Event    From 10/1/1840  To 1890

Penny Post

Categories: Commerce

First established in London in 1680 by William Dockwra and his business partner, Robert Murray, operating only within the City of London, the City of Westminter and Southwark. From 1765 similar services were being set up in other populous areas.

From January 1840 letters could be sent anywhere in the UK for one penny. From May 1840 the cost of postage could be prepaid with the purchase of the first postage stamp, the Penny Black. In 1898 the Imperial Penny post extended the rate to the whole British Empire. The penny post rate ended in 1918. Prior to the uniform penny post the cost of sending a letter was based on the number of sheets and the distance travelled, and the recipient paid, not the sender.

Anthony Trollope’s ‘The Claverings’ was published in serial form 1866-7. Trollope gives two characters this conversation: “I used to think myself the best lover in the world if I wrote once a month.” “There was no penny post then Mr Burton.”

Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Wives and Daughters' was published 1864-6 but set c.1820: "Mrs Gibson was occasionally inclined to complain of the frequency of Helen Kirkpatrick {her daughter}'s letters {from London to the country}; for before the penny post came in, the recipient had to pay the postage of letters; and elevenpence-halfpenny three times a week came according to Mrs Gibson's mode of reckoning when annoyed, to a sum 'between three and four shillings'. 

Later in the book: "Mrs Gibson was busy reading a letter from Cynthia which Mr Gibson had brought from London; for every opportunity of private conveyance was seized upon when postage was so high."

To us, almost a shilling (5 new pence) for a letter seems extremely expensive given how the value of money has fallen over time, no wonder Mrs Gibson was annoyed!  Also, in the mid 1960's the cost of a stamp was 4 old pence, i.e. one third of a shilling, a third of what it was in 1820. These differences are astonishing.

To celebrate the jubilee in 1890 the General Post Office set up the Jubilee Celebration Committee and in 1891 published a book: "Account of the Celebration of the Jubilee of Uniform Inland Penny Postage at the Venetian Chamber, Holborn Restaurant - at Guildhall - at the Museum of Science and Art, South Kensington - and at Various Towns and Villages throughout the United Kingdom."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Penny Post

Commemorated ati

Penny Post - 1890 jubilee

This stone was laid by the Right Honourable Henry Cecil Raikes, M. P., Her Ma...

Read More

Penny post - Westminster

City of Westminster This building was the site of the Westminster office of ...

Read More

Rowland Hill - NW3 - second erection

The 1892 erection must have been on the house in which Hill lived and died, B...

Read More

Rowland Hill - NW3 - third erection

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

Read More

Rowland Hill statue

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

Read More

Show all 6

Other Subjects

Mercers' Company

Mercers' Company

Records go back to 1348. From the Guild‘s website: "In its widest sense mercery could describe all merchandise, although in London the term evolved to mean the trade specifically in luxury fabrics,...

Group, Commerce, Liveries & Guilds

4 memorials
Fountain Tavern

Fountain Tavern

Here the political opponents of Sir Robert Walpole met, using the title of the Fountain Club. Since the Kit-Cat Club, Walpole's supporters, also met here, we have to trust that the landlord arrange...

Building, Commerce, Community / Clubs, Food & Drink, Politics & Administration

2 memorials
Swedish Chamber of Commerce

Swedish Chamber of Commerce

The subject of a London Chamber was first discussed in early 1906, when a number of meetings regarding the arrangement of a Swedish exhibition, led to the establishment of the Swedish Chamber of Co...

Group, Commerce, Politics & Administration, Sweden

1 memorial
John Kidd and Co.

John Kidd and Co.

Manufacturers of printing ink for the newspaper industry. Its head office was at Wine Office Court off Fleet Street.

Group, Commerce, Journalism / Publishing

1 memorial
James Purdey the younger

James Purdey the younger

Gunmaker, built premises in 1880 to house his new showrooms and workshops, James Purdey & Sons Ltd. The Picture Source website has a short on-line history and also informs about a book on the s...

Person, Commerce, Craft / Design

1 memorial

Previously viewed

F. R. Playford

F. R. Playford

Loco Carriage & Wagon

Person

War dead, WW1
1 memorial
Unknown warrior arrival

Unknown warrior arrival

SW1, Victoria Station

The vehicle used for the delivery was the Cavell Van, the railway wagon which had previously been used for two ceremonial journeys from D...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Ray Wilson MBE

Ray Wilson MBE

Footballer. Born Ramon Wilson in Shirebrook, Derbyshire. He played primarily for Huddersfield Town, Everton and was in the winning England team for the 1966 World Cup. At the end of his footballing...

Person, Sport / Games

1 memorial
Philip Geddes

Philip Geddes

Journalist, 24. From Geddes Trust (previously geddesprize.co.uk): The awards are named after Philip Geddes, a member of St Edmund Hall {Oxford University} and a journalist of considerable promise. ...

Person, Journalism / Publishing, Tragedy

1 memorial
Battle of Abukir

Battle of Abukir

Part of the Napoleonic Wars.  The British fought the French at Abu Qir in Egypt and achieved a tactical victory.  Britain wanted to land troops on the beach and the French would prefer they stayed ...

Event, Armed Forces, Egypt

1 memorial