CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>General Post Office - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"4dd17468-61c3-4d9a-8f0c-5dc3d99cbcf1","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"General_Post_Office","wgTitle":"General Post Office","wgCurRevisionId":1258050973,"wgRevisionId":1258050973,"wgArticleId":23310800,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Webarchive template wayback links","Articles with short description","Short description matches Wikidata","EngvarB from November 2015","Use dmy dates from November 2015","All articles with unsourced statements","Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019","Commons category link from Wikidata","General Post Office","1660 establishments in England","2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom","Defunct departments of the Government of the United Kingdom", "Postal system of the United Kingdom","Telecommunications in the United Kingdom"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"General_Post_Office","wgRelevantArticleId":23310800,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":90000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false, "wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q1325334","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media", "site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.4"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg/1200px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="985"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg/800px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="657"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg/640px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="525"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="General Post Office - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-General_Post_Office rootpage-General_Post_Office skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=General+Post+Office" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=General+Post+Office" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=General+Post+Office" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=General+Post+Office" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Early_postal_services" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Early_postal_services"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Early postal services</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Early_postal_services-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Early postal services subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Early_postal_services-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Foreign_postage" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Foreign_postage"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Foreign postage</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Foreign_postage-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_General_Post" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_General_Post"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>The General Post</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-The_General_Post-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle The General Post subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-The_General_Post-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Distribution_and_delivery" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Distribution_and_delivery"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Distribution and delivery</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Distribution_and_delivery-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Packet_boats_and_ship_letters" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Packet_boats_and_ship_letters"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Packet boats and ship letters</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Packet_boats_and_ship_letters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_London_Penny_Post" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_London_Penny_Post"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>The London Penny Post</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_London_Penny_Post-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Expansion_at_home_and_abroad" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Expansion_at_home_and_abroad"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span>Expansion at home and abroad</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Expansion_at_home_and_abroad-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-New_modes_of_transport" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#New_modes_of_transport"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5</span> <span>New modes of transport</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-New_modes_of_transport-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Road" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Road"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5.1</span> <span>Road</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Road-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Rail" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rail"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5.2</span> <span>Rail</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rail-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Maritime" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Maritime"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5.3</span> <span>Maritime</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Maritime-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Money_Order_Office" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Money_Order_Office"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.6</span> <span>The Money Order Office</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Money_Order_Office-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Uniform_Penny_Postage" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Uniform_Penny_Postage"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.7</span> <span>Uniform Penny Postage</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Uniform_Penny_Postage-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Financial_services" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Financial_services"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Financial services</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Financial_services-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-New_communication_systems" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#New_communication_systems"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>New communication systems</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-New_communication_systems-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle New communication systems subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-New_communication_systems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Telegraph" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Telegraph"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Telegraph</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Telegraph-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Telephone" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Telephone"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Telephone</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Telephone-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Radio" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Radio"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Radio</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Radio-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_GPO_in_the_twentieth_century" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_GPO_in_the_twentieth_century"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>The