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1816 Ireland to Belgium

Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 6:00 pm
by Theo
I promised you another letter which has puzzled me for quite some time. It is an 1816 entire letter posted in Rostrevor, a small village on the west coast of Ireland. The
letter was prepaid 3s4d. It passed through Dublin on 21st February 1816 and was sent from there via Holyhead (2d packet charge) to London (24th February). From there it was sent by packet to Ostend (see blue postmark Angleterre par Ostend) and on to Brussels.
The handwritten explanation of the postal charges seem to have been added by a later owner of the letter and not by the postmaster of Rostrevor.
The Irish charge of 8d seems to be correct for the distance of 58 miles.
What I cannot figure out are the remaining 2s8d. 2d. were for the packet rate Dublin to Holyhead. But what about the 2s6d left? Conway and Menai Bridges had not been built yet so there were no extra charges there. The long distance reduction of 2d for letters abroad had been introduced in July 1812. Has anybody got any explanation?