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This series comprises accounts of British packet services and overseas posts, including records of agents and postmasters, packet stations, and packet boats. The accounts cover income, expenditure, salaries, allowances and disbursements.

This series relates to conveyance of mails within the United Kingdom and Ireland by sea. The majority of records are on the Irish and Scottish packet services, with a few contracts for mail services to the Scilly Isles, Lundy Island and the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, placed at the end of the series.

This series consists of a series of quarterly accounts of salaries and allowances due and payable by incidents to the officers, clerks and tradesmen employed by the General, Twopenny and London District Post Offices (the Twopenny Post was replaced by the London District Post in 1844). Items 6/4-6, covering 1794-1799, also include separate quarterly accounts of tradesmen's bills and incidental warrants paid out of the revenue of the Bye and Cross Road Letter Office. Accounts cover a wide variety of items and are arranged under general subject headings, such as 'pensions', 'packets', 'tradesmen' and 'rents'. Entries include what the bill is for, name of person owed and the amount. The date of the Treasury warrant authorising payment is often included at the end of each quarterly account. Volumes are not indexed. The accounts include bills for:

• Pensions, salaries and allowances to chief and senior officers, clerks, sorters, messengers and servants working in London headquarters departments, including offices of the Secretary and Accountant General, and the Foreign, Inland, Express, Mail Coach, Dead Letter, Ship Letter and Bye Letter offices; packet agents; surveyors; postmasters inspectors of mails, letter receivers and carriers and packet ships; commanders and mates of packet ships, or their widows; letter receivers and carriers in London; and mail guards

• Expenses for mail conveyance by sea, including costs incurred by packet ships operating from Falmouth, Harwich, Dover, Whitehaven, Donaghadee, Weymouth, Milford Haven and Holyhead, and in the West and East Indies, notably hire charges, lighting dues, arms and ammunition stores, wages and victualling for captains, officers and crew whilst at sea, out of employ or while the ship is undergoing repairs; and ship letter mails

• Expenses for inland mail conveyance, notably for payments to mail coach contractors; road, bridge and ferry tolls; supply and upkeep of fire arms, time pieces, mail bags and mail guards uniforms; mail coach maintenance; and railway and steam packet company charges

• Compensation for abolished positions or duties

• Items supplied or work done by tradesmen

• Legal expenses notably relating to investigation, detection, capture, and trail of felons

• Rents, taxes and rates for offices in London

• Stationery printing costs

• Transit postage and tonnage dues to foreign post offices

• Travelling expenses, particularly surveyors'

Item 6/11, covering 1805-1809, is different to the rest of the series. It contains certified accounts of the quarterly salaries and allowances paid by incidents upon which the Civil List deduction, or tax, of six pence in the pound is chargeable. Each account lists the 'salaries' and 'incidents' of individual officers and clerks at the General Post Office headquarters in London, including the Postmaster General, Secretary and other senior officers, and the total duty payable each quarter.

These accounts probably originate from the office of the Receiver General, who was in charge of all moneys received and paid out of the revenue of the Post Office.

This class primarily relates to the establishment and organisation of the packet boat and shipping services between the United Kingdom and overseas. There are a small number of records relating to operational procedures between the Post Office and HM Customs and Excise Office. The records mainly consist of Post Office Daily Lists of ship's departure and arrival times, and mail carried. It also contains Packet boat log books, voyage record books and Packet station correspondence relating to personnel, stores held, and armed conflict.

It also includes some later records concerning the general organisation of overseas mail including by air.

Some records have been re-classified from POST 12 and POST 45.

The Packet Minute series (POST 29 and 34) comprise minutes to the Postmaster General from the Secretary to the Post Office, on the Packet Boat and overseas mails services. It began in 1811, at which date those subjects were transferred from the Postmaster General's Minute series (POST 30 and 35).

POST 29 consists of volumes containing a copy of, or reference to, every minute submitted to the Postmaster General, including those which have since been destroyed. POST 34/1 - 105 are indexed. The Postmaster General's decision on each case is also recorded. POST 29 consists of those actual papers which are still in existence (comprising both the original minute to the Postmaster General and the papers leading up to, and following from, the Secretary's submission). It has been produced in two versions, one numerical and the other alphabetical, i.e., set out under subject headings. When requisitioning papers, both the catalogue reference Nos. and the Minute No. should be quoted, e.g., POST 29/4, Pkt 203B/1314.

For details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.

The packet report series (POST 39 and 41) comprises reports to the Postmaster General from the Secretary to the Post Office, on the packet boat service and overseas mail arrangements. These are the surviving reports from those listed in POST 41.

POST 39 therefore consists of the actual Reports which are still in existence, with any enclosures. POST 41 consists of indexed volumes containing a copy of every Report submitted to the Postmaster General (including those which have since been destroyed) and is the only guide to the contents of POST 39. The Postmaster General's decision on each case is recorded. Examples of incidents recorded in the reports include the capture of packet ships, possibly due to pirates, smuggling of dry goods, loss of crew, terms and conditions of ship hire, victualling of crew and route changes and times.

In 1811 a parallel series entitled Packet Minutes (POST 29 and POST 34) was created. Cases for the attention of the Postmaster General were sometimes recorded in both series, but at other times in only one of the two series. Upon the cessation of the Report series POST 29 and POST 34 continued alone.

For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.

The Packet Report series (POST 39 and POST 41) comprise reports to the Postmaster General, from the Secretary to the Post Office, on the Packet Boat service and overseas mail arrangements.

POST 41 consists of indexed volumes containing a copy of every report submitted to the Postmaster General (including those which have since been destroyed) and is the only guide to the contents of POST 39 (Packet Service Report Papers). The Postmaster General's decision on each case is also recorded. POST 39 consists of those actual reports which are still in existence, with any enclosures.

In 1811 a parallel series entitled Packet Minutes (POST 29 and POST 34) was created. Cases for the attention of the Postmaster General were sometimes recorded in both series, but at other times in only one of the two series. Upon the cessation of the Report series POST 29 and POST 34 continued alone.

For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.