GPO in the twentieth century</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-The_GPO_in_the_twentieth_century-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle The GPO in the twentieth century subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-The_GPO_in_the_twentieth_century-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Ireland" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Ireland"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Ireland</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Ireland-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Control_of_broadcasting" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Control_of_broadcasting"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.2</span> <span>Control of broadcasting</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Control_of_broadcasting-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Growth_in_telecommunications" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Growth_in_telecommunications"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.3</span> <span>Growth in telecommunications</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Growth_in_telecommunications-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1930s_reviews_and_innovations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1930s_reviews_and_innovations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.4</span> <span>1930s reviews and innovations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1930s_reviews_and_innovations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dissolution" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Dissolution"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.5</span> <span>Dissolution</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Dissolution-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Post_Office_Headquarters" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Post_Office_Headquarters"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Post Office Headquarters</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Post_Office_Headquarters-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Post Office Headquarters subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Post_Office_Headquarters-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-St_Martin's_Le_Grand" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#St_Martin's_Le_Grand"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>St Martin's Le Grand</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-St_Martin's_Le_Grand-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Links_to_the_intelligence_services" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Links_to_the_intelligence_services"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Links to the intelligence services</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Links_to_the_intelligence_services-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Post_Office_Rifles" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Post_Office_Rifles"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Post Office Rifles</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Post_Office_Rifles-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Lists_of_senior_officials" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Lists_of_senior_officials"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Lists of senior officials</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Lists_of_senior_officials-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Lists of senior officials subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Lists_of_senior_officials-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Postmasters_General" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Postmasters_General"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.1</span> <span>Postmasters General</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Postmasters_General-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Secretaries_of_the_Post_Office" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Secretaries_of_the_Post_Office"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.2</span> <span>Secretaries of the Post Office</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Secretaries_of_the_Post_Office-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Directors_General_of_the_Post_Office" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Directors_General_of_the_Post_Office"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.3</span> <span>Directors General of the Post Office</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Directors_General_of_the_Post_Office-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">14</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">General Post Office</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 7 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-7" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">7 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cy mw-list-item"><a href="https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swyddfa_Bost_Gyffredinol" title="Swyddfa Bost Gyffredinol – Welsh" lang="cy" hreflang="cy" data-title="Swyddfa Bost Gyffredinol" data-language-autonym="Cymraeg" data-language-local-name="Welsh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Cymraeg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office" title="General Post Office – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="General Post Office" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office" title="General Post Office – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="General Post Office" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office" title="General Post Office – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="General Post Office" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pejabat_Pos_Besar" title="Pejabat Pos Besar – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Pejabat Pos Besar" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office_(Storbritannia)" title="General Post Office (Storbritannia) – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="General Post Office (Storbritannia)" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office" title="General Post Office – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="General Post Office" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1325334#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:General_Post_Office" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/General_Post_Office" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/General_Post_Office" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&oldid=1258050973" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=General_Post_Office&id=1258050973&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGeneral_Post_Office"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FGeneral_Post_Office"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=General_Post_Office&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-commons mw-list-item"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:General_Post_Office_(United_Kingdom)" hreflang="en"><span>Wikimedia Commons</span></a></li><li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1325334" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Postal system in the United Kingdom</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the UK postal system before 1970. For its subsequent history and current operation, see <a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail" title="Royal Mail">Royal Mail</a> and <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Ltd" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Ltd">Post Office Ltd</a>. