ILLUSTRATIONS.
| TO FACE PAGE | |
| 1. The Rt. Hon. Lord Stanley, K.C.V.O., C.B., M.P. | [Frontispiece.] |
| 2. The Old Post House in Dolphin Street, Bristol | [7] |
| 3. The Bristol Post Office, 1750-1868 | [9] |
| 4. The Bristol Post Office as enlarged in 1889 | [15] |
| 5. A State Coach of the period of King Charles I. | [23] |
| 6. The Bath and Bristol Waggon | [25] |
| 7. John Palmer at the age of 17 | [27] |
| 8. The Old Letter Woman | [29] |
| 9. The Old General Post Office in Lombard Street, London | [31] |
| 10. Anthony Todd | [35] |
| 11. John Palmer at the age of 75 | [44] |
| 12. Medal Struck in honour of Ralph Allen | [49] |
| 13. Mail Coach Tokens | [51] |
| 14. Birthplace of Sir Francis Freeling | [53] |
| 15. The Old Bristol Post Office in Exchange Avenue | [60] |
| 16. How the Mails were conveyed to Bristol in the days of King George IV. | [69] |
| 17. The Bristol and London Coach taking up Mails without halting | [72] |
| 18. The General Post Office, London, in 1830 | [74] |
| 19. Mail Coach Guard's Post Horn | [90] |
| 20. Avon Trimobile Motor Van | [92] |
| 21. Mural Tablet to John Weeks | [95] |
| 22. The Old White Lion Coaching Inn, Broad Street, Bristol | [107] |
| 23. Mr. Stanley White's Coach | [108] |
| 24. Mr. Stanley White's Motor Car | [108] |
| 25. Bagstone Turnpike House | [111] |
| 26. Charfield Turnpike House | [112] |
| 27. Wickwar Road Turnpike House | [114] |
| 28. Wotton-under-Edge Turnpike House | [116] |
| 29. St. Michael's Hill Turnpike House | [117] |
| 30. Stanton Drew Turnpike House | [119] |
| 31. The White Hart Coaching Inn, Bath | [132] |
| 32. Old Post Office, Westbury-on-Trym | [136] |
| 33. Primitive Great Western Railway Train | [143] |
| 34. Bristol and Exeter Train, 1844 | [145] |
| 35. Great Western Railway Engine: "La France" | [148] |
| 36. Horton Thatched Post Office | [152] |
| 37. Early Bristol Post Marks | [154] |
| 38. Sir Alfred Jones, K.C.M.G. | [160] |
| 39. The "Port Kingston" | [161] |
| 40. The "Port Royal" | [162] |
| 41. Mr. F.P. Lansdown | [171] |
| 42. Mr. J. Paul Bush, C.M.G. | [174] |
| 43. Elton Mansion | [177] |
| 44. Sir Abraham Elton | [184] |
| 45. Lady Elton | [185] |
| 46. Gargoyle in Elton Mansion | [188] |
| 47. Ancient Chimney-piece | [191] |
| 48. Edward Colston | [192] |
| 49. Charles II. | [193] |
| 50. King Charles, Flight of | [194] |
| 51. Columbia Stamping Machine | [198] |
| 52. Postmaster of Bristol (The Author) | [211] |
| 53. Quaintly Addressed Envelopes | [224] |
| 54. Prudent Man's Fund Receipt Note | [231] |
| 55. Address to the King | [241] |
CHAPTER I.
THE EARLIEST BRISTOL POSTS, 1580.—FOOT AND RUNNING POSTS.—THE FIRST BRISTOL POSTMASTERS: ALLEN AND TEAGUE, 1644-1660.—THE POST HOUSE.—EARLIEST LETTERS, 1662.
The difficulty in Queen Elizabeth's time of communicating with persons at a distance from Bristol before the establishment of a post office is illustrated by the following item from the City Chamberlain's accounts:—
"1580, August. Paid to Savage, the foot post, to go to Wellington with a letter to the Recorder touching the holding of the Sessions, and if not there to go to Wimborne Minster, where he has a house, where he found him, and returned with a letter; which post was six days upon that journey in very foul weather, and I paid him for his pains 13s. 4d."
The next record of a person performing postman's work in Bristol is that of 1615, when the City Chamberlain paid a tradesman 12s. "for cloth to make Packer, the foot post, a coat." In 1616, Packer was sent by the same official to Brewham to collect rents, and was paid 3s. 8d. for a journey, out and home, of 60 miles. This system of a foot post to collect money in King James the First's reign appears to be an early application of the somewhat analogous plan, which of recent years has been under departmental consideration as "C.O.D.," or collection of business and trade charges by the postman on delivery of parcels—an exemplification of there being nothing new under the sun!