William Cubitt (1791-1863) was a building contractor and Member of Parliament. He also became involved in the City of London, where his building firm had offices. He was sheriff in 1847, followed by alderman for Langbourn ward in 1851. In 1860-1 Cubitt was elected Lord Mayor of London. He was so popular that he was re-elected for a second term. He was noted for generous hospitality and dedication to fundraising for charities supporting working people, including coal miners and those affected by the problems to the cotton trade caused by the American Civil War.
The early growth of the art collection belonging to the Corporation of London was linked to the ceremonial functions of the City. In 1670 the Corporation commissioned portraits of the Chief Judges of England who assessed property claims after the Great Fire in 1666. Portraits of the Royal family and City officials followed. In 1783 a more ambitious project was commissioned, a canvas 18x24 feet in size showing the British garrison at Gibraltar resisting a Spanish and French siege. Ten years later the first gift to the collection came from Alderman John Boydell, who donated 24 oil paintings to the Corporation, including portraits, narrative works and paintings of mayoralty ceremonies. By 1872 the collection numbered over 180 items and it was realised that the collection had a size and importance on a national level that made care and maintenance important. In 1879 the works were placed in the care of a Curator and exhibitions were held in Skinners' Hall. The popularity of these exhibitions led the Corporation to make the disused Law Courts at the Guildhall into a permanent exhibition space. The Guildhall Art Gallery was opened in 1886 and was enlarged in 1890 and 1901. By 1910 the Gallery held 891 items, and in addition the Corporation had voted to provide a purchase fund so that the Gallery could actively acquire pieces rather than wait for donations.
In 1941 the Gallery was destroyed in an air raid. Most of the collection had been sent to safe storage in the countryside, but some works were lost. A temporary structure was established although this was too small to display much of the collection and was used for short-term exhibitions. Other paintings were displayed in Corporation buildings such as Mansion House and the Central Criminal Court. A semi-permanent exhibition was established in the new Barbican Art Gallery during the 1980s. As early as 1963 plans had been made to rebuild a permanent gallery next to the Guildhall but financial restrictions meant that the new gallery was not completed until 1999. The Gallery now displays around 250 paintings in its permanent display and mounts temporary exhibitions on a variety of topics and themes. The Roman amphitheatre discovered on the site during the building works is incorporated into the Art Gallery building and can be viewed there.
The High Court of Admiralty had jurisdiction over crimes at sea, discipline in the fleet, piracy, and questions of prize and spoil.
The Court of Requests was constituted by an Act of Common Council of 1518, under which Commissioners were appointed to hear cases for the recovery of small debts. Its jurisdiction was confirmed by Acts of Parliament until it was transferred to the Sheriffs' Courts in 1847.
The Court of King's Bench (or Queen's Bench, depending on the monarch) was founded circa 1200 to hear common pleas, although it came to specialise in pleas of special interest and concern to the king, such as those which involved his own property interests, or breach of his peace, or an error of judgment by another royal court. By 1675 the King's Bench was the highest court of common law in England and Wales, with jurisdiction over both civil and criminal actions. Civil business was conducted on the 'Plea Side' and criminal business on the 'Crown Side'. It was absorbed into the High Court in 1875 (source of information: The National Archives Research Guides Legal Records Information 34 and Legal Records Information 36).
The Court of Exchequer originated after the Norman Conquest as a financial committee of the Curia Regis (the King's Court). By the reign of Henry II it had become separate, and was responsible for the collection of the king's revenue as well as for judging cases affecting the revenue. By the 13th century the court proper and the exchequer or treasury began to separate. The court's jurisdiction over common pleas now steadily increased, to include, for example, money disputes between private litigants. A second Court of Exchequer Chamber was set up in 1585 to amend errors of the Court of the King's Bench. These were amalgamated in 1830 when a single Court of Exchequer emerged as a court of appeal intermediate between the common-law courts and the House of Lords. In 1875 the Court of Exchequer became, by the Judicature Act of 1873, part of the High Court of Justice, and in 1880 was combined with the Court of Common Pleas (source of information: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008).
The Court of Common Pleas was founded by King Henry II to hear common pleas (matters between subject and subject). It was the only Court where personal actions of account, covenant, debt and detinue could be heard. The Court also had jurisdiction to review and change the decisions of older courts. From 1187 the Court sat at Westminster. The Court was headed by a Chief Justice, working with a team of lesser justices (between three and eight in number at various times) and a large number of clerks. The Court was abolished in 1875.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
There has been an Anglican presence in Marseilles since at least 1849 - the date at which the records commence. The present church at 4 Rue de Belloi was dedicated in 1902. Prior to this services were held at 100 Rue Sylva belle. There was a Sailors' Home at Marseilles from at least the mid 1870s until 1910 which was located at 104 Rue de la Republique.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The Anglican chaplaincy at Adelboden was opened to cater for the many tourists visiting this area. The English church has now closed and since 1983 has been used as a local museum.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The Russia Company was the patron of Anglican churches in Moscow, St Petersburg, Cronstadt and Archangel. The first chapel in Moscow was established in 1706 but was closed down when the British Factory left Moscow in 1717, initially for Archangel; its headquarters moved to St Petersburg in 1723.
In 1825 a chapel was opened in Princess Prozorowski's House at 259 Twerskoy, known as the British Chapel, Moscow, and a chaplain appointed. Land for a permanent church was purchased in 1828 and building was completed at the end of 1829/beginning of 1830.
A new church was consecrated in January 1885 when its official designation became the British Church of St Andrew, Moscow. The title deeds were drawn up in the name of the Russia Company who held the land, buildings and furniture in trust for the British residents. The chaplain was appointed by the Russia Company subject to the approval of a meeting of subscribers of annual contributions to the chaplaincy. The Russia Company also paid part of the chaplain's stipend.
The church was seized by the Bolsheviks in 1920, the chaplaincy terminated and the chaplain withdrawn. A new chaplaincy was established in Helsinki and the chaplain paid visits to Russia. Services in Moscow are held in the British Embassy.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The chaplaincy was established in 1910. It closed during the Spanish Civil War and then closed permanently in 1963. From 1921-3 services were held in the Seamen's Institute and between 1942-63 in private residences. At other times services were conducted in a "church room" in Cartagena.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
Trieste was the main sea-port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and had a large English speaking community who worshipped at Christ Church. It is now served by the chaplain of Saint George's Anglican Church, Venice.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The Church of the Holy Redeemer and All Saints, Viareggio was consecrated in 1913 and sold in 1977.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
There has been an English community and resident chaplain in Ostend since the late eighteenth century. In 1829 a chapel was handed over to Dutch and British Protestants by the Dutch government as a place of worship. In 1865 a new church was consecrated.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The English Church, Bagni di Lucca and St George the Martyr, Pisa were both completed in 1843. In 1857 the two churches were united under one chaplain and services were held at Bagni di Lucca between May and October and in Pisa between October and May.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
An Anglican church was constructed in Calais in the nineteenth century, however it was sold after the Second World War. The Anglican community now worships in venues loaned by other churches. A permanent chaplain was appointed in 1995.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
Services were held on Madeira from around 1774, but on a very ad hoc basis when a ship's chaplain was available! From 1807 a British garrison was based on the island and regular services were held. These proved popular and the British Factory (a trade centre exporting Madeira wine) constructed a permanent chapel, completed by 1822.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
Messina on the island of Sicily, in Italy, was an important trading post and Anglicanism spread there with British merchants.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The group of English merchants known as the British Factory appears to have come into existence in Lisbon in 1654 when the first chaplain was appointed. A temporary chapel was opened in 1815 and a permanent church in 1822 devoted to Saint George the Martyr. The church has been rebuilt several times since that date.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
Saint Mark's Church possibly originates in services held for English prisoners of war taken during the Battle of Waterloo, 1814. The church certainly existed by 1911 because in that year it is recorded as having burned down. Many of the records were destroyed at this date. The church was rebuilt on the same site but subsequently moved to larger premises.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
Saint Olaf's church was constructed in 1897 as a memorial to an English woman tourist who married a local man and settled in the area, but wanted somewhere Anglican to worship. It is staffed in the summer months.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
An English-speaking community first grew at Chantilly, France, from the 1830s and 1840s. The site of the church was purchased from the Duc d'Aumale by the Commonwealth and Continental Church Society, and the foundation stone was laid in 1865.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The Anglican community in Antwerp acquired the use of the Chapelle des Tanneurs by a Royal Decree of 1821. The Chapelle served as the Anglican church until the consecration of St Boniface in 1910.
Lionel Everard Napier was born in 1888 and educated at St John's School, Leatherhead and St Bartholomew's Hospital. Napier became a member and licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians in 1914 and served in World War One, 1915-1918.