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="General Post Office (disambiguation)">General Post Office (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox"><caption class="infobox-title" style="font-size: 125%;">General Post Office</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(HM_Government)_(St_Edwards_Crown).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg/120px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="120" height="99" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg/180px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg/240px-Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1530" data-file-height="1256" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption"><a href="/wiki/Royal_coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom">Royal Arms</a> of <a href="/wiki/HM_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="HM Government">HM Government</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Victorian_type_PB_VIII_post_box_at_Balls_Road,_Oxton_02.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Victorian_type_PB_VIII_post_box_at_Balls_Road%2C_Oxton_02.jpg/220px-Victorian_type_PB_VIII_post_box_at_Balls_Road%2C_Oxton_02.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Victorian_type_PB_VIII_post_box_at_Balls_Road%2C_Oxton_02.jpg/330px-Victorian_type_PB_VIII_post_box_at_Balls_Road%2C_Oxton_02.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Victorian_type_PB_VIII_post_box_at_Balls_Road%2C_Oxton_02.jpg/440px-Victorian_type_PB_VIII_post_box_at_Balls_Road%2C_Oxton_02.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3888" data-file-height="5184" /></a></span><br />Victorian 'Post Office' <a href="/wiki/Pillar_box" title="Pillar box">pillar box</a> in <a href="/wiki/Oxton,_Merseyside" title="Oxton, Merseyside">Oxton, Merseyside</a>.</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef">Agency overview</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Formed</th><td class="infobox-data">31 July 1635<span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday dtstart published updated itvstart">1635-07-31</span>)</span> (public service)<br />29 December 1660<span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday dtstart published updated itvstart">1660-12-29</span>)</span> (Post Office Act 1660)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Dissolved</th><td class="infobox-data">1 October 1969<span style="display:none"> (<span class="dtend itvend">1969-10-01</span>)</span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Superseding agency</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Ltd" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Ltd">Post Office Ltd</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Telecommunications" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Telecommunications">Post Office Telecommunications</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Jurisdiction</th><td class="infobox-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"> <ul><li>1635–1657  England & Scotland</li> <li>1657–1784  England, Scotland & Ireland</li> <li>1784–1831  England & Scotland</li> <li>1831-1969  United Kingdom</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Headquarters</th><td class="infobox-data"><span class="nowrap">General Post Office,<br />St Martin's le Grand,<br />London EC2</span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Agency executives</th><td class="infobox-data"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"><div class="plainlist"><ul><li style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;"><a href="/wiki/Sir_Brian_Tuke" class="mw-redirect" title="Sir Brian Tuke">Sir Brian Tuke</a>, <span class="nowrap">Master of the King's Post</span><br />(first <a href="/wiki/Postmaster_General_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Postmaster General of the United Kingdom">Postmaster General of<br /> the United Kingdom</a>)</li><li style="text-indent: -1em; padding-left: 1em;"><a href="/wiki/John_Stonehouse" title="John Stonehouse">John Stonehouse</a>, <br />last Postmaster General</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Parent agency</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/HM_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="HM Government">HM Government</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>General Post Office</b> (<b>GPO</b>)<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> was the state <a href="/wiki/Postal_system" class="mw-redirect" title="Postal system">postal system</a> and <a href="/wiki/Telecommunications" title="Telecommunications">telecommunications</a> carrier of the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> until 1969.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a <a href="/wiki/State_monopoly" title="State monopoly">state monopoly</a> covering the dispatch of items from a specific sender to a specific receiver (which was to be of great importance when new forms of communication were invented); it was overseen by a <a href="/wiki/Government_minister" class="mw-redirect" title="Government minister">Government minister</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Postmaster_General_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Postmaster General of the United Kingdom">Postmaster General</a>. Over time its remit was extended to Scotland and Ireland, and across parts of the <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a>. </p><p>The GPO was abolished by the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Act_1969" title="Post Office Act 1969">Post Office Act 1969</a>, which transferred its assets to <a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail_Group#Statutory_corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="Royal Mail Group">the Post Office</a>, so changing it from a Department of State to a <a href="/wiki/Statutory_corporation" title="Statutory corporation">statutory corporation</a>. Responsibility for telecommunications was given to <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Telecommunications" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Telecommunications">Post Office Telecommunications</a>, the successor of the GPO Telegraph and Telephones department. In 1980, the telecommunications and postal sides were split prior to <a href="/wiki/BT_Group" title="BT Group">British Telecommunications</a>' conversion into a totally separate publicly owned corporation the following year as a result of the <a href="/wiki/British_Telecommunications_Act_1981" title="British Telecommunications Act 1981">British Telecommunications Act 1981</a>. In 1986 the Post Office Counters business was made functionally separate from Royal Mail Letters and Royal Mail Parcels (the latter being rebranded as '<a href="/wiki/Parcelforce" title="Parcelforce">Parcelforce</a>'). At the start of the 21st century the Post Office became a <a href="/wiki/Public_limited_company" title="Public limited company">public limited company</a> (initially called 'Consignia plc'), which was renamed '<a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail_Group" class="mw-redirect" title="Royal Mail Group">Royal Mail Group</a> plc' in 2002. In 2012 the counters business (known as '<a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Limited" title="Post Office Limited">Post Office Limited</a>' since 2002) was taken out of Royal Mail Group, prior to the latter's privatisation in 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The privatised holding company (Royal Mail plc) was renamed <a href="/wiki/International_Distributions_Services_plc" class="mw-redirect" title="International Distributions Services plc">International Distributions Services plc</a> in 2022.