By the "Visitation of London, 1633-4," we find it stated that Thomas Withering, "Postmaster of England for Forrayne Parts," was a second son; that he was of a Staffordshire family who had property in that county for many generations; that an uncle named Anthony Withering was a yeoman usher, and his elder brother a gentleman sewer—both places, we apprehend, attaching to the Court. In proceedings held before the Council in June 1633, of which Secretary Windebanke made notes, and wherein Thomas Witherings was interested, mention is made that Witherings was stated to be a papist, and "to have been at one time gentleman harbinger to the queen." The office of harbinger was that of "agent in advance," the harbinger proceeding one day ahead of the queen, to secure for her suitable lodging and entertainment on occasions when she was upon progress. If Witherings really held this office of harbinger, it is possible that he may have shown a leaning towards papacy (though in later life he was a declared Protestant), for King Charles' wife Henrietta Maria was a Roman Catholic herself, and many of her followers were of that religion. There is nothing improbable in the suggestion that Witherings held the office of harbinger, seeing that his brother and uncle were servants at the Court; but whether he was or was not, he would have, by his friends, interest with the royal family. In a remonstrance of the grievances of His Majesty's posts in England, carriers, waggoners, and others (1642), "miserably sustained by the unlawful projects of Thomas Witherings," Witherings is referred to as "sometime mercer of London." Of this mention will be made hereafter.
Witherings was married to Dorothy, daughter of John Oliver of Wilbrougham; and she brought him a fair fortune. In a petition or representation made by her after Witherings' death, she mentions that £105 a year of her land was sold to assist him in procuring his place as Postmaster.
It is well here to remark, in relation to this sum, and the matter should be borne in mind in perusing what follows, that £105 in 1632 would be equivalent to about £420 in the present day. Professor Masson, when speaking of the relative equivalents of English money now and in the first half of the seventeenth century, gives his impression "that any specified salary in English money (of that time) would have purchased at least four times as much, whether in commodities or in respectability, as the same English money would purchase now." As only a portion of Mrs. Witherings' land was sold, she must have had a very respectable fortune of her own.
Witherings lived in an age characterised by corruption, by Court intrigue and Court favouritism, when envy and uncharitableness struggled for place and power, and when those who failed to secure the royal smile were in imminent danger of going to the wall. He did not achieve his official career without attempts being made to oust him from his place. Many general allegations were made against him of irregularities committed in his office, but for the most part with an irritating absence of any definite charges; and in the opposite scale we have the fact that he was still Postmaster for Foreign Parts at the time of his death, in the year 1651.
We have hitherto been dealing with the Postmastership for Foreign Parts; and having accompanied Witherings over a portion of his service, it will be convenient now to see what was going on in the inland posts. It will be remembered that Charles Lord Stanhope was the king's Postmaster at Home and in Foreign Parts, within the king's dominions. The duties of Stanhope were to appoint and supervise the deputy postmasters on the roads, to provide for the conveyance of letters to or from the king or the Court, and, generally, letters on State business; but there was no arrangement, recognised as a State service, for the conveyance of letters of the merchants or the public generally by the deputy postmasters under Stanhope. Although this was so, there is apt to be some misapprehension as to the means available at this time for the forwarding of letters of the public throughout the country. It might be supposed that no machinery to this end existed. There is, however, we think, every probability that while the postmasters were not officially authorised to convey letters from place to place, they did so, and reaped some benefit from the work. The postmasters throughout the country were constantly sending guides and horses between their several stages; the horses had to be brought back by the guides to their headquarters; and it would be surprising if the postmasters, when opportunity offered, did not undertake the carriage of letters for a fee. Further, in a State-paper office document, dated 1635, it is mentioned that the king's postmasters carried the subjects' letters, but up to that time had never reaped any benefit from it. The meaning of this must be, that the Chief Postmaster and his predecessors had never reaped any benefit; but it is not likely that the deputy postmasters, who did the work, would perform the service for nothing. When the carriage of letters was afterwards taken up as a State affair, we shall hear an outcry for arrears of wages due to the postmasters, who previously were apparently content to let that matter lie over, deriving their profits from the letting out of horses, and the fees from the carriage of private letters. But the carriers with their carts and pack horses also conveyed letters for the public, and though the travelling was slow, it extended to all parts. By consulting old calendars and like books of reference, the reader will see how extensive was this carrying business, down to the time when it was superseded by the railways. But we are not left in any doubt as to the part the country postmasters took in the carriage of letters for the public, at anyrate on the Western road from London to Plymouth, antecedent to this period, for by a petition which will be quoted hereafter from the postmaster of Crewkerne, it will be seen that, under an Order of the Council of State, dated the 24th February 1630, a weekly carriage of letters had been set up by the several postmasters on that road for their own profit.