Napier worked as consultant on Tropical Diseases, Ministry of Pensions; Medical Editor, Caxton Publishing Company; editor of the Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and Professor of Tropical Medicine and Director of School of Tropical Medicine, Calcutta. Napier's work was recognised when he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 1940 and when he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire, 1942. Napier died in 1957.
Max Joseph von Pettenkofer was born in southern Germany in 1818; attended high school in Munich and then studied pharmacy, natural science and medicine, qualifying with a Phd in medicine, surgery and midwifery, 1843. Pettenkofer then applied to join Liebig's laboratory at Giessen, having to wait two years to enter. During these two years he studied at Würzberg, devising the test for bile acid that bears his name and started research into meat juices which inspired Liebig to investigate them.
Pettenkofer left Giessen to seek better-paid employment in Munich; was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Pathological Chemistry at the University of Munich, 1847 and was promoted to Ordinary Professor 8 years later. Pettenkofer became Chief of the Court Pharmacy and Apothecary to the Court, 1850 and began investigating John Snow's thesis that cholera and typhoid were water-borne, following epidemics in Munich. Results of his investigation convinced him that the cause lay in the moisture content of the soil which varied with the rise and fall of ground water. Despite his fallacious theories Pettenkofer's sanitary work improved the health of Munich. Pettenkofer refused to believe in the germ theory and is said to have drunk a vial of water contaminated by Vibrio cholerae which was sent to him by Robert Koch, assuring Koch that he remained in his usual good health. There is a theory that this was a death wish in disguise as he later committed suicide in 1901.
Publications: Cholera: how to prevent and resist it (Baillière Tindall, & Cox, London, 1883); Outbreak of cholera among convicts : an etiological study of the influence of dwelling, food, drinking-water, occupation, age, state of health, and intercourse upon the course of cholera in a community living in precisely the same circumstances (Asher, London, 1876) and The value of health to a city: two lectures delivered in 1873 (Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1941).
Born 18 Jan 1868; educated Tavistock Grammar School, Devon County School, and Plymouth College; entered St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, 1886; FRCS and MB, BS (London), 1892; entered Indian Medical Service, 1893; MD (London), 1897; MRCP, 1898; on return to India, lent to the veterinary department for research, Múktesar, where he made important discoveries on the control of rinderpest in cattle by inoculation and on transmission of equine trypanosomiasis (surra) in horses and camels; posted to the Bengal civil medical department, Calcutta, 1900; Professor of Pathology, Medical College Calcutta, 1906; undertook research on the effects of antimony on the parasite of kala-azar, sea snake venom, and the effects of emetine on amoebic dysentery; also introduced major improvements in treatment of amoebic abscess of the liver by aseptic aspiration, and in cholera by the intravenous infusion of sterile solution of blood salts (known as 'Rogers Fluid'); investigated efficacy of chaulmoogra oil on leprosy and encouraged research into a cure for leprosy; instrumental in foundation of the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, and in foundation of the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association, 1923; knighted, 1914; elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 1916; left India, 1920; retired from Indian Medical Service, 1921; appointed lecturer at the London School of Tropical Medicine; appointed member of the India Office Medical Board, 1922, and its President, 1928; Secretary of the Research Defence Society; retired and given honorary rank of Major General, 1933; President Royal Society of Tropical Medicine, 1933-1935. Selected publications: Fevers in the Tropics (1907); Cholera and its treatment (1911); Bowel diseases in the Tropics (1921); Leprosy with Ernest Muir (1925); Recent Advances in Tropical Medicine (1928); Tropical Medicine with JWD Megaw (1930); Happy Toil (1950), numerous scientific papers in medical journals and Royal Society publications on fevers, snake venoms, liver abscesses, tuberculosis, leprosy; kala-azar, cholera and dysenteries.
Prior to the introduction of the GPO's mail coach service in 1784, the mail was conveyed by horse riders or mail cart on the longer routes out of London and on foot on some country services. The service was slow and vulnerable to attacks by armed robbers. In 1782 John Palmer of Bath put forward his scheme for conveying the mail by stage coach. Rejected in 1783 by the Postmasters General, a trial was finally approved in June 1784, with the support of William Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer. The experiment on the Bristol-Bath-London road in August 1784 was a success and Palmer began to organise further mail coach services in 1785. He was appointed Surveyor and Comptroller General of the Post Office in 1786 and presided over the expansion of the service throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. By 1790 all the most important routes had been covered and many towns had a daily delivery and collection of mail by coach. The full scheme involved 42 mail coach routes.
The mail coach service was almost immediately affected by the arrival of the railways in the 1830s. The GPO quickly took advantage of this new and faster method of transport to replace the mail coaches. The last of the London based coaches ceased in 1846, although this method of conveyance continued for cross post services between some provincial towns until the 1850s. The last coach in the Midlands ran out of Manchester in 1858. Mail coaches lasted longest in those area which railways were slow to reach, such as Cornwall, Mid Wales, the Peak District and far North of Scotland. One of the last mail routes to be used, to Thurso in northern Scotland, ceased after the opening of the Highland Railway in 1874. In some remote parts of Scotland railways were never built and horse drawn carriage continued into the twentieth century, until replaced by motor vehicles.
Post Office experiments with motor transport began in the 1890s. Until the end of the First World War services were provided mainly by private contractors. In 1919 the Post Office introduced its own fleet of motor vehicles.
Rowland Hill is remembered today as a key reformer of the British Postal Service. In 1840, he introduced the Universal Penny Postage which decreed that letters of a given weight should all cost the same to send, regardless of the distance. For example, letters up to ½ ounce cost 1d (14gms/0.5p) to send and postage was prepaid, using the world's first adhesive stamp.
He first advocated his plan in a pamphlet published in 1837 and the system was recommended for adoption by a Committee of the House of Commons the following year and put into effect in 1840. Hill was appointed as adviser to the Treasury to introduce the postal reforms. He strove to create a more efficient postal service that everyone could afford. His reforms ranged from encouraging people to insert letter boxes in their front doors to creating London's first postal districts. The appointment was terminated following a change of government in 1842. He was recalled to the Post Office in 1846 and appointed Secretary to the Postmaster General, and succeeded Colonel Maberly as Secretary to the Post Office in 1854. He retired from Office in 1864 and died in August, 1879.
Over the centuries there have been hundreds of different ways that messages have been carried and sent. By the early 1830s typeprinting of Telegraphs was happening in Europe, and in 1889 an English model of one of these machines was introduced to the Post Office by (Mr) Hughes.
By 1913 the Post Office was looking at ways of improving the speed of its operation and it was not long before the 'Teleprinter' was introduced by Creed. This machine possessed a typewriter keyboard and could be operated to approximately sixty five words a minute. This machine printed the Telegram ready for delivery. This was a great boost to the efficiency of the system. It was adopted by the Post Office and used by its telegraph services.
The Post Office wanted to encourage the use of the Telegraph and in the early days reduced rates and employed more operators in order to reduce delay. They improved the working areas, and introduced motor cycles to speed up delivery. By the 1930s they were introducing beautifully decorated Greeting cards for sending on special occasions. These continued until the late 1960s when the numbers being sent reduced.
In the early 1980s and through to the 1990s there was liaison with British Telecom in order to introduce a 'Telemessage Service'. This was similar to the Greetings Telegram and a variety of designs were produced for various events like 'Weddings', '21st Birthday' and 'New Arrival'.
The first ever main line railway opened in 1825 and ran between Stockton and Darlington. In 1827 the use of that railway, and future lines, for carriage of mails was suggested to Secretary Francis Freeling by Thomas Richardson (see POST 11/51). The first conveyance of mail by this method actually occurred on 11 November 1830 on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, less than two months after this second main line had opened (see POST 11/52). The Post Office was quick to take advantage of the new form of transport and in July 1837 mails were conveyed by train from Birmingham to Liverpool on the inaugural service of the Grand Junction Railway (see POST 11/57 and 58). In January 1838 the idea of having special mail carriages was experimented with; a horse box suitably fitted up started running between Birmingham and Liverpool on the Grand Junction in 1838. Proving a success, the first official 'travelling post office' set off from London to Preston on 1 October 1838.
In August 1838 an Act to provide for the conveyance of the mails by railways was passed by Parliament. This enabled the Postmaster General to compel railway companies to carry mails by ordinary or special trains, at such hours as the Postmaster General might direct, together with mail guards and other officers of the Post Office. Companies could also be required to provide carriages fitted up for sorting letters en route. In return, railway companies would receive a payment to be fixed, by arbitration if necessary, for any services and accommodation supplied. This Act provided the foundation for all future arrangements for carrying mails by rail.
