designed by John Wornham Penfold and were introduced in 1866. While initially green, they were later repainted in the more recognisable red. Unlike other designs, the Penfold is hexagonal and features a highly decorative top with intricate detailing, including what appears to be acanthus leaves and a finial

The Letter Box Study Group (LBSG) estimates there are only around 138 original Penfold pillar boxes still in use nationwide making this quite a rare example. However, our post box is even more rare as it’s a Mark I version, depicted by the post slot being above the royal insignia. It’s thought there are only about 20 of these left serving in the entire country.

You can find more of them around London, but in the town of Cheltenham they have eight of them alone.

What’s On This Weekend

Arts & Culture

  • Sun, 1st: Live music at the Ramblers Rest

  • Thu 5th: Oye Santana at The Beaverwood

Churchill Theatre, Bromley

  • Fri 30th: Locomotive for Murder

  • Sat 31st: Murder Trial Tonight III

  • Sun 1st: Norther Live

  • Tue 3rd - Thu 7th : The Croft

  • Fri 6th: Close Up Magic

Bromley Little Theatre

Sport & Fitness

Cricket

Chislehurst & West Kent CC 1st XI vs Staplehurst CC 1st XI
Sat 31st, Chislehurst Cricket Ground 12:00

Dates for Your Diary

Chislehurst Rocks
Sat, 23rd August
Tickets are now available at £10 for General Admission.

Chislehurst Creates
Sat, 20th September
Chislehurst Commons

In Town

Perhaps not the easiest to get to from Chislehurst, but this Saturday sees the opening of the long awaited V&A East Storehouse. Located within the Olympic Park in Stratford, this is a museum with a difference. Unlike most venues where a curated selection of items is put out on display, typically in cabinets, the East Storehouse has opened up it’s entire collection for you to see. You effectively go behind the scenes to see how everything is stored, up close.

You can even ‘Order an Object’ where you select items you’d like to see up close in person via a free appointment.

This certainly sounds like a very contemporary, yet new and exciting museum.

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See you next, Friday!
Simon

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