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Why do we call post boxes "pillar boxes"?

Question

Why do we call post boxes “pillar boxes? Is there a difference between them?
John, Raynes Park

Answer

** Definitive **
Name: Steve, The Strand
Qualification: Member of the Letterbox Study Group… honest!
Answer: A pillar box is simply so called as it’s in the shape of a pillar, circular in shape. The hexagonal boxes are called Penfolds, then you’ve got lampboxes in the countryside and wall boxes in the walls.

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