Confirmation is given to this statement by papers belonging to the borough of Barnstaple, under date the 17th September 1633. It is there recorded that the Mayor and Aldermen of Barnstaple established communication between their borough and Exeter by means of "a foote post to goe weekly every Tuesday morning about seaven of the clock in the morning from the said towne of Barnstaple unto Exceter, and to be there at the postmaster's howse in Exceter the Wednesday morning, and there to deliver unto the post whiche is to goe that morneing toward London all such letters as shalbe sent him to be conveyed unto London, ... which foote post is to stay in Exceter untill the London post for that weeke shall come from London, and shall take upp all such letters as the said post shall bringe from London," etc. It is then explained that, "by means of which so speedie conveyance, men may in eleaven days write unto London and receive answers thereof backe again, and their friends and factours may have three dayes' respitt to give answere unto such letters as shalbe sent; as also any man receiving letters from London may have like time to answer the same," etc. Now, if we deduct from the eleven days here mentioned the two days coming and going of the foot post between Barnstaple and Exeter, and the three days' "respitt" in London, it leaves only six days for the double journey between Exeter and London, or three days for a single journey of over 170 miles. There is no doubt whatever from these statements that there existed, prior to Witherings' posts, a regular weekly horse post from London to the West of England for the general service of the public.
A project for a new and extended arrangement of the business of the post office was drafted in 1633—probably by Witherings. According to this paper, "it was calculated that in the 32 counties of England there were at least 512 market towns, which, one with another, sent 50 letters per week to London, which, in respect of their answers, are to be reckoned at 4d. each, making in all 25,600 letters, or £426 per week. The estimated charge for conveyance of these letters would be only £37 per week, leaving £388, 10s. weekly profit by this office, out of which was to be deducted £1500 per annum paid to the postmasters for the charge of conveying his Majesty's packets. All letters on the road to Scotland were to be charged 2d. for every single, and 4d. for every double letter, to be paid at the receiving and delivery in London; for Yorkshire and Northumberland, 3d. a letter; and for Scotland, 8d. The postmasters in the country were not to take any money for letters, save 1d. for carriage to the next market town." Thus, in 1633, it would appear that nearly 26,000 letters a week reached London from the country, and, as replies, a similar number would be sent thence to the country. The project sketched out above was not, however, then carried out.
Some curious questions as to the post service arose at this period. On the 13th May 1633, the Mayor and Jurats of Dover made a representation to the Lieutenant of Dover Castle and of the Cinque Ports, to the effect that the deputy postmasters and the hackneymen of Dover and Canterbury had admeasured the highway between these places, and set up posts at every mile's end, making the distance fifteen miles and a quarter. For this "distance they charged 3s. 9d. for horse hire, being 9d. more than the ordinary rate." The Mayor and Jurats "called before them the postmaster's deputy and some of the hackneymen, and found them resolute therein. They have done the same without commission from His Majesty or the Lords." It appears that the Kentish miles were longer than the miles elsewhere, and that 3d. per mile was allowed here, while in some other places only 2-1/2d. was paid. The men of Kent wanted to be paid the higher rate for the shorter miles, which they had measured for themselves.
The postmaster of St. Albans, by the methods which he employed in carrying on the business of his office, got himself into deep water with the people of that town. On the 20th January 1632, informations were made by Edward Seabrooke, John Tuttle, and Fromabove Done, setting forth complaints against John Wells, postmaster of St Albans, in pressing their horses for the service of the post maliciously or corruptly, in order to procure a bribe for their release. On the next day informations were made by John Mitchell of Sandridge, Ralph Heyward of Bushey, Henry Pedder of Luton, and John Bolton of Harding, all containing charges of corruption or misconduct against John Wells, postmaster of St Albans. Again, on the 3d August 1633, the inhabitants of the parish of St. Stephens, in St. Albans, forward depositions, taken before Sir John Garrard and others, Justices of the Peace, seeking to establish that "under colour of a commission granted by Lord Stanhope, Wells sent to the several parishes in and about St. Albans to furnish horses for His Majesty's service, there being not any such horses needed; but warrants being issued merely to compel the owners of the horses to compound." Whether Mr. Wells was as bad as painted we cannot say, but he no doubt had at times to call in extra horses; for, on the 13th May 1633, Lord Stanhope issued the following warrant to all Deputy Lieutenants, Justices of the Peace, and other officers:—"Special occasions are offered, for the affairs of the State and service of His Majesty, to send in post both packets and otherwise oftener than ordinary; the persons addressed are therefore to assist John Wells, post of St. Albans, and on his application to take up ten or twelve sufficient horses, as the service shall import." This was within a few days of the king's setting out upon a progress into Scotland.
On the 19th June 1633, a petition to the Council is forwarded by Edward Hutchins and Joseph Hutchins, sons of Thomas Hutchins, post of Crewkerne, lately deceased, and by all the posts between London and Plymouth, as follows:[1]—