The History of the British Post Office

by Joseph Clarence Hemmeon

The Economist.

The London Times.

Notes and Queries.

With reference to the foregoing bibliography, the "Letters and Papers of Henry VIII" and the "Calendar of State Papers" have formed the basis of this sketch of the British Post Office during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with many references to the papers of private individuals and institutions collected by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. The "Proceedings and Ordinances and the Acts of the Privy Council" contain important orders issued to the Postmaster-General or the postmen during the sixteenth century as well as complaints from the postmen and the public. From the beginning of the eighteenth century the chief sources of information are the historical summaries appended to the "Reports of Committees and Commissioners" compiled during the first half of the nineteenth century. Of these, the "Report of 1844" is the most important. The "Journals of the Lords and Commons" throw some light upon the history, purpose, and intent of the various acts of Parliament dealing with rates and finance. "The Financial Report of 1797," various returns submitted to the House of Commons, and the reports contained in the "Accounts and Papers" for the first part of the nineteenth century are chiefly concerned with the financial side of the history of the British Post Office. Since 1840 the most important sources of information are the yearly reports of the Postmasters-General, dating from 1854, and the voluminous reports of committees appointed to investigate debated points in the organization and policy of the Post Office as well as to advise upon matters which had produced friction between the department and its employees.

Of the secondary works there is little to be said. The only one from which any important information has been obtained is Joyce's "History of the British Post Office to 1836." This book contains a great deal of valuable matter arranged in rather a haphazard fashion and with no references. Writing as a Post Office official at the end of the nineteenth century, Joyce hardly appreciated the conditions which his predecessors had to meet. In Stow's "London" are found some interesting facts about the London Penny Post, in Blomefield's "Norfolk" early postal conditions in Norwich are described. The other books of the same description contain only incidental references to minor points of Post Office development.

[INDEX]

