History of the Post

Discover the history of post from ancient times to the present.

Click each era in the timeline below to view the postal history for that period.

1800: Victorian - The Penny Post and After

By the 1830's the post could be proud of it's efficiency, speed and security. Local delivery networks were growing and mail collection points were increasing, thanks to the great many local Penny Posts established between 1793 and 1840.

A problem still remained: postage – its great expense and the method of charging. Postage was charged by distance and the number of sheets in a letter.

One cause of the expense was the governments view of postage as a tax to be raided.

Then there was the cost of the Free Frank – the privilege allowing Members of Parliament to send free mail if it bore their 'Frank' – their signature. The Frank was greatly abused. MP's sold it to businesses and franked the mail of their supporters and families. The public had to bear the cost of this.

Reform of these abuses was long advocated by businessmen, teachers and supporters of democracy. Rowland Hill brought many of their wishes to fruition in 1840 with his system of uniform penny postage. Franking was ended, and our modern system of postage was introduced. Letters were charged by weight at a flat rate, regardless of distance. Under Hill's system the sender paid: in the past it had usually been the recipient.

Penny Black

Methods of indicating pre payment had to be found, the most popular and convenient proved to be the adhesive postage stamp. The first of these was the famous Penny Black, which officially came in to use on 6th May 1840.


Musgrave

Thomas Moore Musgrave was postmaster of Bath from 1833 until his death in 1854. He was the first person in the world ever to send a stamp. The famous May 2nd Penny Black, was posted from Bath on a letter a few days before stamps were officially allowed. This first Penny Black was sold for £55,000 in 1990.


Payment in advance meant that the postman – or Letter Carrier as he was called then – no longer had to collect payment for postage from each recipient. As a result , slots began to be fitted to the fronts of doors.

Early Post Box

Early post boxes, such as the one on the left, were soon replaced by boxes with small covers over the opening to stop letters getting wet from the rain