A world-leading institution is celebrating its 150th anniversary by recognising one of its most influential designers.

Harrow-on-the-Hill is home to a replica design of the renown Penfold pillar boxes, created by John Worman Penfold, one of the designers being celebrated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in their Pride in the Profession campaign.

Mr Penfold was a leading architect and founding member of the Royal Institution, started in 1868. He was also president of the Architectural Association School of Architecture from 1859 to 1860.

Sean Tompkins, CEO of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: “The Pride in the Profession initiative is about celebrating the remarkable contribution surveyors made to society.

“John Wornham Penfold’s work as a leading surveyor of his time, his contribution to the RICS and the historic design of the Penfold box stand him out as a great surveyor worthy of recognition.”

Mr Penfold’s design has been replicated many times and many still exist, though only 36 of the originals can still be found in the UK.

London has the highest number of rare original post boxes in the UK, with 16 scattered across boroughs in the capital, including Islington, Walthamstow, Clapham and Camden.

All the original post boxes are Grade II-listed structures, and John Worman Penfold has been named by the Royal Institution as one of the greatest surveyors of the past 150 years.

Mr Penfold’s British hexagonal post box design decorated with acanthus leaves created a national standard for letter boxes when it was commissioned by the Post Office in 1866.

Admiration for Mr Penfold’s design was later referenced in the well-known Danger Mouse cartoon, after the crime-fighter’s side-kick, Penfold. Their hideout was a letter box.