I recently spotted this monster of a letter box, or more correctly letter-plate, in Manette Street, Soho.
The aperture is a massive 21 1/2″ wide by a jaw-dropping 4″ deep, that’s in the old money of course (the alternate, modern, measurement of 55cm x 10cm somehow lacks resonance for me).
To put its size into perspective; a regular domestic letter-plate normally extends for no more than 8 inches and is unlikely to be deeper than 2 inches. Well, using that scale of measurement, this one sounds like a real biggie to me and it can be found here:
Yes here, above the entrance to the lobby of the prestigious West-End offices of Linda Internet (and an associated mini-cab firm) at Number 16, Manette Street, Soho, stands this postal colossus.
But why is it above the door? And why is the thing wider than the door itself?
It’s so big one could potentially post a whole stack of LPs, even diagonally, into Linda’s void. That little knocker still works, even if the plate itself has now lost its function.
It looks and feels early to mid 19th Century to me but the staff at Linda’s were unable to offer any detailed history about this little known London oddity. Can you, dear reader, offer any proper explanation?
Or, perhaps I am wrong and an even larger letter-plate exists within our Capital, if so, please do share its location.
The author of this blog really is a fully qualified and insured City of Westminster Tour Guide. This letter-plate now features in his “Seven Noses of Soho” tour. He runs a range of unique walking tours in London, see tabs for details.
Well spotted! The knocker is an unusual design, could it be a Star of David, or am I inventing that? Letterboxes only came into existence when, with the introduction of the Penny Post in 1840, it became common for the postage to be paid by the sender and so no interaction between postie and recipient was required. So Rowland Hill is indirectly responsible for this monster. You’ve prompted us to publish a plaque to Sir Rowland on a rather grim corner in Hampstead. http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/rowland-hill-nw3
A nice piece of observation and an interesting discovery. Given its position above a door, I suspect this is a piece rescued from a demolished or refurbished building. The rescuer has perhaps moved on or died, leaving the object finally orphaned.
The clue is possibly in the knocker. The design looks like something religious and has a certain Masonic air to it, though I don’t think it is actually Masonic. (It might be worth asking them, however, just in case.) I don’t think it’s a company logo.
If we knew the original siting of the letter box (assuming that that is what it is – it’s just possible that it had a more arcane use), then that might well indicate its purpose.
It might be worth asking Lee Jackson over at the Dictionary of Victorian London whether he has any knowledge of the object or the device on the knocker.
Failing that, a friendly antiques dealer might be able to help.
I tend to agree with the previous post it must have been rescued from another building but why it was placed above this door is a total quandary.
I do wonder if there is some religious aspect to out too as the design does look rather Jewish origin.
It would be fascinating to find out, perhaps the Jewish Museum in London could help.
The letter box is amazing and I don’t know why I do think I saw this symbol (the door knock) somewhere else. Secret Society? (always liked the secrecy).