Between 1838 and 1848 railways expanded rapidly in Britain and mails were quickly diverted to them from the roads. The London and Birmingham Railway, opened in September 1838, was the first important line to be completed in England and marked the end of the 'Golden Age' of coaching. From 1844, the year of 'railway mania', to 1848, 637 separate lines received their charters from Parliament. Mail coach contractors unable to get passengers essential to their operations where the railway ran a parallel route began giving notice to quit (see POST 11/60 and 61). The south western coaches ceased their runs when the Great Western Railway was completed to Bristol in June 1841. The last horse drawn mail from London, to Norwich via Newmarket, was withdrawn in January 1846. By this time the railway network was becoming moderately complete. However, up to the 1870s railway services in the provinces often operated in connection with mail coaches.
By the 1850s the railway posts were generally known as Travelling Post Offices or Sorting Carriages and a number of trains almost wholly devoted to carrying mail were in operation. (See also POST 18). Over the next seventy years railways contributed significantly to the vast improvement in quality, increase of volume and speed of postal communications within Britain. Serious competition was absent until the widespread use of motor vehicles from the second quarter of the twentieth century.
The Post Office began to consider the benefits of introducing automatic data processing (ADP) in the 1950s. The first large scale application of a computerised system to Post Office operations was the introduction of the LEAPS system (London Electronic Agency for Pay and Statistics) in 1958. Prior to this, computers had been used in remittance work and postmaster balancing work, as well as in the Post Office Savings Bank.
The LEAPS system was introduced to replace the manual preparation of pay. Two Elliot 405 computers were developed and used for payroll, pensions and statistical work; this meant that the Post Office was now one of the largest users of ADP equipment in the UK.
Gradually, computer applications and ADP systems were proposed and introduced throughout the organisation. In 1961, the Post Office looked at ten areas of Head Post Office work where ADP could be applied. The areas considered were: mail circulation; delivery and collection planning; motor transport scheduling; payroll and staff; postal staff planning and control; cash accounting by counter machine; broadcast receiving licences; postal costing; income and expenditure accounting. A review was undertaken and it was decided to proceed with computer application in all these areas. Eventually, ADP and the use of computer applications and systems were applied to all aspects of postal work.
Several factors had to be considered each time a new proposal for a computer application/system was thought up - the Post Office had to consider whether or not it was profitable to introduce the new system and if there was an urgent need for it, as well as the practicialities of implementation and optimum timing. They also had to think about the effect it would have on the public and on Post Office staff as, inevitably, the introduction of ADP and computer applications meant that fewer staff were needed.
Up until 1969, the Post Office was a government department. Its change of status brought in legislation, namely the Post Office Data Processing Act, 1967 (see related material) which enabled the establishment of the Data Processing Service. The Data Processing Service had two arms - the Post Office Data Processing Service (PODPS) which provided ADP services and support to the Post Office and the National Data Processing Service which worked for external customers.
While the 1960s saw the Post Office considering ways of introducing ADP, the following decades saw the increasing use of computers in Post Office work, particularly in the 1980s with various plans to implement and improve computer systems for data capture and streamlining data processing methods. The counter automation project in the 1980s (which looked at the possibility of introducing a computer system to record cash transactions at local offices) is just one example.
The 1980s also saw the Post Office's Information Technology Department informing people of their work and developing IT strategies; the work resulted in the introduction of several computer systems to assist with the day to day running of the Post Office.
Around 1990 the Information Technology Business of the Post Office became known as 'iT'.
In the following passage of writing, a selection of the major Acts of Parliament that have affected the Post Office over the centuries, and that can be found within this class of records, are described in a little more detail.
An Act for the Settling of the Postage of England, Scotland and Ireland 1657 (POST 114/1):
In 1635, Charles I made the Royal Posts officially available for public use for the first time. Unlike Charles, this service survived the Civil War and in 1657, Oliver Cromwell's parliament passed an Act that established a number of important principles that would guide the early Post Office during its subsequent expansion. On the second page of the Act is the following passage: 'Be it enacted by his highness the Lord Protector and the parliament… that from henceforth there be one general office to be called and known by the name of the Post Office of England'. And so the General Post Office (GPO) came into being. The Act established the position of Postmaster General (which remained the head Post Office position until the role was eventually abolished with the Post Office Act of 1969) and rates of postage were also set forth. To send one letter anywhere within 80 miles of London cost two pence; to Scotland, four pence; and to send a letter as far as towns in France, or even to Constantinople, cost one shilling. Finally, the Act claimed for the Crown the sole right to offer a postal service within the British Isles, establishing a state monopoly that would survive until the new millennium. Any person or organisation found to be offering postal services without the proper authority could be fined £1000 for each month the service was active (p.10). There have been numerous subsequent Acts of parliament that have modified the terms of this monopoly, such as the 1837 Post Office Management Act and Post Office Offences Act (POST 114/5).
Conveyance of Mail Acts: Mail Coaches (1790) and Railways (1838) (POST 114/52 and 53):
In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the Post Office introduced a new method of conveying letters and parcels across Britain that greatly contributed to a growth and improvement of postal services and an expansion of the organisation. A system of mail coaches was developed that became the principal method of conveyance of mails until trains came to dominate from the 1840s onwards. The Stage Coach Act of 1790 laid down rules for the new system. Turnpike charges, the number of horses per carriage, the number of passengers per carriage, fines for mail guards who unnecessarily fired their issued guns and other details were set forth. The champion of the new mail coaches was John Palmer who was the first to see that armed mail coaches travelling on improved roads according to a precise timetable could make postal communications more efficient. This it did, and it was the first of a number of significant transportation changes that would facilitate great leaps in the growth of mail volumes that could be effectively handled by the Post Office. The mail coach system eventually passed away as the trains of the industrial revolution became the prime method of transporting the mails over distance. The Conveyance of Mails by railways Act of 1838 gave the Postmaster General the authority to require railway companies to carry mails at the direction of the Post Office in return for suitable payment, with fines imposed upon companies who refused. The Royal Arms were to be painted on these carriages and from the early 1840s, Travelling Post Offices (TPO) - trains that would carry the mails and staff to sort them whilst in transit - began to run, with over 100 in operation by the end of the century. Further Railway Acts with various amendments were passed in 1844 and 1868.
Superannuation Act 1859 (Post 114/105)
State pensions could be claimed at the age of 70 from 1908 and this marked the beginning of improved welfare provisions in Britain aimed at tackling the poverty and hardships that had been perennially associated with old age. For much of the nineteenth century, those who became too old to work had to rely on the meagre provisions of family, charity and the Poor Law to survive and in this respect, the Superannuation Act of 19 April 1859 meant that working for the Post Office as an established employee became a vocation coveted for the financial securities it offered later in life. From this date, pensions were paid to employees after at least ten years service at one-sixtieth of retirement pay, rising to a maximum of four-sixths. Those who retired earlier than age 60 for health reasons could expect to receive one month's pay for each year of service. Further pensions acts were passed by parliament through the nineteenth century (also reproduced in this volume; see also POST 114/106), which expanded upon the provisions of the landmark 1859 act and added various adjustments to pension and gratuity entitlement. From 1909, standard pension entitlement was slightly reduced, but a lump sum to the value of one-thirtieth of retirement pay was added, in addition to other entitlements such as a gratuity worth one year's wages paid to the family of an employee who died in service.
Savings Bank Act 1861 (POST 114/89)
By the mid-nineteenth century the debate about the role the state should play in the country's personal banking had grown in importance. The old Trustee Savings Banks handed their takings to the government for investment and received a fixed yearly dividend in return. This system did not facilitate small savings and depositors often had to travel a great distance to use such services. Although Rowland Hill, who was still secretary of the Post Office at the end of the 1850s, opposed further state (Post Office) intervention into financial services, others such as Frank Scudamore and John Tilley favoured the introduction of a set of reforms that would see the department take primary responsibility in administrating a personal savings facility. In 1861, having been introduced by Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone, the Savings Bank Act was passed by the Palmerston Government and business began on 16 September. What was new about the service was that it was state-run and therefore enjoyed high security; deposits and withdrawals could be made at different post offices for one account by using a 'depositor's book'; small sums under one pound could be deposited; and account holders received a dividend equivalent to the value of interest accrued by state investment of their money, rather than a fixed rate. This meant that poorer people could now more easily use such services and the Post Office Savings Bank grew rapidly. In 1862, 178,000 accounts held £1.7m and by the turn of the century these figures had risen to 8.5m accounts and £136m in deposits (note that many people, as well as clubs and societies, held numerous accounts). Banking services remained an important part of the Post Office. In 1969, the service became known as National Savings.