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Early_postal_services">Early postal services</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Early postal services"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the medieval period, <a href="/wiki/Nobles" class="mw-redirect" title="Nobles">nobles</a> generally employed messengers to deliver letters and other items on their behalf. In the 12th century a <a href="/wiki/King%27s_Messenger" title="King's Messenger">permanent body of messengers</a> had been formed within the Royal Household of King <a href="/wiki/Henry_I_of_England" title="Henry I of England">Henry I</a>, for the conveyance of royal and official correspondence. The messengers delivered their messages in person, each travelling on his own horse and taking time as needed for rest and refreshment (including stopping overnight if the length of journey required it).<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Under <a href="/wiki/Edward_IV_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="Edward IV of England">Edward IV</a>, however, a more efficient system was put in place (albeit temporarily) to aid communications during his <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Scottish_Wars" title="Anglo-Scottish Wars">war with Scotland</a>: a number of <a href="/wiki/Post_house_(historical_building)" title="Post house (historical building)">post houses</a> were established at twenty-mile intervals along the <a href="/wiki/Great_North_Road_(Great_Britain)" title="Great North Road (Great Britain)">Great North Road</a>, between London and <a href="/wiki/Berwick-upon-Tweed" title="Berwick-upon-Tweed">Berwick</a>, to provide the king's messengers with fresh horses for each stage of the journey;<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> in this way they were able to travel up to a hundred miles a day.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Under King <a href="/wiki/Henry_VIII" title="Henry VIII">Henry VIII</a> a concerted effort was made to maintain a regular postal system for the conveyance of royal and government despatches (in times of peace as well as in time of war). To oversee the system, the king appointed <a href="/wiki/Brian_Tuke" title="Brian Tuke">Brian Tuke</a> to serve as 'Master of the Postes'. By the 1550s five <a href="/wiki/Post_roads" class="mw-redirect" title="Post roads">post roads</a> were in place, connecting London with <a href="/wiki/Dover" title="Dover">Dover</a>, <a href="/wiki/Edinburgh" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>, <a href="/wiki/Holyhead" title="Holyhead">Holyhead</a> (via <a href="/wiki/Chester" title="Chester">Chester</a>), <a href="/wiki/Milford_Haven" title="Milford Haven">Milford Haven</a> (via <a href="/wiki/Bristol" title="Bristol">Bristol</a>) and <a href="/wiki/Plymouth" title="Plymouth">Plymouth</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (A sixth post road, to <a href="/wiki/Norwich" title="Norwich">Norwich</a> via <a href="/wiki/Colchester" title="Colchester">Colchester</a>, would be added in the early 17th century.) Each post-house on the road was staffed by a <a href="/wiki/Postmaster" title="Postmaster">postmaster</a>, whose main responsibility was to provide the horses; he would also provide a guide to accompany the messenger as far as the next post house (and then see to the return of the horses afterwards). In practice most post-houses were established at roadside <a href="/wiki/Inns" class="mw-redirect" title="Inns">inns</a> and the innkeeper served as postmaster (in return for a small salary from the Crown).<sup id="cite_ref-Borer1972_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Borer1972-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At Dover merchant ships were regularly employed to convey letters to and from <a href="/wiki/The_continent" class="mw-redirect" title="The continent">the continent</a>. A similar system connected Holyhead and Milford to Ireland (and by the end of the 16th century a <a href="/wiki/Packet_service" class="mw-redirect" title="Packet service">packet service</a> had been established on the Holyhead to Dublin route).<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Private citizens could make use of the post-horse network, if they could afford it (in 1583 they had to pay twopence per mile for the horse, plus fourpence per stage for the guide),<sup id="cite_ref-Borer1972_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Borer1972-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but it was primarily designed for the relaying of state and royal correspondence, or for the conveyance from one place to another of individuals engaged on official state business (who paid a reduced rate). Private correspondence was often sent using <a href="/wiki/Common_carriers" class="mw-redirect" title="Common carriers">common carriers</a> at this time, or with others who regularly journeyed from place to place (such as travelling <a href="/wiki/Pedlars" class="mw-redirect" title="Pedlars">pedlars</a>); towns often made use of local licensed carriers, who plied their trade using a horse and cart or waggon, while the universities, along with certain municipal and other corporations, maintained their own correspondence networks.<sup id="cite_ref-EB1842_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB1842-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Many letters went by foot-post rather than on horseback. Footposts or runners were employed by many towns, cities and other communities, and had been for many years.<sup id="cite_ref-Beale1998_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Beale1998-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A 16th-century footpost would cover around 30 miles per day, on average.<sup id="cite_ref-May2023_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-May2023-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At the time of the <a href="/wiki/Spanish_Armada" title="Spanish Armada">Spanish Armada</a> every <a href="/wiki/Parish" title="Parish">parish</a> was by royal command required to provide a footpost, and every town a horse-post, to help convey news in the event of an imminent invasion. </p><p>By the early 1600s there were two options for couriers using the post system: they could either ride 'through-post', carrying the correspondence the full distance; or they could use the 'post of the packet', whereby the letters were carried by the guides from one post house to the next in a cotton-lined leather bag (although this method was only available for royal, government or diplomatic correspondence).<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The guides at this time were provided with a <a href="/wiki/Post_horn" title="Post horn">post horn</a>, which they had to sound at regular intervals or when encountering others on the road (other road users were expected to give way to the <a href="/wiki/Post_riders" title="Post riders">post riders</a>). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Foreign_postage">Foreign postage</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Foreign postage"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>At the start of the 16th century a system for the conveyance of foreign dispatches had been set up, organised by Flemish merchants in the <a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a>; but in 1558, after a dispute arose between Italian, Flemish and English merchants on the matter, the Master of the King's Posts was granted oversight of it instead.