Special edition postboxes
Britain’s poets have done more than rouse the world with their verse and unique insight; they have also inspired thousands of UK street and house names.
On National Poetry Day, our latest research reveals that the nation’s poets have inspired the naming of over 10,000 addresses. More than 6,100 of the nation’s named homes also sport a moniker relating to a British poet, ranging from ‘Amis Court’ (Kingsley Amis) in Warwickshire to ‘Eliot Cottage’ (T.S. Eliot) in Hampshire.
Our address management unit analysed more than 30 million addresses to investigate the full extent of the impact that the nation’s poetic wordsmiths have had on the British psyche. The enigmatic Bronte sisters have had the most profound influence on our address names, followed by the silver-penned Lord Byron.
The 10 most influential ‘property poets’ are as follows:
- Emily, Anne and Charlotte Brontë (7,900)
- Lord Byron (1,909)
- Percy Bysshe Shelley (1,479)
- Charles Dickens (550)
- Dylan Thomas (389)
- Christina Rossetti (368)
- Rupert Brooke (360)
- T.S. Elliot (311)
- Alice Oswald (129)
- Siegfried Sassoon (89)
Areas famed for producing internationally recognised writers and artists generally boast the greatest number of addresses related to poetry.
As Wales’s first city – the home of hundreds of celebrated writers throughout the years - Cardiff is the postcode area that officially sports the highest number of addresses relating to verse, with more than 1,450. This is followed by Birmingham, Coventry & Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and Greater Manchester.
Steve Rooney, head of our address management unit said: ‘Street, house and building names chiefly reflect our nation’s heritage and primary interests. As a country with such a proud literary heritage, it’s wonderful to see the full extent that our poets and their works have had on the British psyche.’
Royal Mail marked National Poetry Day with two special edition postboxes honouring the living poet laureates Carol-Ann Duffy and Andrew Motion. The postboxes – in Stafford and London – are adorned with quotes from their most famous poems and will be in place for a month.
Our special edition postbox honouring current poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, was unveiled in the heart of her childhood home, Stafford. Students from St. Austin’s RC primary school, which she attended, launched the postbox with a reading of some of her best loved poems, hand selected by the poet laureate herself.
Carol Ann Duffy said: ‘I’m thrilled to have my poems in the Market Square, a place dear to my heart. And I’m delighted that children from St Austin’s will be involved- the school where I was first encouraged to write poetry by the wonderful Mrs Tilscher.’
The special edition postbox honouring former British poet laureate Andrew Motion, was unveiled in his favourite spot in London – Bedford Square. Young People’s Laureate for London Momtaza Mehri launched the postbox with a reading of some of her favourite Motion poems.
Andrew Motion said: ‘I feel very touched and honoured that Royal Mail should have thought to celebrate National Poetry Day in this way. I worked in Bedford Square for many years when I lived in England, and feel especially pleased that some extracts from my poems will be shown on the post box there.’