Post Office Act 1969 (POST 114/14)
The Post Office Act of 1969 is one of the landmark events in the history of the organisation during the twentieth century. By this time, the Post Office, still a department of government, had acquired full responsibility for running an array of national services including postal communications, the ever-growing telephone system, a national savings bank (including National GIRO, introduced in 1968), pensions and much else besides. When the 1969 legislation came into effect on 1 October, it made a number of significant changes. Firstly, the Post Office ceased to be a government department and became a public corporation with all of its shares owned by the government. Organisational changes to this effect had been underway since the beginning of the decade and by 1969 it had been generally accepted that the new corporate status was necessary for the organisation to become a profitable entity in the post-war economy. This meant that the historic position of Postmaster General was abolished and a new Post Office Board reported to the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, a newly established ministerial position. Secondly, this legislation effectively divided the organisation into two distinct businesses: posts and telecommunications. It was felt that this would ensure a more efficient service for both and facilitate the ongoing modernisation that it was hoped would improve the profit margins of the Post Office as a whole. In reality, the Post Office Act of 1969 paved the way for the telecommunications side of the business to be separated from Post Office management entirely and it was eventually privatised in the early 1980s. The Act itself is 264 pages long and addresses other issues such as finance, banking, pensions, stamps and the status of the Post Office's postal and telecommunications monopoly.
Not available.
The first Post Office packet station was established in the 16th century at Holyhead for the transport of mails to Dublin. Packet boats from Holyhead were soon supplemented by services from Milford Haven to Waterford and Portpatrick in Scotland to Donaghadee. Regular Irish services were established in the 17th and 18th centuries. By the end of the 19th century regular packet services between the mainland and many of the islands around Britain were in operation.
Although the Post Office owned some of the vessels, until the early 19th century the normal practice was to contract for the supply, maintenance and operation of packet boats, paying an allowance to the owner, often the captain, for their hire. The Post Office determined the schedules and rules for handling the mails. Owners made profits from carrying passengers, bullion and freight. The Post Office did not pay for loss or injury to vessels caused by storms but did compensate owners for damage inflicted by enemies of state during times of war and often had to pay ransom money for the return of boats seized by privateers or foreign foes.
In the early 19th century developments in industrialisation led to successful application of steam power to ships. In 1818 a private company, Holmes and Co, established steamboats between Holyhead and Dublin. As a result, the number of passengers on government packets decreased drastically. The Post Office decided to take action in response to protests by packet owners and to stop the illegal transmission of mails by the steam boats. Rather than use the Holyhead company's boats, the Post Office decided to build its own steam packets and the first two, Lightning and Meteor, were placed on the Holyhead station in 1821. Further Post Office steam boats were introduced at Dover in 1822, Milford Haven in 1824, Portpatrick in 1825, Liverpool in 1826 (packet station established there in that year for conveyance of mails to Dublin) and Weymouth in 1827. In 1836 the Post Office had 26 steam packets in operation.
The steam packets were very expensive to build and operate and nearly always made a financial loss, particularly the services from Holyhead and Milford Haven in the 1830s. In 1790 the entire packet fleet had been placed under the supervision of an Inspector of Packets, following severe criticism of their high cost by a government inquiry of 1788. However, by the early 19th century the office was not equipped to manage the expanding fleet. Inefficiency and poor management of both sail and steam packets, was largely due to the Post Office's lack of expertise in maritime affairs.
Post Office awareness of this failing was demonstrated in 1823 when 30 packets at Falmouth were taken over by the Admiralty. The carrying out of repairs to all packet boats at one central workshop in Holyhead was particularly uneconomical. Competition for passengers from private steam boat companies on the Irish routes, particularly from the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company on the Liverpool to Dublin route, turned initial profits into sustained losses. The Post Office soon realised that a system of private contracts may have been preferable to building and owning its own steam boats. Following three critical government inquiries, 1830-1836, an Act of Parliament turned over all packet operations to the Admiralty from 1 Jan 1837, although the Post Office still controlled the schedules.
The Admiralty, which at first intended to carry on the mail service in its own vessels preferred by the end of the 1830s to grant mail contracts to companies that could build large vessels and maintain adequate fleets. The Liverpool to Dublin route was the first to be put out to tender and was run by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company from 1839. Although the Admiralty increasingly entered into contracts with private steam companies for mail services to Ireland, and the Scotch and English islands, government steam packets continued to sail during the 1840s. The Holyhead to Dublin service was not put out to tender until 1849. In 1850 a ten year contract was signed with the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. In 1848 and 1849 services between Liverpool and Dublin, Milford Haven and Waterford and Portpatrick and Donaghadee were discontinued. Government packets had disappeared by the end of the 1850s and the policy of relying entirely upon the mercantile marine had been established.
In 1860 control of the packet services was returned to the Post Office and every endeavour was made to lower the high cost of the services run by various steamship companies. The struggle continued until the end of the century when the Post Office began using the services of commercial steamship companies for the conveyance of mails.
The system of 'minuting' papers submitted to the Postmaster General by the Secretary to the Post Office for a decision (i.e. numbering the papers, and separately copying a note of the paper as a 'minute' into volumes indexed by subject) was introduced in 1793. It remained in use by the Post Office Headquarters registry until 1973.
Until 1921, several different major minute series were in use: that concerned with the Packet Service and overseas mail (Pkt reference files held in POST 29), those concerned with England and Wales (E or Eng reference files held in POST 30), Ireland (Ire or I reference files held in POST 31) and Scotland (Scot or S reference files held in POST 32). From 1790 until 1841, parallel 'Report' series were in use by the Secretary (POST 39 & POST 40).
In 1921, the several different minute series were replaced by a single all-embracing series referenced M or Min (held in POST 33). This was suspended in 1941 as a wartime measure when a Decimal Filing (DF) system came into use (POST 102), but was resurrected in 1949.
In 1955 the registration of Headquarters files began to be decentralised under several local registries serving particular departments, although the 'minuting' of cases considered worthy of preservation, and the assimilation of later cases with earlier existing minuted bundles, continued until 1973. Files from this period either have a 'P' reference or an alphanumeric reference to indicate which department created them, i.e. MD (Mails Division).
History of Postal Drafts
With the passing of the National Insurance Act 1911, Approved Societies acting as agents of the Ministry of Health for the paying of National Insurance benefits approached the Post Office for a means of sending small remittances through the post, postal and money orders being unsuitable. An Interdepartmental Committee, including representatives of the Post Office and the National Health Insurance Joint Committee, was appointed by the Treasury in June 1913 to consider the matter and the postal draft was the outcome of the Committee's recommendations. The service was introduced at the end of 1914 with the approval of the Treasury and without specific statutory authority. Very few Approved Societies in fact made use of the system, preferring to pay benefits in person.
During the First World War the use of postal drafts was extended, by Treasury authority, to various Government departments and some quasi-Government departments, including departments established in the United Kingdom by Colonial Governments. The War Office and Admiralty were amongst the first departments granted permission to use the system for the payment of pensions and reserve pay. Postal drafts were a more economical method of sending remittances through the post and Government departments were encouraged to use them in place of money orders.
In 1934 a Postal Draft Committee report recommended extension of the system, by statute, to Friendly Societies, Trades Unions, Local Authorities, Public Utility Corporations, charitable organisations of a permanent character and other similar bodies. Nothing emerged from those recommendations and the majority of non-Governmental applicants were denied access to the system by the Post Office, which cited practical difficulties and lack of statutory authority. No definite policy for granting or refusing permission to utilise the system was ever established.
The system of postal drafts ceased in 1969 with the introduction of Girobank services.
The postal draft system
The postal draft was a form of cheque for small sums drawn on the Postmaster General. It provided for the payment of money which had to be remitted by post. Printed forms of drafts were supplied by the Post Office to issuing authorities - Approved Societies or Government
departments - which entered amounts and transmitted them to payees. Most forms were printed on watermarked paper and further protected by a colour band. The maximum amount payable was printed on the draft. Drafts could be cashed at any Post Office in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic or at a specified post office. For the payment of sums over £10 evidence of identity was normally required from the payee. Paid drafts were returned to the issuing authority by the GPO and the account rendered. Advances to cover estimated payments were sent by issuing authorities to GPO Headquarters.
