In the UK, a Ludlow wall box is a post box where mail is deposited to be collected by the Royal Mail. They are built into stone pillars or the walls of buildings and are never found free-standing. This is because they are made largely from wood. They were nearly all made by the now-defunct company of James Ludlow & Son of Birmingham, whose name they take. Similar designs exist as historical artefacts in certain Commonwealth countries. Ludlow style boxes have been in use since 1885 and were in continuous manufacture until 1965. According to the Letter Box Study Group (LBSG), there are more than 450 locations in the UK and Republic of Ireland where Ludlow post boxes are in use, stored or preserved. As Royal Mail estimates that there are over 100,000 post boxes in the UK, the Ludlow style boxes represent a very small group of nonetheless important designs. Early history The earliest use of a Ludlow style box came in 1885, but the very first boxes in the style were made by the Eagle Range and Foundry Company or E.R. Cole & Co and not by James Ludlow & Son. They are grouped together under the generic term "Ludlow boxes" as those made by James Ludlow & Son are by far the most prevalent. According to LBSG records only two E.R. Cole boxes survive in service in the UK and only a handful of Eagle Range and Foundry boxes. Construction Ludlow boxes are special because unlike traditional cast iron post boxes, they are made largely of wood. There are two standard sizes, small and large. The construction of both is a simple rustic pine box which may have doors at the front only or at front and back. In the smaller style the front door is surrounded by a cast iron decorative beading and surmounted by a cast aperture or mouth-piece which bears the cypher of the reigning British monarch at the time of supply. Ludlow boxes can hence be found bearing the cyphers of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II. Below the aperture casting is a wooden door which is faced with thin sheet steel at the top and a decorative enamel plate at the bottom. The plate normally bears the Royal Cypher and the wording "POST OFFICE LETTER BOX". It may also contain a recessed collection time plate