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1619, <a href="/wiki/James_VI_and_I" title="James VI and I">James I</a> appointed a separate Postmaster General 'for foreign parts', granting him (and his appointees) the <a href="/wiki/Monopoly" title="Monopoly">sole privilege</a> of carrying foreign correspondence to and from London.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (The separate Postmaster General appointments were consolidated in 1637, but the 'foreign' and 'inland' postal services remained separate in terms of administration and accounting until the mid-19th century). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_General_Post">The General Post</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: The General Post"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Post_Horse_Met_DP884384.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/The_Post_Horse_Met_DP884384.jpg/300px-The_Post_Horse_Met_DP884384.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="235" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/The_Post_Horse_Met_DP884384.jpg/450px-The_Post_Horse_Met_DP884384.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/The_Post_Horse_Met_DP884384.jpg/600px-The_Post_Horse_Met_DP884384.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3731" data-file-height="2924" /></a><figcaption>'The Post Horse' (from <i>The Life of a Racehorse, or The High-Mettled Racer</i>) by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Rowlandson" title="Thomas Rowlandson">Thomas Rowlandson</a>, 1789.</figcaption></figure> <p>It was not until 1635 that a general or public post was properly established, for inland letters as for foreign ones.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 31 July that year, King <a href="/wiki/Charles_I_of_England" title="Charles I of England">Charles I</a> issued a <a href="/wiki/Proclamation" title="Proclamation">proclamation</a> 'for the settling of the Letter-office of England and Scotland',<sup id="cite_ref-Committee1844_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Committee1844-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> an event which 'may properly be regarded as the origin of the British post-office'.<sup id="cite_ref-EB1842_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EB1842-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By this decree, <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Witherings" title="Thomas Witherings">Thomas Witherings</a> (who had been appointed 'Postmaster of England for foreign parts' three years earlier) was empowered to provide for the carriage of private letters at fixed rates 'betwixt London and all parts of His Majesty's dominions'.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> To this end, the royal proclamation instructed him to establish 'a running post, to run night and day', initially between London and Edinburgh, London and Holyhead and London and Plymouth, 'for the advancement of all His Majesty's subjects in their trade and correspondence'. (A similar system, running between London and Dover, had already been established by Witherings as part of his administration of the foreign posts, and he himself had proposed its extension to the rest of the realm). Witherings was required to extend the new system to other post roads 'as soon as possibly may be' (beginning with the routes to Oxford and Bristol, and to Colchester, Norwich and Yarmouth); and provision was also made for the establishment of 'bye-posts' to run to and from places not directly served by the post road system (such as Lincoln and Hull).<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The new system was fully and profitably running by 1636.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In order to facilitate the new arrangement, the King commanded 'all his postmasters, upon all the roads of England, to have ready in their stables one or two horses [...] to carry such messengers, with their <a href="/wiki/Mail_bag" title="Mail bag">portmantles</a>, as shall be imployed in the said service', and they were forbidden from hiring out these horses to others on days when the mail was due.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Furthermore, it was enjoined that (with a few specific exceptions) 'no other messenger or messengers, footpost or footposts, shall take up, carry, receive or deliver any letter or letters whatsoever, other than the messengers appointed by the said Thomas Witherings',<sup id="cite_ref-Committee1844_13-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Committee1844-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> thus establishing a monopoly, which (under the auspices of the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail" title="Royal Mail">Royal Mail</a>) would remain in place until 2006.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Under the <a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_of_England,_Scotland,_and_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland">Commonwealth</a> the Post Office was <a href="/wiki/Farm_(revenue_leasing)" title="Farm (revenue leasing)">farmed</a> to <a href="/wiki/John_Manley_(MP)" title="John Manley (MP)">John Manley</a> and <a href="/wiki/John_Thurloe" title="John Thurloe">John Thurloe</a>, successively. In 1657 an Act of Parliament entitled <i>Postage of England, Scotland and Ireland Settled</i> set up a postal system for the whole of the British Isles (the nations of which had been unified under <a href="/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell" title="Oliver Cromwell">Oliver Cromwell</a> as a result of the <a href="/wiki/Wars_of_the_Three_Kingdoms" title="Wars of the Three Kingdoms">Wars of the Three Kingdoms</a>), stating that 'there shall be one General Post-Office, and one office stiled the Postmaster-Generall of England and Comptroller of the Post-Office'.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Act also reasserted the postal monopoly for letter delivery and for post-horses; and it set new rates both for carriage of letters and for 'riding post'. During the Commonwealth, what had been a weekly post service to and from London was increased to a thrice-weekly service: letters were despatched from the General Letter Office in London every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evening, while the inbound post arrived early in the morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Usually the recipient of the post paid the fee (and had the right to refuse to accept the item if they did not wish to pay); the charge was based on the distance the item had been carried so the Post Office had to keep a separate account for each item. </p><p> After the <a href="/wiki/English_Restoration" class="mw-redirect" title="English Restoration">Restoration</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Act_1660" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Act 1660">Post Office Act 1660</a> (<a href="/wiki/12_Cha._2" class="mw-redirect" title="12 Cha. 2">12 Cha. 2</a>. c. 35) was passed (the previous Cromwellian Act being void), confirming the arrangements in place for the Post Office, and the post of Postmaster General, and emphasizing the public and economic benefits of a General Post system:<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style></p><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>"Whereas for the maintenance of mutual correspondencies, and prevention of many inconveniences happening by private posts, several public post-offices have been heretofore erected for carrying and recarrying of letters by post to and from all parts and places within England, Scotland, and Ireland, and several posts beyond the seas, the well-ordering whereof is a matter of general concernment, and of great advantage, as well for the preservation of trade and commerce as otherwise".