The first ever main line railway came into operation between Stockton and Darlington in 1825. The first conveyance of mail by railway took place on 11 November 1830, on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, less than two months after the opening of this second main line (see POST 11/52). The Post Office soon realised the potential for major improvements in mail distribution offered by this new form of transport. The first experimental Travelling Post Office, then known as 'the railway post office', ran between Birmingham and Warrington in January 1838 on the Grand Junction Railway. It consisted of a horse box converted into a primitive sorting carriage, coupled to a train. The experiment proved that mail sorting could be carried out efficiently on board trains, saving both time and money. In April 1838 a regular service started on the newly opened London and Birmingham Railway, with purpose built sorting carriages. By the end of the year through services had been established between London and Preston. Thereafter the TPO network grew rapidly, accelerated by introduction of the Penny Post in 1840, proliferation of new rail routes and railway companies in the 1840s, the increased volume of mail in circulation and general economic expansion. Railway mail services quickly swallowed up the role of the mail coaches. Previously, some sorting of mail was done by mail coach staff and postmasters at coaching inns. However, TPOs enabled large quantities of mail to be sorted and processed on the move.
Despite the rapid expansion of TPOs, the department in charge was known as the Mail Coach Office until 1854. The 1850s and 1860s saw further expansion and by 1867 the TPOs had their own Department at GPO Headquarters in London, headed by a Surveyor of Travelling Post Offices. Overall management of railway services resided in the Inspector General of Mails. Control of TPOs remained based in London which was the focal point of much postal traffic. In 1882 the London Postal Service was created. The post of Chief Superintendent, TPO Section, was established one year later. During the 19th century the Post Office developed an intricate and comprehensive network of Day and Night services covering England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Act to Provide for the Conveyance of Mails by Railways, 1838, allowed the Postmaster General to compel railway companies, for reasonable remuneration, to carry mails by ordinary or special trains, at such hours as the Postmaster General might direct, together with mail guards and other officers of the Post Office. Companies could also be required to provide carriages fitted up for sorting letters en route. This Act provided the foundation for all future arrangements with private railway companies and British Rail for carrying mails by rail. The first railway mail services were normally carriages attached to passenger services, which provided accommodation for sorting and / or conveying mails. By the mid-1860s a number of special trains run purely for postal requirements with very little or no passenger accommodation, were in operation as part of mail carrying contracts agreed between railway companies and the Post Office. In 1885 special mails, exclusively for Post Office use, were introduced between London Euston and Aberdeen. Known as the Up Special TPO and Down Special, they constituted a major reorganisation of the West Coast route, greatly accelerated TPO services to Scotland and formed the biggest and busiest of the TPOs.
In the years leading up to World War One there were over 130 TPOs in operation throughout the United Kingdom, ranging from the large and prestigious London based services, such as the North Western TPO and Great Western TPO, to small local links, such as the Grimsby and Lincoln Sorting Tender and Brighton and Hastings Sorting Carriage (see POST 18/11-12). After the First World War, 1914-1918, many TPOs and Sorting Carriages which had ceased operating during conflict were not restored (see POST 18/38 for comparison of 1914 and 1922 service lists). Day TPOs and parcel sorting on TPOs were particularly reduced. The slow economic recovery during the 1920s delayed substantial re-investment in TPO rolling stock until the 1930s. During the Second World War all letter sorting on trains ceased and only a few key bag tenders ran. Parcel sorting and day-time TPOs were radically reduced after the War, mainly because the number and frequency of collections and deliveries had been reduced by concentration of processing services. A phased reinstatement began in 1945, but only about 46 services were restored. In 1948 the railways were nationalised and the British Transport Commission, (replaced by the British Railways Board in 1962), took over the TPO contract with Post Office. There was little change to the system from 1950 until 1968, when the Two-Tier letter service was introduced and TPOs began to carry and sort only First Class mails for next day delivery. The resultant drop in overnight business led to the disappearance of some services during the 1970s, including the Plymouth-Bristol and Crewe-Bangor TPOs. The overall size and shape of the network remained largely unchanged until the mid-1980s. Concentration and mechanisation of letter mail handling in addition to faster British Rail services and greater use of road and air facilities, led to a review of East Coast services in 1985, and in 1988 the first major revision since the Second World War occurred. A new timetable was issued for a system of 37 TPOs, some services were combined, others extended and new ones added including services such as the Manchester-Dover TPO, which by-passed London (see POST 18/68). Further large scale revisions and alterations took place in the 1990s to fit in with Royal Mail policies (see POST 18/66-67). By 1994 there was a limited provision of 24 TPOs. However, these were larger and faster trains, operating only at night and using specialised railway rolling stock.
Post Office Limited (named Post Office Counters Ltd 1987-2001) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail Group plc on 1st September 1987. It inherited functions and services from Royal Mail relating to the management of post office branches in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales and the provision of financial, information and other relevant services through this network.
Thomas Witherings opened the first post office, where members of the public could take mail for posting and collect mail sent to them, in October 1635 in Bishopsgate Street, London. He was acting under a proclamation from King Charles I 'for the settling of the letter office of England and Scotland', authorising him to open the royal domestic mail service to the public to generate revenue for the King. Witherings lost control of the service in 1637, leading to a spirited struggle by several claimants for the right to manage the monopoly (see Robinson, Britain's Post Office, Ch.3). This ended in 1653 when the Government farmed out services to the highest bidder, and the Post Office Acts 1657 and 1660 fixed rates for sending letters and established the legal foundation of the service for the first time. The duties and remuneration of postmasters were confirmed in the Post Office Act 1660, which designated responsibility for postmasters staged throughout England and Scotland to accept and hand-over letters, and provide fresh horses for post-boys on payment of a set fee.
The network of post office branches expanded considerably during the 18th century. Post offices were known as Letter Receiving Houses and were usually housed at inns and run by the innkeeper acting as the postmaster. Postmasters were self-employed and received payments according to the quantity of mail handled. The system was centrally administered through an Inland Office based in Lombard Street, London.
In 1715 six 'Surveyors' were appointed by the Postmaster General to manage postal operations outside of London, and in 1720 Ralph Allen established a business under contract to the Postmaster General to manage and develop the postal network for letters not passing through the London office. Allen managed this until his death in 1764, at which point his business became part of the Inland Office department and was transferred from Bath to London.
In 1854, as services expanded and the need for greater facilities at post office branches increased, the first post offices owned and run by Royal Mail (then named the General Post Office) were opened. These were called crown offices, as opposed to sub-offices run by agents (sub-postmasters). Crown offices were managed by paid employees of the General Post Office and administered with sub-offices through the Inland Office Department (renamed the Circulation Department from 1854-1934). A system of salaried and scale-payment sub-offices, head post offices and regional branch offices was established to provide a range of facilities managed through a network of head postmasters, postmasters and sub-postmasters.
In 1934 the system of district Surveyors and central administration of post office branches through the Circulation Department was replaced by eight regional divisions with devolved powers and a central headquarters function. Crown and sub-post offices were now managed through a series of general postal regions, though paid postmaster and head postmaster in each region still managed all functions (collecting, processing and delivery of mail as well as counter operations).
A 'Counters Services' department was first established in Postal Headquarters in 1981. In 1986 postal operations were organised into three separate businesses - Royal Mail Letters, Royal Mail Parcels and Post Office Counters (in addition to National Girobank which remained a separate business unit until it was sold to the Alliance and Leicester Building Society in 1990). In the Post Office Counters division, 32 district offices reported to four headquarters units: the "territories". Counters managers, each responsible for five to ten main post office branches and a number of sub-offices, supported each district manager. Sub-post offices and sub-postmasters, who were contractors to Royal Mail, were unaffected by this reorganisation.
In 1987 Post Office Counters became a limited company - Post Office Counters Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail but with separate audited accounts. This was reorganised in 1993 with seven regions replacing 30 districts and three territories, and three business centres focusing on particular markets: financial, branded and agency development. In 1998 the strategic, policy and administrative functions of Royal Mail were reorganised further with the establishment of 17 different business units operating across all three businesses (counters, mail and parcels). Counter operations and services were focused in four main functions: Post Office Network, Network Banking, Cash Handling and Distribution and Customer Management (Government Unit).
Post Office Ltd was established on 1st October 2001, under new powers granted to Royal Mail by the Post Office Act 2001. Post Office Ltd absorbed Post Office Network, Network Banking, Cash Handling and Distribution, Customer Management (Government Unit) business units in Royal Mail and all of their functions, in addition to the brands, network and functions of Post Office Counters Ltd. Post Office Ltd remains an integral part of Royal Mail Group plc, but stands alone financially and is profit-accountable in its own right. It now contains seven administrative divisions, including Service Delivery, Customer Services and Strategic Alliances responsible respectively for Post Office branches, sales and marketing and key commercial services.
