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. Bishop claimed: 'a stamp is invented, that is putt upon every letter shewing the day of the moneth that every letter comes to this office, so that no letter Carryer may dare to detayne a letter from post to post; which, before, was usual.' As we now know, this did not actually solve the problem, just provided more evidence that the problem existed.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
First postmarks in the world
Commemorated ati
General Letter Office
Near this spot the General Letter Office stood in Post House Yard, 1653 - 166...
Other Subjects
George M. Hammer and Co. Ltd.
Firm of furniture makers, such as school desks and park benches. From London Fine: "Operating in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hammer were an old English furnisher, in their words; 'Manufactur...
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1st Baronet)
MP, brewer, slave abolitionist and social reformer. Born Essex. Entered the Brick Lane brewery Truman, Hanbury & Company in 1808, eventually taking on sole ownership. 1807 married Hannah Gurney...
Gordon Victor Young
Businessman in the fish industry. "Who knew Billingsgate Market well and built up the family business, W. Young & Son." The quote is on the plaque but we can't trace it, or indeed, find out any...
Turk's Head - Wapping
This entry discusses two pubs in Wapping, both called the Turk's Head. The Turk's Head in Wapping High Street is said to be the pub where condemned men, on their way to Execution Dock, were given ...
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Claylands Chapel
Built as a Congregational church and opened on 29 June 1836, this building is at the north corner of Claylands Road and Claylands Place (just south of the Oval). In 1845 it was renovated and capaci...
men of the Parish of Our Lady of Willesden killed in WW2
men of the Parish of Our Lady of Willesden killed in WW2
Hubert Gough & Hornsey WW1 dead
N8, Elder Avenue, Earl Haig Memorial Hall
This double plaque, the foundation stone, is under the window on the right. Quite where the scroll was deposited (behind the plaque in t...
Cypress Oak
Rather than risk life and limb in trying to get to the central reservation, we have borrowed a photograph. The latin name Quercus Robur translates as 'hardy oak'. The cultivar 'Fastigiata' is diffe...
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