Post box heritage survey

Jersey Post is to work with the Department of the Environment and Jersey Heritage to safeguard those post boxes in Jersey that have significant heritage value. This follows a decision by Jersey Post to decommission a number of the less well-used post boxes as part of a review of its services.

 

The survey of more than 180 post boxes will be carried out by an expert from the British Postal Museum and Archive, together with Jersey Post, to identify which post boxes are historically important and should be recommended for listing.

 

A report on their significance will be produced in October, along with an assessment of which post boxes have most heritage value and should be recommended for listing by the Minister for Planning and Environment. Once significant post boxes are listed, any decision to move or change them would need the permission of the Minister.

 

The post boxes currently identified for closure by Jersey Post will be sealed up, but none will be removed until work to understand their historic significance is complete.

 

The Director of Postal Operations at Jersey Post, Andy Jehan, said "We are very pleased that the Department of the Environment and Jersey Heritage have agreed to work with us and examine the future of each post box marked for closure on a case-by-case basis.

 

“We are aware of the historical significance of many of our boxes and this collaboration ensures that any plans respectfully take their importance and the relevant stakeholders' views into account.

 

“We are saddened by the closure of these boxes, but times have changed and unfortunately mail volumes continue to decline. Our hope is that more people will return to writing letters and postcards, and use the remaining post boxes to secure their future.”

 

Jersey’s post boxes have an important role in the history of the UK postal system. The British Isles' first Jersey post box was placed in St Helier in November 1852 under the supervision of the famous Victorian novelist, Anthony Trollope, who was then a senior figure in the UK postal service.

 

In 2002 English Heritage and the Royal Mail worked together to list the UK’s post boxes with heritage value to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the first box.