In the tenth report of the Commissioners of Post Office Inquiry, January 1838 it was recommended that a uniform fee of 2d should be charged for the registration of letters and that the Post Office should admit liability for their loss up to a maximum of £5. This scheme was to come into force in June 1839. However it was stopped by news of impending reductions in postage rates. A general scheme for the registration of inland letters came into force on 6 January 1841. Registration was applicable to any valuable letter for a prepaid fee of one shilling. There was no compulsion or compensation. By 1854 the fee was payable by stamps and in 1856 letters marked 'registered' and posted in a letter box were charged one shilling.
The principle of 'compulsory registration' was introduced on 1 August 1862 for all letters containing coin and passing through London, at a double registration fee of 18 pence. Compulsory registration was extended throughout the country during 1863. On 1 September 1873 compulsory registration also became applicable to those letters containing jewellery and watches.
The principle of compensation for damage and loss to registered letters was introduced on 1 January 1878 at a sum of two pounds.
The Recorded Delivery Service was introduced in 1961, it provided proof of delivery at a much lower cost than using Registered Post. Recorded Delivery was recommended for sending documents and papers of little or no monetary value, whereas items of value were recommended to be sent by Registered Letter Post.
The Compensation Fee service was introduced in 1972, it was to be used when sending valuable items by parcel post to provide compensation in the event of loss or damage and also to provide a record of posting.
The Special Delivery Service was introduced in the 1980s to provide customers with a service whereby an item could be delivered to a UK address on the next working day; the Datapost service, introduced in 1981 operated in the same area and could guarantee next day delivery to most destinations, providing a record of posting, documented handling en route and moderate compensation in case of loss or damage.
Consequential Loss Insurance was introduced in May 1982, it was designed to insure against the risk of loss-arising from some failure in the postal service-which was over and above the actual value of the article posted; it was provided as an optional extra with the Inland Registered Letter Service.
In the 1990s, a whole range of new services were introduced, including the Swiftair service, which guaranteed next day delivery to international destinations. In addition the Special Delivery/Registered Post portfolios was extended to include: Registered Plus, similar to the Registered Service in that it guaranteed next day delivery, but it offered a higher rate of compensation for damage or loss and the Sameday Delivery service, offering delivery by 6pm on the same day.
Money orders were the first financial service to be supplied by the Post Office, and had their origins in a private business carried on within the department from 1792. A system of 'money letters' was established by six 'Clerks of the Road' with the sanction of the Postmaster General, to give the public the means of safely and economically transmitting small sums of money from any one part of the United Kingdom to any other. The Committee of Revenue Inquiry, which reported on the Post Office in 1829, expressed its disapproval. This profitable system was subsequently taken over by the Postmaster General in 1838, and reductions in poundage, followed by the introduction of the penny post in 1840, led to a rapid increase in traffic from 55,000 orders in 1836 to 1½ million orders in 1841.
The money order system was set up to be confined to areas of the market not covered by commercial banks and geared towards the 'poorer classes' for the transfer of small sums of money. However, most remittances continued to be made by enclosing cash in letters and by the late 1830s attention turned towards a cheap system of registration in order to provide a secure means of delivering cash.
A limited overseas money order service was introduced in 1856 during the Crimean War. This service spread rapidly to many parts of the Empire and, in 1868, the first money order agreement with a foreign country (Switzerland) was signed.
In 1871 a reduction in the poundage rates on inland money orders (under 10s to 1d and under 20s to 2d) led to further considerable increase in the use of such orders. But as the cost of the issue and payment of each order was approximately 3d the money order service was unprofitable as far as the low value orders were concerned, and by 1875 the inland service as a whole was run at a loss. This was despite Rowland Hill's efforts to develop the more profitable traffic in larger sums - the maximum value was increased to £10 in 1862 despite the misgivings of the Treasury which was concerned about creating competition for the banks.
In 1874 George Chetwynd, the Receiver and Accountant General, proposed a cheaper system of postal notes or orders which could be cashed by the bearer on sight, and after meeting concerns voiced by Parliament and an appointed Treasury Committee, the system of postal orders was introduced in 1881. Their usefulness was greatly increased by the permission to make them out for odd amounts by affixing the necessary postage stamps to the face of the order. They proved very popular and by 1885 the Post Office was selling annually over 25 million postal orders. In the twentieth century their use with entries for football pools increased their popularity still further. In 1938 sales reached 350 million per year.
After the outbreak of war in 1914 postal orders were declared legal tender by the government, in an effort to withdraw gold coinage from circulation. The same measure was again taken in 1939, to prevent disruption to coinage circulation by bombing.
This series comprises material relating to Post Office services supplementary to the core activity of the business. It consists of reports, minutes, correspondence and memoranda relating to the introduction, operation and development of individual Post Office ancillary services, their profit and expenditure, recommended improvements and alterations, and information sheets and guides to the services.
Contains some pieces originally in POST 22.
Up until 1830, the Irish mail service did not come under the control of the British Post Office and was overseen by its own Postmaster General. In 1831 it was re-united with Great Britain's Postal service and ceased to have its own Postmaster General. Under this new arrangement an Irish secretary was appointed to supervise Ireland's postal services and reported directly to the Postmaster General in London.
The system of 'minuting' papers submitted to the Postmaster General by the Secretary to the Post Office for a decision (i.e., numbering the papers, and separately copying a note of the paper as a 'minute' into volumes indexed by subject) was introduced in 1793. It remained in use by the Post Office Headquarters registry until 1973.
Until 1921, several different major minute series were in use: that concerned with the Packet Service (POST 29), and those concerned with England and Wales (POST 30), Ireland (POST 31) and Scotland (POST 32). From 1790 until 1841, parallel 'Report' series were in use by the Secretary (POST 39 & POST 40).
In 1921, the several different minute series were replaced by a single all-embracing series (POST 33). This was suspended in 1941 as a wartime measure when a Decimal Filing system came into use (POST 102), but was resurrected in 1949. In 1955 the registration of Headquarters files began to be decentralised under several local registries serving particular departments, although the 'minuting' of cases considered worthy of preservation, and the assimilation of later cases with earlier existing minuted bundles, continued until 1973.
For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.
In 1880 a Postal Conference was held at Paris with the view to creating an International Parcel Post. At that conference the British Post Office was represented, although having no Inland Parcel Post it was unable to enter into any international agreement.
The Inland Parcel Post came into operation on 1 August 1883, and from the outset it was intended to link this service with the International Parcel Post as soon as possible.
Early in 1883 the proposals to be submitted to the forthcoming Postal Congress were being circulated and it was apparent that there would be an attempt to introduce into the Parcel Post Convention modifications which the Post Office would find very difficult to accept while its parcel post was yet in its infancy. A circular letter
was sent to all the signatories of the convention asking whether they were willing to concede to Great Britain the special terms agreed to at the Paris Conference of 1880. The replies to the circular were generally favourable but the Treasury at this time declined to allow the Post Office to proceed with negotiations until the Inland Parcel Post was more firmly established. It was not until November 1884 that authority for the establishment of a Foreign and Colonial Parcel Post was at length obtained, and the service established.
An overseas mail service has been in operation since 1580, before the establishment of the public postal service. A staff of ten Royal Couriers carried letters on affairs of State, or on the business of 'particular merchants' to Dover. In 1619 the office of Postmaster General for foreign parts was created. His couriers, who wore distinctive badges, carried letters between London and the Continent. A public office was maintained near the Exchange, where writing desks for public use were provided and where details of the Posts were displayed. Mails were despatched twice a week. By 1700 the Dover packet boats provided services to France and Flanders, and additional Packet Stations had been established. That at Harwich (established in 1660) provided a service to the Netherlands and that at Falmouth (established in 1689) provided services to Spain and Portugal. During the next century the Falmouth Station grew in importance, providing new services to the West Indies and serving British fleets in the Mediterranean. 'Packet ships/boats' is a generic term for vessels carrying mails. The contracts use the term 'packet ships' and/or vessels.
The incentive to change from sail to steam power on packets carrying the Irish mail was the need to recapture passenger income. This vital supplement to the packet captains' income from their mail carrying contracts with the Post Office was rapidly being lost to other competing Government-operated vessels and to the new fast privately-operated steamship services coming into use across the Irish Sea during 1818-1819. The Post Office's first experiments with steam power took place early in 1819, with trials of the privately owned steamers Talbot and Ivanhoe. By June 1821 - the journey time halved - the Post Office had built its own steam driven packet boats for the Holyhead station: the Meteor and the Lightening. By the end of the year steam packets were also serving the Dover Station and a revolutionary change in postal communication by sea had begun. Thus after this time the contracts often refer to 'steam vessels' rather than packet boats.