Abuses in the Post Office, [42]-[46], [127], [128].
Allen, Ralph, [36], [37], 37 note.
American colonies, Post Office in, [32], [33], [59].
American Express Company, [70].
Annuities, [74]. See also Savings Bank Department.
Arlington, Lord, [27].
Arundel, Earl of, [11].
Assurance facilities, [74]. See also Savings Bank Department.
Bennett, Sir John, [27].
Billingsley, [11], [19].
Bishop, Henry, [24], [25].
Book Post, [68], [173]. See also Halfpenny Post and Rates, Book Post.
Bower, Sir George, [80].
Bradford Committee, [84], [85].
British and Inland Magnetic Telegraph Company, [202], [206], [208].
Burlamachi, Philip, [17], [18].
Buxton, Sydney, [85], [87], [88].
Bye-letters, [35 note].
Bye-posts, [36], [39], [144];
receipts from, [185], [186].
Canadian Pacific Railway Company, [134].
Carteret, Lord, [42].
Cash on delivery, [70], [71].
Chamberlain, A., [83].
Chesterfield, Countess of, [25].
Clerks of the road, [38], [50].
Coaches. See Mail Coaches and Post Coaches.
Coke, Sir John, [11], [12], [15], [16], [18], [111], [112].
Competition in carrying letters, [191]-[197].
Competitive examinations, [87].
Compulsory prepayment. See Prepayment of rates.
Cotton and Frankland, [31], [115].
Cromwell, orders to the postmasters, [23].
Cross-posts, [140], [144]. See also Bye-posts.
Cross-post letters, [35 note], [36]. See also Post-roads, Cross-posts.
Cunard Steamship Company, [132], [133], [134].
Customs duties, [125].
Dead Letter Office, [50].
Delivery of letters, [9], [38], [39];
rural, 65, 66;
express or special, [67], [68].
Departmental committee, [82].
De Nouveau, [114].
De Quester, [10], [12], [135].
De Taxis, [112], [114].
Dockwra, William, [28], [30].
Double letter, [13 note].
Dublin Penny Post, [30 note], [54], [150].
Edinburgh Penny Post, [54].
Edison Telephone Company, [219].
Electric and International Telegraph Company, [202], [205], [206], [208].
Embossed stamps. See Stamps.
Employees, postal, appointment brought under civil service examination, [78], [79];
report of Bradford committee, [84], [85];
of departmental committee, [82];
of Hobhouse committee, [86]-[88];
civil rights, [82];
postal unions, [85];
wages, [80], [83];
Tweedmouth settlement, [81], [82];
strike, [81];
grievances, [80], [82], [83];
increase in wages, [81], [82].
Evasion of rates, [197]-[201]. See also Monopoly, attempts to break.
Express delivery. See Delivery of letters.
Farmers of the Post Office, [21], [22], [36], [37].
Fawcett, Henry, [74], [75], [80], [81].
Fees, [9], [15], [45], [49].
Fifth-clause Posts, [65].
Finances of Post Office, [180]-[188].
Foreign connections: Belgium, [111];
France, [111], [113], [114], [115], [117], [118], [120];
Germany, [111];
Holland, [111], [114];
Italy, [111], [115];
United States and the colonies, [120 note];
stages settled on the continent, [112].
See also Rates and Sailing Packets.
Foreigners' Post, [6], [7].
Franking, [159]-[172];
by members of Parliament, [25];
of newspapers, [48].
Franking department, [57].
Frankland. See Cotton and Frankland.
Freeling, Sir Francis, [52].
Frizell, [11], [18], [24].
Grimston, [205].
Halfpenny Post, [68], [69], [197].
Hall, John, [1].
Hamilton, Andrew, [3].
Hanbury, [82].
Hicks, James, [19], [20], [24], [26], [27], [112].
Hill, Sir Rowland, [59]-[61], [187].
Hobhouse committee, [86]-[88].
Inman Steamship Company, [132], [133].
Insurance facilities, [74]. See also Savings Bank Department.
Ireland, Post Office in, [31], [57]. See also Post-roads, Rates,
and Sailing Packets, Ireland.
Letters, number of, [63].
London and Globe Telephone Company, [220].
London District Post, [71].
London District Telegraph Company, [202].
London Penny Post, [28]-[30], [34], [35 note], [51], [52];
receipts from, [185].
See Twopenny post.
Mail coaches, [40], [41], [55], [104], [105].
Manley, John, [22], [23].
Marconi Company, [213], [214].
Mason, Sir John, [7], [8].
Merchant Adventurers' Post, [6], [11].
Messengers, [3], [5], [67].
Money Order Office, [50], [71].
Money orders, [176]-[180];
number of, [71]-[73].
See also Rates, money orders.
Monopoly, attempts to break, [191]-[197];
in carriage of letters and packets, [189]-[191], [195], [196].
See also Telegraphs, monopoly.
Mowatt, Sir F., [81].
National Telephone Company, [222]-[224], [229], [231], [233].
Neale, Thomas, [33].
Newspaper Office, [49].
Newspapers, chargeable and free, [68];
franking of, [48];
impressed stamps on, [68];
number of, [68].
See also Rates, newspapers.
New Telephone Company, [223].
Norfolk, Duke of, 8[82].
O'Neale, Daniel, [25].
Opening and detaining letters, [16], [18], [21], [26], [46]-[48], [196].
Packet list, [48].
Packets. See Sailing Packets.
Paget, [7].
Palmer, John, [40]-[42], [44].
Parcel Post, [70], [174]. See also Rates, Parcel Post.
Patronage, [78], [79].
Pattern and Sample Post, [69]. See also Rates, patterns.
Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company, [132].
Penny Post. See London Penny Post.
Penny Postage, [59]-[62], [158]-[160].
Pensions, sailors', [127].
Pitt, William, [43].
Plague, [26].
Political patronage. See Patronage.
Postal establishment, in seventeenth century, [27];
in eighteenth, [38], [44];
in nineteenth, [57].
Postcards, [174];
number of, [69], [69 note];
use of, [69].
See also Rates, postcards.
Post coaches, [40].
Post horses, [5], [8];
fee for their use, [89], [90], [92];
licences and taxes, [94], [95], [95 note];
monopoly in letting, [92], [94];
number to be kept, [92], [93];
supply of, [89], [90].
Postmarks, [29].
Postmen's Federation, [95 note].
Post offices, number of, [71].
Post-roads, [13];
cross posts, [103];
in sixteenth century, [97], [101];
in seventeenth century, [9];
maps, [101];
re-measured, [103], [104];
in north of England, [102], [104];
in south, [102];
in Ireland, [102], [104];
in Scotland, [103].
Prepayment of rates;
compulsory prepayment inadvisable, [26], [26 note];