</p></blockquote> <p>To begin with the Post Office was again farmed, nominally to <a href="/wiki/Henry_Bishop_(postmaster_general)" title="Henry Bishop (postmaster general)">Henry Bishop</a>, but the deal was bankrolled by <a href="/wiki/John_Wildman" title="John Wildman">John Wildman</a> (a gentleman of dubious repute, who kept a tight rein on his investment). Two years later Wildman was imprisoned, implicated in a plot against the King, whereupon Bishop sold the lease on to the King's gunpowder manufacturer, <a href="/wiki/Daniel_O%27Neill_(Royalist)" title="Daniel O'Neill (Royalist)">Daniel O'Neill</a>; after the latter's death, his widow the <a href="/wiki/Katherine_Stanhope,_Countess_of_Chesterfield" title="Katherine Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield">Countess of Chesterfield</a> served out the remainder of the original seven-year term (so becoming the first female Postmaster General).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Meanwhile, under the terms of a 1663 Act of Parliament, the 'rents, issues and profits' of the Post Office had been settled by the King on his brother, the Duke of York, to provide for his support and maintenance.<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Following the latter's accession to the throne as King <a href="/wiki/James_II_of_England" title="James II of England">James II</a>, this income became part of the hereditary revenues of <a href="/wiki/The_Crown" title="The Crown">the Crown</a>; and subsequently, under the growing scrutiny of <a href="/wiki/HM_Treasury" title="HM Treasury">HM Treasury</a>, the postal service came increasingly to be viewed as a source of government income (as seen in the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_(Revenues)_Act_1710" title="Post Office (Revenues) Act 1710">Post Office (Revenues) Act 1710</a>, which increased postal charges and levied tax on the income in order to finance Britain's involvement in the <a href="/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession" title="War of the Spanish Succession">War of the Spanish Succession</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Distribution_and_delivery">Distribution and delivery</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Distribution and delivery"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Microcosm_of_London_Plate_063_-_The_Post_Office_edited.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Microcosm_of_London_Plate_063_-_The_Post_Office_edited.jpg/220px-Microcosm_of_London_Plate_063_-_The_Post_Office_edited.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="159" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Microcosm_of_London_Plate_063_-_The_Post_Office_edited.jpg/330px-Microcosm_of_London_Plate_063_-_The_Post_Office_edited.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Microcosm_of_London_Plate_063_-_The_Post_Office_edited.jpg/440px-Microcosm_of_London_Plate_063_-_The_Post_Office_edited.jpg 2x" data-file-width="846" data-file-height="612" /></a><figcaption>The sorting room at the General Letter Office, Lombard Street (as pictured in <a href="/wiki/The_Microcosm_of_London" class="mw-redirect" title="The Microcosm of London">The Microcosm of London</a>).</figcaption></figure> <p>The distribution network was centred on the <a href="/wiki/General_Letter_Office" class="mw-redirect" title="General Letter Office">General Letter Office</a> in London (which was on <a href="/wiki/Threadneedle_Street" title="Threadneedle Street">Threadneedle Street</a> prior to the <a href="/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London" title="Great Fire of London">Great Fire of London</a>, after which it moved first to <a href="/wiki/Bishopsgate_Street" class="mw-redirect" title="Bishopsgate Street">Bishopsgate</a> and then to <a href="/wiki/Lombard_Street,_London" title="Lombard Street, London">Lombard Street</a> in 1678).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The incoming post arrived each week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; it was sorted and <a href="/wiki/Datestamp" class="mw-redirect" title="Datestamp">stamped</a>: London letters went to the 'windows' where members of the public were able to collect them from the office in person (once they had paid the requisite fee), while 'Country letters' were dispatched along the relevant post road. The outgoing post went on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Postage was payable by the recipient (rather than the sender) and depended on the length of the letter and the distance it had travelled;<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> each individual charge was calculated in London and entered into a book, which went with the letters on the road, indicating the amounts due from each postmaster for the letters delivered into his care.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:PO_Notice_Manchester_-_Post-boy_Chester_bag_mail_robbery_1794.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/PO_Notice_Manchester_-_Post-boy_Chester_bag_mail_robbery_1794.jpg/220px-PO_Notice_Manchester_-_Post-boy_Chester_bag_mail_robbery_1794.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="325" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/PO_Notice_Manchester_-_Post-boy_Chester_bag_mail_robbery_1794.jpg/330px-PO_Notice_Manchester_-_Post-boy_Chester_bag_mail_robbery_1794.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/PO_Notice_Manchester_-_Post-boy_Chester_bag_mail_robbery_1794.jpg/440px-PO_Notice_Manchester_-_Post-boy_Chester_bag_mail_robbery_1794.jpg 2x" data-file-width="726" data-file-height="1072" /></a><figcaption>Post riders were vulnerable to attacks by <a href="/wiki/Highwaymen" class="mw-redirect" title="Highwaymen">highwaymen</a>; here a reward is offered after a post boy was robbed of mail destined for Liverpool in 1794.</figcaption></figure> <p>At first the new postal network was not especially well publicised;<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but in his 1673 publication <i>Britannia</i>, <a href="/wiki/Richard_Blome" title="Richard Blome">Richard Blome</a> sought to remedy this by describing in some detail the geographical disposition of the new 'general <i>Post-Office'</i>, which he called an 'exceeding great conveniency' for the inhabitants of the nation.<sup id="cite_ref-Blome1673_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blome1673-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At that time there were 182 <i>Deputy Post-Masters</i> (or 'Deputies') in England [and Wales], most of whom were stationed at the 'Stages' or stops which lay along the six main post-roads;<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and under them were <i>sub-Post-masters</i>, based at <a href="/wiki/Market_towns" class="mw-redirect" title="Market towns">market towns</a> which were not on the main post-roads but to which the service had been extended. (The sub-Post-masters, unlike the Deputies, were not employed by the Post Office.)<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The expansion of the service beyond the main post-roads was in no small part due to the enterprise of the Deputy post-masters themselves, who were allowed to profit from branch services which they established and operated. In this way, the network of 'by-posts' greatly expanded in the 1670s:<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> in 1673 Blome could write that 'there is scarce any <i>Market-Town</i> of note [which does not have] the benefit of the conveyance of letters to and fro'; he went on to list, County by County, both the 'Stages' on the post-roads (of which there were over 140) and the Post-towns on the branch roads (which by then numbered over 380 in total), where members of the public were able to leave letters with a Post-Master 'to be sent as directed'.