Person    | Male  Born 3/12/1795  Died 27/8/1879

Sir Rowland Hill

Initiator of the uniform Penny Post in 1840. Due to him Britain was the first country to use adhesive stamps and thus we do not have to put the name of our country on them. This is analogous to the United States not using the suffix '.us' in domain names. Conceived the idea of a post code - see Diamond Geezer for a good post (ha ha) on this topic. Before his interventions the cost of postage depended on the distance and was met by the recipient. Once the recipient did not have to pay the postie no interaction was required and the concept of the letter-box was born.

Was a little obsessed with the delivery of letters, to the extent that when he met Garibaldi at a banquet in 1864 all he could think to talk about was the Italian postal service.

He did not suggest renaming the Post Office 'Consignia'.

Born Kidderminster. Died at home at Bertram House, Hampstead, which (along with Miss Crump's Hereford House) we think is now the Royal Free Hospital and Rowland Hill Street.

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Sir Rowland Hill

Commemorated ati

Rowland Hill - NW3 - second erection

Rowland Hill, KCB, originator of the Penny Post, lived here, 1849 - 1879. Bor...

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Rowland Hill statue

{On the front of the red granite plinth:} Rowland Hill He founded uniform p...

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Rowland Hill - W2

Sir Rowland Hill, 1795 - 1879, postal reformer, lived here. LCC

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Rowland Hill - WC1 (Camden)

Rowland Hill, 1795 - 1879, wrote the pamphlet leading to the creation of the ...

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Rowland Hill - WC1 (Marchmont Association)

Installed by 19 September 2016, with little ceremony.

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Other Subjects

National Provincial Bank

National Provincial Bank

Created by Thomas Joplin (1790?–1847) and George Fife Angas (1789 – 1879) as one of the first joint stock banks with a base in London and provincial branches. The London base was at 15 Bishopsgate...

Group, Commerce

1 memorial
First postmarks in the world

First postmarks in the world

Inked date stamps were at first called 'Bishops marks' after their inventor, Henry Bishop, Postmaster General, 1660-1663.   The post office was receiving complaints about late arrival of the post. ...

Concept, Commerce

1 memorial
Vernon W. Hill II

Vernon W. Hill II

Co-funder of the Reagan statue. American businessman and banker.

Person, Benefactor, Commerce

1 memorial