Photo-a-Day  (Thursday, 7th September, 2023)

This Victoria Regina Postbox, is fitted in the wall at the old Crawford Arms pub at Red Rock, I'm not too sure if it's the last one thought, I think there's one in Ashton as far as I know.

Old Crawford Arms, Red Rock Hill

There's/was a VR post box at the Unicorn Inn at Orrell.

It's a shame that the building is in the state that it's currently in. If i wasn't for this postbox I'd be all for pulling it down and making a bigger car park for those vanting to visit the canal

I thought it had been snowing at first glance! With all the VR, GR and ER postboxes we have, will they make any CR ones in future, I wonder? Or just manage with the existing ones, with emails etc seemingly taking over from letters?

I’m surprised it’s still set in the wall and not in someone’s back garden..it’s must be well over a 120 years old as the old queen has been dead that long.

There was one near the Bar Bar Elephant (Unicorn pub) on Upholland road but I haven't been for a year or so. Is it still there?

Is this set into the wall of what was the Crawford Arms ??

Yes Gareth

Another ‘multi’ guise for the ‘bleeding piles’ man who rides a bike down by the canal…and loves demolishing old buildings…he’ll never run out of names that’s for sure. His comments are his finger prints… that can’t be disguised

About 2 years ago I was driving past this post box about 6pm I saw two men with van parked on the pavement , I immediately thought they were trying to steal it , I turned round at the little roundabout, parked on the canal bank and approached them.

What happened next restored my faith in human nature. An attempt to steal it the night before was unsuccessful. The men in question were repairing the damage and make it secure, they had mortar mixed on a sheet on the pavement .they were doing in their own time at their own expense . I was going to Morrisons Chorley I picked up a case of larger hoping the were still there on my return journey. They fortunately they were still there . By this time the owner of the dilapidate building was on the scene , Mr Jones, who I led to believe owns another building in the same sorry state ,St Johns School Wigan Road New Springs . However back to the postbox .
One of the men involved lives nearby on Canal Row. I took his details and rang Royal Mail who assured me they would be recognised for their endeavours .I purposely didn't involve the local press , as I thought it might make it to target.I sincerely hope this photograph doesn't make it vulnerable.

gareth and t. read what gary says.
It will answer your questions.

I hope what Thomas wrote on this PAD about people stealing old VR post boxes and Veronica saying, I’m surprised it’s still set in the wall and not in someone’s back garden, doesn't make this one more vulnerable to a petty thief.

I was up on the canal bank in Red Rock yesterday, training my pet Grey Heron, I came off the canal near to this post box and went home by road.
https://youtu.be/iwH69EGDTDU?si=IppQNNI3KMtCvkNL

Mr H ere explaining interesting facts about this post box
https://youtu.be/r3snBiUpFlU?si=RVVI8PvVp4f3g1E1

I think the photo on its own John says it all. It doesn't even need any comments.
Anyway if anybody does try I hope it lands on their toes and breaks them.
My last house where I lived for 30 years and built in 1912 had the terracotta balls on their posts near the garden gate. In the dead of night one was stolen taking a core of Accrington bricks with it.
The other one couldn’t be removed. All along the road there were brick posts with missing terracotta balls…
They couldn’t be replaced I don’t even know how they managed to shift them! In place for a hundred years. Rotten thieves. I always hoped they would land on their scabby feet.

What a decent man you are Thomas (Tom) Walsh I would be inclined to do something similar.

Besides the Smith & Hawkes logo could there be some other markings on them besides the many layers of paint that would help postmen distinguish a genuine one from a reproduction, then surely if folks begin using them for having their post delivered to their home; then postmen could have an inkling it had been stolen. I know some folks do have strange tastes when it comes to garden or house ornaments with the number of road name traffic signs that get stolen, also the mile marker at Boars Head bridge got dug up and stolen not all that long ago and was thought stolen to be used in a garden or sold on, even with Haigh Foundry producing and selling reproduction 19th century mile markers.

Maybe Mr Jones is waiting for the price of land to rocket before selling to the highest bidder, I'd imagine that a few prestigious canal side homes could be built here.

Not within the Wigan Borough - but still in the Wigan area - is the Ridgeway Arms, between the A6 and Blackrod Station - there's a VR postbox on the wall by its car park. A bit less attractive than this one - it looks as if its lock has been damaged in the past. The pub was once known as the Rivington, but is now wrongly spelt as Ridgeway. The pub was originally named after John Ridgway owner of the Victoria Main Blackrod pit.

There are a couple of houses in Withington Lane ,New Springs over the canal bridge onto the side nearest to Hindley Hall golf course with 'GR' and 'VR' postboxes outside their houses.

As it doesn't have a screen and push buttons, a lot of the younger generation would be puzzled as to the purposeof that red "thing" in the wall. "How do you send emails? Can I take photos with it?