<sup id="cite_ref-Blome1673_20-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Blome1673-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Before long moves were made to incorporate the by-posts (and their income) into the national network: 'Riding Surveyors' were appointed in 1682, to travel with the post and scrutinise the Deputies' income and activity at each Stage (particularly in relation to by-letters); in later years the Surveyors served as the GPO's <a href="/wiki/Inspectorate" title="Inspectorate">inspectorate</a>, tasked with maintaining efficiency and consistency across the network (until they were finally disbanded in the 1930s).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>It was usual for each postmaster to employ <a href="/wiki/Post_riders" title="Post riders">post-boys</a> to ride with the mail bags from one post-house to the next; the postmaster at the next post-house would then record the time of arrival, before transferring the bags to a new horse, ridden by a new post-boy, for the next stage of the journey.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On the outbound journey from London, the mail for each Stage (and its associated Post-towns) was left at the relevant post-house. Arrangements for its onward delivery varied somewhat from place to place. Witherings had envisaged using 'foot-posts' for this purpose (in 1620 <a href="/wiki/Justices_of_the_Peace" class="mw-redirect" title="Justices of the Peace">Justices of the Peace</a> had been ordered to arrange appointment of two to three foot-posts in every <a href="/wiki/Vestry" title="Vestry">parish</a> for the conveyance of letters),<sup id="cite_ref-Daybell2012_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Daybell2012-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> though in practice precise details were often left to the local postmaster. On the return journey to London, bags of letters would be picked up from each post-house on the way, and taken to the <a href="/wiki/General_Letter_Office" class="mw-redirect" title="General Letter Office">General Letter Office</a> to be sorted for despatch. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Packet_boats_and_ship_letters">Packet boats and ship letters</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Packet boats and ship letters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Packet_Service" title="Post Office Packet Service">Post Office Packet Service</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Post_Office_Blue_Ensign_(before_1864)_RMG_D6951.tiff" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Post_Office_Blue_Ensign_%28before_1864%29_RMG_D6951.tiff/lossy-page1-220px-Post_Office_Blue_Ensign_%28before_1864%29_RMG_D6951.tiff.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="126" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Post_Office_Blue_Ensign_%28before_1864%29_RMG_D6951.tiff/lossy-page1-330px-Post_Office_Blue_Ensign_%28before_1864%29_RMG_D6951.tiff.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Post_Office_Blue_Ensign_%28before_1864%29_RMG_D6951.tiff/lossy-page1-440px-Post_Office_Blue_Ensign_%28before_1864%29_RMG_D6951.tiff.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4800" data-file-height="2742" /></a><figcaption>A Post Office <a href="/wiki/Blue_ensign" class="mw-redirect" title="Blue ensign">blue ensign</a> (19th century) as used on packet ships; GPO vessels had been authorised to fly flags displaying a galloping post-boy <a href="/wiki/Heraldic_badge" title="Heraldic badge">badge</a> since 1694.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>With the establishment of a regular public postal service came the need for waterborne mail services (carrying letters to and from Ireland, continental Europe and other destinations) to be placed on a more regular footing. '<a href="/wiki/Packet_boats" class="mw-redirect" title="Packet boats">Packet boats</a>', offering a regular scheduled mail service, were already in use for the passage between Holyhead and Dublin; but for letters to and from the Continent the post was entrusted to messengers, who would make their own travel arrangements.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This was far from reliable, so in the 1630s Thomas Witherings set about establishing a regular Dover-Calais packet service.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By the end of the century additional packet services had been established between Harwich (off the Yarmouth post road) and <a href="/wiki/Helvoetsluys" class="mw-redirect" title="Helvoetsluys">Helvoetsluys</a>, between Dover and <a href="/wiki/Ostend" title="Ostend">Ostend</a>/<a href="/wiki/Nieuwpoort,_Belgium" title="Nieuwpoort, Belgium">Nieuport</a>, and between <a href="/wiki/Falmouth,_Cornwall" title="Falmouth, Cornwall">Falmouth</a> and <a href="/wiki/Corunna" class="mw-redirect" title="Corunna">Corunna</a>. The packet services were generally arranged by <a href="/wiki/Contract" title="Contract">contract</a> with an agent, who would commit to provide a regular mail-carrying service in exchange for a fee or subsidy.<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the following century, packet services out of Falmouth began to sail to the West Indies, North America and other transatlantic destinations. </p><p>Packet boats, however, were not the only means of conveying letters overseas: there had always been the option of sending them by merchant ship, and coffee houses had long been accustomed to receiving letters and packages on behalf of ships' captains, who would carry them for a fee. The trade in these 'ship letters' was acknowledged (and legitimised) in the Post Office Acts of 1657 and 1660.<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Attempts were made to levy Post Office fees on these letters and 'ship letter money' was offered to captains for each letter given to a postmaster on arrival in England in order for these charges to be applied; however they were under no legal obligation to comply and the majority of ship letters evaded the extra charges. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_London_Penny_Post">The London Penny Post</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: The London Penny Post"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/London_Penny_Post" title="London Penny Post">London Penny Post</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:London_actually_surveyed_by_Wm_Morgan_1682.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/London_actually_surveyed_by_Wm_Morgan_1682.jpg/220px-London_actually_surveyed_by_Wm_Morgan_1682.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="141" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/London_actually_surveyed_by_Wm_Morgan_1682.jpg/330px-London_actually_surveyed_by_Wm_Morgan_1682.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/London_actually_surveyed_by_Wm_Morgan_1682.jpg/440px-London_actually_surveyed_by_Wm_Morgan_1682.jpg 2x" data-file-width="14572" data-file-height="9307" /></a><figcaption>London, Westminster and Southwark in 1682 (map by <a href="/wiki/John_Ogilby" title="John Ogilby">John Ogilby</a> and <a href="/wiki/William_Morgan_(cartographer)" title="William Morgan (cartographer)">William Morgan</a>).