Tuesday 13 December 2011

ABC Wednesday - VR

Travelling around Britain one of the things often seen are the letters VR on objects of a certain age. This ones glistens on one of the sides of the ornate Eastgate clock in Chester. The initials stand for Victoria Regina, and the clock was made for the occasion of  Queen Victoria's 60 years on the throne, the Diamond Jubilee in 1897.  The clock stands above the old Roman east entrance into the city which was widened in Georgian times but is still on the Roman wall route if you wish to walk around the walls.
Not easy to spot this VR in Ulverston until getting closer
perhaps to post some cards. And there it is on top of the wall box.  You can always tell the age of a post box by which royal reign it was made as the royal cypher is displayed on them.  These cast iron boxes are painted every three years and it looks as though this one has been recently done. The first Post Office wall boxes (which are mainly for rural areas) were installed in 1857 and went through many designs (mainly to try to prevent the rain getting inside) before eventually in 1887 the so called jubilee box was the end result. The jubilee referred to is Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee (50 years on the throne).

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey from A to Z which this week has reached the letter V


8 comments:

Roger Owen Green said...

That is an impressive timepiece!

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

magiceye said...

beautiful images and interesting information

VioletSky said...

That clock is truly a wondrous sight!
I an glad to see that there are still some of those old post boxes around.I remember thinking how quaint they were when I first came across them during my 1970s visits. Now, I think they are excellent examples of a useful post box that does not get tipped over by drunken louts.

Rajesh said...

Vintage stuff.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Vibrant red!

Please come and see the Voyage of the Mermaid. Happy holidays!

J.Rylie.C said...

Pretty!

Please inspire me with your comment at my V entry thanks!

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

Now, this is a cool tidbit of info to learn! now I will know what that stands fro when I see it.

Anonymous said...

great shot angles and colors


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