In 1823, following arguments that there would be less smuggling should the packets be under naval control, a measure that would also ensure an effective armed force in and around Channel waters, the Admiralty took control of the Falmouth Station. Management of the packet stations had become so much criticised that the remainder of the packet station were turned over to the Admiralty in 1837, where they remained until 1860 when they were transferred back to the Post Office. Thus between 1837 and 1860 the contracts were between the Admiralty and shipping companies.
'Post-stage rates' for letters carried on the post-roads out of London were introduced in 1635 with the establishment of a state run postal service for the public's letters. The rate was based, primarily, on mileage and on the number of sheets the letter comprised of, heavier letters were charged by weight. Later, Penny Posts were set up for the collection and delivery of local letters, based on cities and other major centres beginning in London in 1680 and later extended to other provincial centres. Postage on general mails was normally paid by the recipient upon delivery.
Acts of Parliament, and later Treasury Warrants, gave authority for changes in rates and laid down charges for new services as they were introduced. The most significant was the Act of 1839, which led to the introduction of Rowland Hill's scheme for a Uniform Penny Postage in 1840. Postage rates were now based on weight and prepayable by means of the newly introduced stamped stationery and the more popular adhesive postage labels (postage stamps). The Postal Reform of 1840 also removed from Peers and ordinary Members of Parliament their privilege of franking letters for free transmission through the post.
The formation of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 led to uniformity of postage rates for overseas mail. Penny Postage within the Empire began on Christmas Day 1898. Two-tier postage, based on speed and offering the choice of a higher first-class rate to give fast delivery or a second-class rate for slower service, was introduced on 16 September 1968.
The first stamp to be introduced for postmarking purposes was the hand-struck stamp introduced in 1660 by Colonel Henry Bishop, Postmaster General, to 'put upon every letter showing the day of the month that every letter comes to the office, so that no Letter Carrier may dare to detain a letter from post to post, which before was usual'. These so-called Bishop marks were the first British postmarks and consisted of a simple circle divided horizontally with the indication of the month in one half and the day of the month in the other.
In 1840 hand-struck cancellation stamps were introduced, to deface the newly introduced adhesive postage labels (stamps) and prevent their fraudulent re-use.
The earliest stamps were made of wood, and later brass: and were probably manufactured locally. By 1825, however, they were being made of steel, and issued centrally. This change is reflected in the fact that the earliest proof book in the collection commences in 1825 (see POST 55/10). With the introduction of the Parcel Post in 1883, where steel stamps would not have been effective, pliable stamps made of cork were introduced. By 1885, however, stamps made of rubber had come into use for the Parcel Post and other uses (see POST 55/115).
Until 1969 The Post Office was a department of the Civil Service. The Civil Service consequently had a role to play in recruitment matters. Established staff had job security and enjoyed many benefits, such as pensions. Non-Established workers had no such benefits, they tended to be full-time boy messengers and part-time auxiliary postmen and women. In 1849 it was decided that promotion to Establishment should not be expected to result from higher social status. Auxiliaries signed a form which excluded any right to fill a permanent post, however, promotion continued to be an incentive to recruitment and a reward for competent work.
In the first half of the nineteenth century appointments were generally made by patronage, possible recruits were put forward by high ranking employees, although in theory a test still had to be passed. This method of recruitment was severely criticised in the second half of the Nineteenth Century, and in the 'Report upon The Post Office' in 1854, it was suggested that 'The Postmaster General should lay down strict rules for the examination of all candidates for admission, either in the class of Clerks, or into that of Sorters and Letter Carriers, in order to test their capacity, and should take care also to satisfy himself as to their characters, before making any appointment'.
The year 1870 saw the implementation of the open competitive examinations in the Civil Service, and the Post Office was obliged to appoint the clerks in the Secretary's Office from the successful candidates. The open examinations were for the Civil Service as a whole, but there were closed competitive examinations through which existing employees could try for promotion. The examinations were not just used for ensuring that recruits were competent to perform the job. When women joined the Post Office, particularly as clerks, the examination included a foreign language paper. There was no requirement at all for knowledge of a foreign language, however, the examination acted as a guarantee that the women that passed were of the 'proper' social standing.
In 1870 the telegraph services transferred to the Post Office. Initially the staff retained their separate duties but in 1876 the smaller provincial offices amalgamated, and this arrangement extended to larger towns in 1882. It was decided that there should not be a distinction between telegraphists and post office clerks in order to permit a more flexible adjustment of the 'indoor staff' to variations in traffic, and to reduce the threat of disruption from any telegraphist's strike. However, in practice, dual training only worked in the small provincial offices. In larger offices the training was often wasted, as the staff always specialised.
As the Post Office was a Civil Service Department, it was obliged to follow orders. One of these was the order in 1897 to employ ex-servicemen. Prior to that, boy messengers, although being Non-Establishment, usually moved into an Established post within the Post Office at the age of sixteen. The order to employ ex-servicemen meant that these vacancies for boy messengers dried up, and many who would otherwise have stayed in the Post Office were left jobless, and without skills. The Post Office was therefore heavily criticised by the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and the Relief of Distress. The dilemma of how to keep all parties satisfied continued until the inter-war period, when the Post Office was forced to abandon its traditional practice of utilising part-time labour.
The first Post Office employees to be issued with a uniform were the Mail Coach Guards who, from 1784, wore a scarlet coat with blue lapels and a black top hat with a gold band. As of 1793 the London General Post Letter Carriers were furnished with a scarlet coat with blue lapels, blue waistcoat and beaver hat with a gold band. By 1834 this uniform was worn by letter carriers in Edinburgh and Dublin as well as London. (See POST 61/1).
1837 saw the introduction of a uniform for the London district 'Twopenny Postmen'. These men wore the same blue waistcoat and beaver hat, but were given a blue coat with a red collar. This arrangement lasted eighteen years until the amalgamation of the General and Twopenny Postmen when a new uniform was issued to all London Letter Carriers. The new dress included a scarlet frock coat, glazed hat and grey trousers, it was the first time that trousers had been issued as part of the uniform. (See POST 61/63).
The Post Office took over responsibility for the country's Telegraph Service in 1870 and with it inherited a responsibility to provide Boy Messengers with a uniform as a supplement to their wages, something previously carried out for some time by the private telegraph companies). By providing suitable work clothes for the Boy Messengers the Post Office must have been spurred to extend the entitlements to uniform because, by 1872, the whole delivery force was receiving official Post Office dress.
Decisions made relating to uniform had always been rather disorganised with reports being produced here and there addressing very limited subject areas. (See POST 61/7). In an attempt to rectify this haphazard approach, the Committee on Uniform Clothing was created in 1908, and by 1910 the committee had produced a comprehensive report standardising postal uniforms nationwide by creating six 'Classes' of attire which corresponded directly with the grading of each duty. (See POST 61/11).
During the First World War (1914-1918) the number of Postwomen employed by the Post Office rocketed as more and more male workers were drafted into the armed forces. Previously female letter carriers had only been afforded a limited clothing entitlement, but as of 1916 they were provided with a blue serge coat and skirt, a waterproof skirt and cape, and a blue straw hat. (See POST 61/65).
Most of the main aspects of uniform manufacture and distribution remained unchanged from this point until 1948 when a review of Post Office Engineering grades was ordered by the Postmaster General. (See POST 61/4). Following the successful creation of scales of entitlement for the new engineering grades the Postmaster General decided to order a comprehensive review of all grades not covered by the 1948 agreement. For this task a new committee entitled 'The Joint Working Party on Uniform and Protective Clothing' was created and after four years of research and deliberation produced the 1954 report examining the arrangements for supply and issue of uniform and protective clothing. (See POST 61/13). (For committee papers and minutes of meetings held by the Joint Working Party on Uniform see POST 61/67 - 72).
Prior to the 1930s, the Post Office structure was based upon the central Secretariat and decision-making was extremely centralised. London as a metropolitan district was arranged by service with a Controller of London Postal Services, London Telephone Service, and the Central Telegraph Service. The Surveyor/Postmaster Surveyor was the Postmaster General's principal representative for all the services in the provinces and these were arranged geographically, not by services (e.g. postal or telecommunications). Outside of Inner London, and excluding Edinburgh, the country was divided into 22 districts for Post Office purposes. Of these 13 were under the charge of Surveyors and nine (which were the largest towns within their surrounding area) were under the charge of Postmaster Surveyors. In Scotland, Post Office organisation was under the control of a Secretary in Edinburgh, responsible to the main Secretary to the Post Office. A controller was in charge of postal and telegraphs services in Edinburgh and the surrounding area.
