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SearchHope someone can help me. I am trying to summarize an early history of the post office as an introduction for a postal history exhibit I am doing locally here in Phoenix, AZ.
In Hendy's Early Postmarks of the British Isles he notes that In 1677 there were 8 receiving houses listed which grew to 44 in 1782. However on Wikipedia "London Penny Post" ( am assuning this comes form Gladstone's "Great Britain First Postage Stamp" it states that within two years of 1680, there were four to five hundred receiving houses and boxes.
I am trying to reconcile these two statements. Is it that there were 8 that could be identified by marks?
Early London Post Receiving houses vs boxes
Re: Early London Post Receiving houses vs boxes
The answer is that the Wikipedia article is referring specifically to the private London Penny Post of William Dockwra et al from 1680-82. Hendy (p50) is referring to the General Post -- i.e. the original main post that dealt with mail to and from anywhere. There were fewer receivers for that, at least in the early days. On p52 he does give a comparable figure of 400-500 for Dockwra's receivers. (A lot of those did probably transfer to the official Government Penny Post when that replaced it in 1682.)
The key point to note (which can be confusing unless you're familiar with it) is that when the Government Penny Post started up, it was essentially a completely separate system from the General Post, one that just dealt with letters sent within London. IIRC the two offices didn't only have their own receivers, they had their own separate staffs of mail carriers to deliver letters in London.
You weren't supposed to post General Post letters in the Penny Post receiving houses or vice versa. People did occasionally, of course, and there are marks that indicate transfers in one direction or the other, but they're not all that common.
After a price rise in 1801 the Penny Post became the London Twopenny Post, and that carried on separately from the General Post until 1840 (when the rate to anywhere in the UK became a penny). Even after that, it took a while for the two systems to be fully integrated.
The key point to note (which can be confusing unless you're familiar with it) is that when the Government Penny Post started up, it was essentially a completely separate system from the General Post, one that just dealt with letters sent within London. IIRC the two offices didn't only have their own receivers, they had their own separate staffs of mail carriers to deliver letters in London.
You weren't supposed to post General Post letters in the Penny Post receiving houses or vice versa. People did occasionally, of course, and there are marks that indicate transfers in one direction or the other, but they're not all that common.
After a price rise in 1801 the Penny Post became the London Twopenny Post, and that carried on separately from the General Post until 1840 (when the rate to anywhere in the UK became a penny). Even after that, it took a while for the two systems to be fully integrated.
Regards
Maurice Buxton
Maurice Buxton
Re: Early London Post Receiving houses vs boxes
Thank you for such a detailed explanation. Makes sense now.