unpopularity of, [64].
Prideaux, Edmund, [18]-[21], [136].
Raikes, [81].
Railways, [107], [108];
amounts paid for conveyance of mails, [56], [78];
authority of Postmaster-General over, [77];
principles involved in estimating tollage for conveyance of mails, [77].
Randolph, Thomas, [7], [8].
Rates, for letters, [13], [23], [62]-[64];
by weight, [157];
re-directed, [173];
ships' letters, [143], [148], [153].
In England, [136], [137], [141], [142], [145]-[148], [150], [151], [158];
Ireland, [136], [137], [141], [142], [146], [151], [152], [158];
Scotland, [136]-[139], [141]-[143], [145]-[148], [150], [151], [158];
United Kingdom, [159], [172], [174].
To Austria, [135], [149], [150];
Belgium, [135], [143], [149], [150], [155 note], [157], [176];
Cape of Good Hope, [153], [154];
Channel Isles, [148], [150];
Denmark, [137], [143], [149], [150], [155], [155 note];
East Indies, [153], [154];
Egypt, [155 note], [156];
France, [155], [137], [143], [149], [149 note], [150], [155], [155 note], [176];
Germany, [135], [137], [143], [149], [150], [155 note], [157];
Gibraltar, [155 note];
Greece, [155 note], [156];
Holland, [135], [143], [149], [150], [155 note], [157];
Italy, [115], [135], [137], [143], [149], [150], [155 note], [156], [176];
Malta, [155 note];
Mauritius, [153], [154];
Mexico, [155 note], [157];
Norway, [155 note], [157];
Portugal, [143], [147], [149], [150], [155 note];
Russia, [155 note];
South America, [155 note], [157];
Spain, [137], [143], [149], [150], [155 note], [157], [176];
Sweden, [137], [143], [149], [150], [155 note], [157];
Switzerland, [155 note], [157];
Syria, [156];
Turkey, [137], [149], [150], [155 note], [156];
North American colonies, [143], [146], [147];
United States, [155 note], [175].
In North American colonies, [140], [141], [144], [146];
West Indies, [140], [140 note], [143], [146].
To the colonies, [159], [175];
to foreign countries, [159], [176].
Book Post, [173];
money orders, [71], [72], [176] et seq.;
newspapers, [153], [154], [173], [175], [176];
Parcel Post, [174];
patterns, samples, and writs, [145], [173];
postcards, [174], [176].
Registered letters, [50], [64], [173], [174].
Returned Letter Office, [57].
Roads. See Post-roads.
Royal Mail Steamship Company, [132].
Royal Post, [3], [6].
Sailing Packets, abuses in connection with, [127] et seq.;
British and foreign vessels, [123];
cost of, [128], [134];
customs difficulties, [125];
number of, [120], [121];
ownership transferred to Admiralty, [129], [130];
steamships, [121]-[123], [131];
subsidies for, [130], [131]-[134];
use of private ships, [120 note], [123], [124].
To Cape of Good Hope, [120];
Deal and the Downs, [110];
East Indies, [120];
France, [111], [115], [116];
Gibraltar, [116];
Holland, [115]-[117];
Ireland, [109], [110], [121];
Malta, [116];
Isle of Man, [110];
Mauritius, [120];
Mexico, [120];
Portugal, [115];
Scotland, [109]-[110];
South America, [120];
West Indies, [118] et seq.
St. Martin's-le-Grand, [57].
Sample Post. See Pattern and Sample Post.
Savings Bank Department, [73], [76];
annuity and assurance facilities, [74]-[77];
criticism by "Economist," [75 note].
Scotland, Post Office in, [31], [32], [34], [59]. See also Post-roads,
Rates, and Sailing Packets, Scotland.
Scudamore, [203]-[205], [208].
Shipping list, [48], [49].
Single letters, [13 note].
Smith, Llewellyn, [81].
Special delivery. See Delivery.
Speed, [14];
in sixteenth century, [98];
in seventeenth century, [98], [99], [100 note];
in nineteenth century, [104], [105], [105 note], [106];
by use of railways, [107], [108];
delays and attempts to remedy them, [100];
delays between England and Ireland, [107];
means for securing speed, [106].
Stamps, [65], [68].
Stanhope, Charles, [8], [17], [24].
Stanhope, Lord John, [8], [10], [135].
Stanley, Lord, [83]-[85], [203].
Steamships. See Sailing Packets, Steamships.
Strangers' Post. See Foreigners' Post.
Sunday posts, [55], [79], [80].
Tankerville, Earl of, [42]-[44].
Telegraphs, cost to Government of, [205], [206], [208], [209];
finances, [216], [218];
government ownership proposed, [203]-[205];
international agreement, [211]-[214];
messages sent, [202], [215];
monopoly, [207]-[208];
press messages, [209], [217];
private companies, [202], [203];
railway interests in, [206], [207], [209];
rates, [202], [203], [209], [210], [213];
relations with Marconi Company, [213], [214];
underground lines, [211].
Telephones, call offices, [224], [227];
exchange areas, [224];
finances, [236];
government, [220], [221], [225], [228];
inter-communication, [224], [229], [232], [234];
licences, [220]-[222], [224];
municipal, [226], [228]-[230], [235];
purchase agreement, [232] et seq.;
rates, [227], [230], [232], [234], [235];
trunk lines, [221], [225];
underground wires, [231], [232], [234];
way-leave powers, [221], [223], [224], [232], [235].
Threepenny Post, [52]-[54].
Thurloe, [23], [24].
Travellers' Post, [89];
abuses by postmasters, [93];
by travellers, [91], [91 note];
trials of travellers, [91].
Triple letters, [13 note].
Tuke, Sir Brian, [4]-[7].
Tweedmouth, Lord, [81].
Tweedmouth settlement, [81], [82].
Twopenny Post, [52]-[54], [149].
Unions. See Employees, Postal Unions.
United Kingdom Telegraph Company, [203], [206], [208].
United Telephone Company, [220], [222].
Universal Private Telegraph Company, [208].
Wages, [4], [6 note];
arrears in, [8], [25], [92], [99].
See also Employees.
Walpole, Spencer, [81].
Ward, [87].
Warwick, Earl of, [18], [19].
White Star Steamship Company, [133].
Windebank, [16], [17].
Witherings, Thomas, [11], [13]-[19], [24], [111], [112], [135], [137], [138].
York, Duke of, [25], [30].

The Riverside Press
PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON & CO.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
U.S.A.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 21.