John Wornham Penfold (3 December 1828 – 5 July 1909) was a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

born in

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

where he is also buried. The house in which he once lived, "Penfolds", is still to be found near the centre of the town. Penfold post box on King's Parade, Cambridge

Penfold post box on King's Parade, Cambridge

Penfold did his

articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

with

Thomas Talbot Bury Thomas Talbot Bury (26 November 1809 – 23 February 1877) was a British architect and lithographer. There seems to be some dispute about Bury's date of birth. According to Grace's Guide, the 1877 Institution of Civil Engineers Obituaries gives ...

and Charles Lee between 1845 and 1850. Following his articles he worked for

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred t ...

, before striking out to his own practice at Charlotte Row,

Mansion House, London Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. It is a Grade I listed building. Designed by George Dance in the Palladian style, it was built primarily in the 1740s. The Mansion House is used for some of the City of Lon ...

in 1854. During his career Penfold was made President of the

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in t ...

(1859–1860) and an associate of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, becoming a fellow in 1881. He was a founding member of the

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...

and its Honorary Secretary from 1868 to 1904. Penfold designed the hexagonal British

post box A post box (British English; also written postbox; also known as pillar box), also known as a collection box, mailbox, letter box or drop box (American English) is a physical box into which members of the public can deposit outgoing mail intend ...

in 1866, now known as a Penfold box.

Trivia

In the cartoon series ''

Danger Mouse Danger Mouse may refer (or appear in) to: * ''Danger Mouse'' (1981 TV series), a 1981 British animated television series * ''Danger Mouse'' (2015 TV series), a 2015 reboot of the British animated television series * Danger Mouse (musician) (born ...

'', DM's sidekick is named Penfold after J.W. Penfold, since the duo's secret hideout was in a post box in

Baker Street Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid out the street in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detec ...

. However, Danger Mouse and Penfold's hideout was not a Penfold box, but an Anonymous box.

References and sources

;Notes ;Sources
In memory of John Penfold
1828 births 1909 deaths People from Haslemere Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects {{UK-architect-stub