The Post Box

ccc began in the 17th Century, but it was not until 1840 that a stamp was required.  The first letter carried where those between the King and his Royal Court.  The year was 1626 and this service was then extended between London and Plymouth, being England’s most important port at the time.

Very soon the convenience of having post delivered became evident and other postal services started springing up and soon networks grew between all the main cities.  King Charles kindly issued a proclamation in 1635 which extended the services of the Royal Mail to the public.

A short five years later, in 1660, a post office was organised and a Postmaster General was inserted.  Henry Bishop was this man and he is still known as the man who introduced the first postmark, it was called ‘The Bishop Mark’ and showed only the day and the month.  The purpose of the mark was to ensure that carriers did not delay with their delivery.  Letters were first taken to London, Edinburgh or Dublin where they received the mark and were thereafter sent off to their final destination.

The routes were improved from six post roads leading to the main cities when a series of additional routes were established including cross posts that ran between the different post roads.  By posts then ran between a post road and a town.

The early postal rates for sending a letter were calculated according to distance travelled and the number of sheets of paper the letter consisted of.  It was a complicated and time consuming system which was expensive, so only those who were wealthy were able to send letters.  Minions had to walk!

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