Throughout the nineteenth century there were concerns that there was too much concentration of administration in Post Office Headquarters and at the turn of the twentieth century there was a marked increase in volume and complexity of administrative work, which put pressure on the higher officers. The Decentralisation Committee was established in 1908, amidst a rising fear that excessive centralisation of powers was leading to inefficiency and inflexibility. It was thought that the Secretariat formed a bottle neck in the operation of the Post Office, with a resulting waste of power and loss of efficiency, as those at the centre were too caught up in the minutiae and were unable to devote time to questions of policy. The Committee's aim was to consider redistribution of responsibilities and it made several recommendations along these lines. These were not taken up, as objections, particularly those of Herbert Samuel, Postmaster General, were strong and ultimately it was decided to retain the current structure with some very minor changes.
By the early 1930s, there was renewed concern about over centralisation of administration and in 1932 Viscount Wolmer produced a report entitled: 'Post Office Reform: Its importance and practicability', speaking out against the current organisation of the Post Office. Fuelled by this, criticism began to mount and culminated in a Memorial signed by over three hundred MPs and addressed to the Prime Minister requesting the appointment of a committee to enquire into the status and organisation of the Post Office, with a view to making any changes to its constitution that were seen as necessary to improve efficiency.
As a result of this, the Post Office Organisation Committee, chaired by Lord William Bridgeman, former Home Secretary (also known as the Bridgeman Committee) was set up and reported in 1932. Its terms of reference were as follows:
'To enquire and report as to whether any changes in the constitution, status or system of organisation of the Post Office would be in the public interest'.
The main recommendation of the Committee was that the GPO, though still part of the civil service, should be run like a large public corporation with a board headed by the Postmaster General and served by a Chief Executive instead of a Secretary. In addition, as a means of decentralising Post Office control, the Committee advised the division of the Post Office into geographical divisions, each with its own Regional Board which would execute the general policy formed at Headquarters.
In line with this recommendation, the establishment of eight regions was suggested, each to be in the charge of a regional director who would be responsible for the control and coordination of all Post Office services (post, telegraph and telephone) within his territory; this role would effectively replace that of Surveyor. To aid the work of the new regional director, substantial powers were to be delegated to them - in some cases the full powers of the Postmaster General. A Regional Board would assist the Regional Director and devolved powers were to be given to Head Postmasters and Telephone Managers, who were next in the line of authority. In London, two regional organisations were to be set up to deal respectively with posts and telecommunications.
The Committee on Metropolitan and Regional Organisation, chaired by Thomas Gardiner (also known as the Gardiner Committee) was set up to implement the recommendations outlined in the Bridgeman report and immediately commenced working out plans for decentralising control.
One of their recommendations was that special committees for each Headquarters Department should examine the prospects for devolution. Reports are included within this class on the subject.
The scheme which emerged from the Gardiner Committee was based upon organisation under a Regional Director, with technical and financial guidance from the Engineer-in-Chief and the Comptroller and Accountant General, except in London where there would be separate telecommunications and postal Regions.
Implementation of complex changes began on an experimental basis in March 1936, when two regions were established (Scotland and the North East). In 1938 this experiment was deemed to be a success, and the remaining regions and telephone areas were established on a systematic plan. In 1939 the North Western region was inaugurated, and a sub-region in Northern Ireland as well as a number of telephone regions outside of the established regions. By the middle of 1940 the Home Counties, Midland, South Western and Welsh and Border Counties regions had full stature. The London Postal Region was organised in October 1936, and the London Telecommunications Region in April 1938.
The Bridgeman Committee had been anxious that communication should be maintained between all sections of the business and as part of this, regional directors were encouraged to visit one another's regions and exchange views and information. Close contact between the regions and headquarters was also encouraged with proposals for the interchange of staff.
In 1951, a report was prepared by the Working Party on Regionalisation (chaired by Lumley) on 'The present system of regionalisation in the Post Office' (GPO, October 1951). Its terms of reference were 'To examine within its existing framework the working of the regional organisation of the Post Office and to recommend any changes which appear desirable in the light of experience, with an estimate of any financial effect thereof; and in particular to report, with recommendations, on the following matters:
a) Whether existing devolved powers were being fully exercised at each level of the structure
b) Whether further devolution was practicable and desirable in present conditions
c) Whether any work now being done at Headquarters or in Headquarters Departments should be transferred elsewhere and whether any work now being done at Regions should be transferred to lower formations
d) Whether the instruments of control in operation are adequate and no more than adequate to ensure the efficiency and economy of the services.
The Working Party generally commended the prevailing situation with certain recommendations regarding the continued monitoring of the Regional set up to ensure its continued efficiency.
At this point, the Post Office was run by the Postmaster General (assisted by the Assistant PMG) as the Head of the Post Office; in addition he was the Chairman of the Post Office Board, a body consisting of principal permanent officials of the department and responsible for policy decisions. The work of the Post Office was divided into five main functions including Postal services, Telecommunications services, Engineering services, Establishments, staff and buildings, and Finance. These functions were carried down into the regional organisations which in 1951 consisted of ten territorial regions spread over Great Britain and Northern Ireland as follows; London (Postal), London (Telecommunications), Home Counties, South Western, Midland, Welsh and Border Counties, North Eastern, North Western, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. These were still under the control of the regional directors. At least two regional directors were members of the main Post Office Board. In order to ensure cooperation and sharing of information, five or six conferences a year were attended by all Regional Directors under the chairmanship of the Postmaster General. The Regional Directors also held private meetings under their own chairman. This situation was replicated at lower levels with regular conferences held of regional controllers, Chief Regional Engineers, and finance officers.
In April 1965 a proposal was put forward to split the Home Counties Region into two separate regions: the Eastern Region and South Eastern Region respectively, this proposal was approved and the action subsequently went ahead.
In 1966 the House of Commons Select Committee on the nationalised industries investigated 'devolution and control' in the Post Office.
As a result of this investigation, it was decided that further devolution would be advisable with regard to the administrative structure of the Post Office; the main focus being a split of the current Post Office Regions into separate postal and telecommunications functions. On 1 November 1966, the DEO (Director of Establishments and Organisation) delivered a memorandum at the Post Office Reorganisation Steering Group meeting on Functional split of Regions.
The official functional split of the Regions came with the passing of the Post Office Act in 1969; under the Act, the Post Office ceased to be a government department and was established as one corporation split into two divisions: Post and Telecommunications.
The nationalisation of the private telegraph services in 1870 created a need for a specialist department of the General Post Office devoted to engineering. The first Engineer-in-Chief, R S Culley, was appointed on 29 January 1870 and many of the technical staff formerly employed by the old private telegraph companies formed the nucleus of his new department. At this time the existing telegraph lines terminated at railway stations, usually some distance from the towns, so the first job of The Post Office engineers was to extend the lines to post offices within the towns. New routes were also added, with 740 miles of wire laid under London's streets during the first few months of 1870. The British Isles were split into divisions for the purpose of local engineering control. These divisions, each under control of a Superintendent Engineer, who was directly responsible to the Engineer-in-Chief, later became known as engineering districts. The first Engineer-in-Chief's Office was in Telegraph Street, London, at the Central Telegraph Office which had previously been owned by the Electric Telegraph Company. A move to new headquarters, GPO West in St. Martin's-le-Grand, took place in 1874. In 1881 the Government authorised The Post Office to offer the public telephone as a service, in addition to telegraph services, and the first Post Office Telephone Exchange was opened at Swansea in March. In 1912 the Postmaster General took over the National Telephone Company and for the first time a unified telephone system was available throughout most of Britain. Approximately 19,000 staff were transferred over, of which about 7,000 were employed on engineering work, adding to the 9,000 already employed in the Engineering Department. Three Engineering districts were formed in 1901 to deal with London's telephones. These were the Metropolitan North, Central and South. The North district was abolished at the transfer, but within a few months the whole of the metropolitan area was put under the control of one superintending engineer for the London Engineering District. It remained the smallest engineering district in area, but was the largest in value of plant and number of staff. The rapid expansion of the GPO's telephone services and the development of other forms of telecommunication led to an increase in the work of the Engineer-in-Chief's department. It remained primarily engaged in developing, providing and maintaining telecommunications services, but it also had responsibility for matters concerning electrical power and, as time went on, the mechanisation of postal operations. The department and the office of Engineer-in-Chief changed radically after 1969 when the engineering work of the new Post Office Corporation began to be split between the new, increasingly separate, postal and telecommunications businesses. RoMEC (Royal Mail Engineering and Construction) was formed in April 1988 as a self-contained profit centre. Its customer base extends to every part of The Post Office. The RoMEC Group comprises six core product groups in the specialist areas of security, manufacturing, maintenance, datacommns, installation and consultancy.