We had a certain errand to run today which took us – conveniently – to Amwell Street and the friendly Myddelton’s deli. First, though, we took a walk around our neighbourhood which, as a result of the restrictions on our movements because of lockdowns and “tiers, I have come to know more intimately and to become ever more fond of.

Someone left the door open

I noticed this door the other day but assumed someone had removed it as a temporary measure during work but as it is still here today, it has obviously been dumped. To be honest, I’m surprised it has lasted this long in the street and am sure someone will soon “own” it as it seems to be in good nick.

How to place your letterbox

It’s a strange fact that we see the same scenery again and again and then suddenly notice a feature that has been there all along but only now strikes us as significant. Today, this feature was… letterboxes!

As I have indicated, many of the terraces of houses around here are “Georgian style”, built from the late 18th to middle 19th centuries. An important characteristic of these houses is that they are all very similar in design, though with small differences in items such as the street railings or the balconies. In particular, the front doors are all almost identical, typically comprising six or eight panels in a robust frame.

When these houses were built, the domestic postal service as we know it today did not exist. No postal deliveries meant no need for a letterbox in or near the front door. When the service was invented in the mid-Victorian era, the letterbox had to be invented as well.

The result is an interesting variation in the positioning of the familiar hole in the door. Carpenters called upon to install a letterbox had a problem to face: in a panelled door, where do you find room to cut a hole for letters? Different people found different solutions and we can still see the results today.

The upright solution

Another problem facing the carpenter was the door’s other fittings. These include the door knocker and the doorknob which is often quite large. Above is one solution: a vertically placed letterbox, avoiding the other fittings. Here, the householders have also placed the “No junk mail” notice vertically!

All the houses in this row have letterboxes in exactly the same position, suggesting that they were done as a job lot.

The horizontal solution

A lot of doors do have the more traditional horizontal letterbox where the doorknob is placed higher up on the door or has been removed altogether, leaving enough space between the panels.

Horizontal here…

…but vertical next door

In this street there is variation even between houses next door to one another. There is a reason, though: if you study the design of the door panels you will see that the red door differs from the black ones and there is simply no room for a horizontal fitting.

Double doors

I mentioned previously that the typical door is designed as though it were a double opening but that only the larger houses have a real double door. You can tell which is which by looking at the fittings: if they are in the middle, it’s one-piece door. This door is a genuine double, and the fittings are distributed on each side, as the middle is not available. In the same spirit, the householders have hung, not one, but a pair of Christmas wreaths!

Miniature letterbox

Another “solution” is to use a small letterbox. Now, as far as I know, these small letterboxes were in fact the originals. (Early pillar-boxes also had small slots.) These were later replaced by larger ones. This house still has that original fitting.

Another small-sized letterbox

I’m not sure whether the letterbox on this door has an incorporated door knocker or whether the extra metal is just an ornament but we have certainly seen doors on which the letterbox and the knocker are combined in one, saving space (and encouraging the postman to knock!)

Since originally installed, some of these doors have undergone small alterations such as the addition of an electric bell button or a spy-hole but such alterations are minimal. Houses would have had a complicated doorbell with a lever to pull. Very few of these still exist but we do encounter one from time to time (though it is probably no longer in working order).

Many of these houses were bought by the local Council, divided into flats and rented out. Quite a number, whether singly or as entire rows have been listed by Historic England. A listing preserves at least the external characteristics and appearance of the houses. Alterations, such as replacing the draughty sash windows with double glazing, are prohibited.

In some cases, a group of houses may have been destroyed by bombing during WWII but have been rebuilt exactly according to the original plans. This means many of these streets would still be recognisable to the original occupants of the houses and, for my money, makes this such a pleasant and fascinating neighbourhood in which to live and ramble.

Fine old tree, Lloyd Square

We made our way to the deli by Lloyd Square, one of the few whose central garden is still reserved for residents. I leaned over railings (somewhat enviously, I must admit) to photograph the garden and this fine old tree. Long may it thrive and preside over this quiet oasis.