Postal History Timeline

c.0BC

As part of the Roman Empire, Britain was connected to the Cursus Publicus - the imperial postal system which was made up of a network of horse-back messengers and relay posts.

c.800AD

Principal Roman posts were brought back into use by Charlemagne, King of the French. The current state postal systems in the U.K., Germany and France stemmed from couriers kept by such royalty.

c.15-1600AD

Postal systems in medieval England were only for monarchs and established on a temporary basis. A permanent system was introduced by Henry VII circa 1512. Charles I made his posts public in 1635 when the “Letter Office of England and Scotland” was formed.

c.15-1600AD

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector from 1653-1658, and his Parliament passed an Act in 1657 which said that all other persons were forbidden ... 'to set up or employ any footposts, horseposts, or packet boats.' This meant that no one else could carry the mails as a business. With the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, when King Charles the Second was re-instated as Monarch, his Parliaments did not recognise any of the laws passed by the Commonwealth or Protectorate Parliaments. In 1660 another Act of Parliament was therefore passed which confirmed most of the previous legislation, including the establishment of a General Post Office, under the control of one Postmaster General. This is considered to be the origin of the Post Office as it is known today. The first Postmaster General was Colonel Henry Bishop, who held the position from 1660-1663.

c.1700AD  

In the early 18th century Ralph Allen, postmaster of Bath set out to develop Britain’s postal network. Post boys who had previously carried mail were replaced by mail coaches. The first trial run was introduced by businessman John Palmer.

c.1830AD

Penny posts were well established by the 1830’s but postage was not cheap and it was charged by distance and the number of sheets in a letter. Sir Rowland Hill introduced his system of uniform penny postage in 1840 with payment being pre-paid by a postage stamp the first of which was the famous Penny Black, officially issued for use 6th May 1840.

c.1835AD

Payment up front meant that postmen no longer had to take payment from the recipient and slots were soon fitted to the front of doors while post boxes soon became a regular feature of street furniture.

c.1840AD

Once the Penny Black had been introduced, other countries soon followed suit, and an increase in the volume of mail brought the price down while postal revenue increased. Envelopes became popular - prior to 1840 an envelope had counted as an extra sheet and was charged accordingly. Christmas cards were sent for the first time in 1843, and cheaper postage was also a boon for lovers sending Valentine cards!

c.1870AD

While it was cheap and convenient to send mail within the U.K., the opposite was the case when it came to overseas correspondence. In 1874 a Postal Union Convention was signed between 22 countries, where rates were agreed and mail could flow between them. This was the basis for the Universal Postal Union, which is responsible for international postal arrangements.

c.2000AD 

With the advent of the Internet it has been thought that the postal system would suffer as a result, but all those packages and items ordered online still need to be physically delivered! Plus the feeling when receiving a letter or birthday card can never really be reproduced by an e-mail or e-card! There are no doubt many more changes to come, but the postal system is here to stay - and where we would be without it!