Search Post Offices in the United Kingdom – Terminology
The following terms and abbreviations are used in the listings:
Term | Meaning | Term | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
B.O. | Branch Office | cds | Circular Date Stamp |
CFPO | Company Franchise Post Office | CSO | Community Sub-Office |
D/C | Double Circle cancel | DO | Delivery Office or District Office in London |
FC / FCP | Fifth Clause post | FPO | Franchise Post Office - similar to MSPOs, usually in large stores like WHSmith/Co-op |
Gaz | Post Office Gazette, a weekly newsletter for PO staff, with updated info, which superseded the Post Office Circulars from 1969. | HO | Head Office |
LSO | Letter Sorting Office | M.O. | Money Order office |
MO-SB | Money Order - Savings Bank office | MSPO | Modified Scale Payment Office: downgraded Branch Offices, where the staff are no longer directly employed by The Post Office |
POC | Post Office Circular, a precursor to the Post Office Gazette | POL, PO Local |
Post Office in a local shop (open in shop's opening hours) |
PO/UK | Post Offices in the United Kingdom | POST TOWN |
Names of post towns (i.e. towns via which mail is/was routed) appear in CAPITALS |
PP | Penny Post | RH | Receiving House |
RSO | Railway Sub-Office | rubber | Climax rubber handstamp issued |
rural | Rural sub-office | SAS | Serve and Store |
S.B. | Savings Bank office | SID | Self-inking datestamp |
SO | Sub-Office | SPSO | Scale Payment Sub Office |
s/r | Single ring datestamp | SSO | Salaried Sub-Office, ie. a Crown Office that is not a Head Office |
tc | Temporarily closed | T.O. | Telegraph Office (with the unique 3-letter telegraph code shown) |
TRO | Town Receiving Office | TSO | Town Sub-Office |
UDC | Undated Circular handstamp issued (indicator of when a rural Post Office may have opened) | VH | Village Hall |
Notes:
References such as "No.18" or "No.D80" are to numeral/duplex cancellers or handstamps issued.
If a place is now geographically in another county, that appears in brackets: eg (Ox) = Oxfordshire.