</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1680 <a href="/wiki/William_Dockwra" title="William Dockwra">William Dockwra</a> and <a href="/wiki/Robert_Murray_(financier)" title="Robert Murray (financier)">Robert Murray</a> founded the 'Penny Post', which enabled letters and parcels to be sent cheaply to and from destinations in and around London. A flat fee of a penny was charged for sending letters or parcels up to a pound in weight within an area comprising the City of London, the <a href="/wiki/City_of_Westminster" title="City of Westminster">City of Westminster</a> and the Borough of <a href="/wiki/Southwark" title="Southwark">Southwark</a>; while two-pence was charged for items posted or delivered in the surrounding 'country' area (which included places such as Hackney, Newington, Lambeth and Islington). The Penny Post <a href="/wiki/Letter-carrier" class="mw-redirect" title="Letter-carrier">letter-carriers</a> operated from seven main sorting offices around London, which were supplemented by between four and five hundred 'receiving houses' in all the principal streets in the area, where members of the public could post items. (Prior to the establishment of the Penny Post, the only location where letters could be posted in London was the General Letter Office in <a href="/wiki/Lombard_Street,_London" title="Lombard Street, London">Lombard Street</a>.)<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The receiving-houses were often found in public houses, coffee houses or other retail premises.<sup id="cite_ref-Stray2010_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Stray2010-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Deliveries were made six or eight times a day in central London (and a minimum of four times a day in the outskirts).<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The innovation was a great success, and within two years a court ruling obliged the London Penny Post to come under the authority of the Postmaster General. Although now part of the GPO, the London Penny Post continued to operate entirely independently of the General (or 'Inland') Post until 1854 (when the two systems were combined).<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> An attempt by <a href="/wiki/Charles_Povey" title="Charles Povey">Charles Povey</a> to set up a rival halfpenny post in 1709 was halted after several months' operation; however Povey's practice of having letter-carriers ring a bell to attract custom was adopted by the Post Office and went on to be employed in major cities until the mid-19th century.<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1761 permission was given for the establishment of penny-post arrangements elsewhere in the realm, to function along the same lines as the London office, if they could be made financially viable; by the end of the century there were penny-post systems operating in Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester (to be joined by Glasgow and Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the 1830s).<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1801 the cost of posting a letter within the central London area was doubled; thenceforward the London District Post was known as the 'Two-penny Post' until its amalgamation into the General Post 53 years later.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Expansion_at_home_and_abroad">Expansion at home and abroad</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Expansion at home and abroad"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:1807_England_Wales_Letter_circulation_map.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/1807_England_Wales_Letter_circulation_map.jpg/220px-1807_England_Wales_Letter_circulation_map.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="249" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/1807_England_Wales_Letter_circulation_map.jpg/330px-1807_England_Wales_Letter_circulation_map.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/1807_England_Wales_Letter_circulation_map.jpg/440px-1807_England_Wales_Letter_circulation_map.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1100" data-file-height="1246" /></a><figcaption>A map showing postal routes (served by mail coaches, horse posts and foot messengers) in 1807.</figcaption></figure> <p>During the reign of King <a href="/wiki/William_III_of_England" title="William III of England">William III</a>, the General Post Office created a network of 'receiving-houses', in London and the larger provincial towns, where senders could submit items.<sup id="cite_ref-IMA1853_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-IMA1853-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A Scottish Post Office was established in 1695 (although the post-road to Edinburgh continued to be managed from London); in 1710 the Scottish and English establishments were united by <a href="/wiki/Statute" title="Statute">statute</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> By virtue of the same Act of Parliament (the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_(Revenues)_Act_1710" title="Post Office (Revenues) Act 1710">Post Office (Revenues) Act 1710</a>), the functions of the 'general letter office and post office' in the City of London were set out, and the establishment of 'chief letter offices' in Edinburgh, Dublin, <a href="/wiki/Province_of_New_York" title="Province of New York">New York</a> and the <a href="/wiki/British_Leeward_Islands" title="British Leeward Islands">Leeward Islands</a> was enjoined. The Irish post at this time operated as part of the GPO under a Deputy Postmaster General based in Dublin; but in 1784 an Act was passed by the <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_Ireland" title="Parliament of Ireland">Parliament of Ireland</a> providing for an independent Post Office in Ireland under its own <a href="/wiki/Postmaster_General_of_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Postmaster General of Ireland">Postmaster General</a><sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (an arrangement that remained in place until 1831). </p><p>The established <a href="/wiki/Post_roads" class="mw-redirect" title="Post roads">post roads</a> in Britain ran to and from London. The use of other roads required government permission (for example, it was only after much lobbying that a 'cross-post' between Bristol and Exeter was authorised, in 1698; previously mail between the two cities had to be sent via London).<sup id="cite_ref-Tombs1905_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tombs1905-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1720 <a href="/wiki/Bath,_Somerset" title="Bath, Somerset">Bath</a> postmaster <a href="/wiki/Ralph_Allen" title="Ralph Allen">Ralph Allen</a>, who had a vision for improving the situation, took over responsibility for the cross-posts (i.e. routes connecting one post road to another) and bye-posts (connecting to places off the main post roads).<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Joyce2013_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce2013-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He greatly expanded the network of <a href="/wiki/Post_towns" class="mw-redirect" title="Post towns">post towns</a> served by the General Post, and at the same time did much to reform its workings. </p><p>In 1772 the <a href="/wiki/Court_of_the_King%27s_Bench" class="mw-redirect" title="Court of the King's Bench">Court of the King's Bench</a> ruled that letters ought to be delivered directly to recipients within the boundaries of each post town at no additional cost. Often a messenger with a locked <a href="/wiki/Satchel" title="Satchel">satchel</a> would be employed by the postmaster to deliver and receive items of mail around town; he would alert people to his presence by ringing a hand bell.<sup id="cite_ref-Stray2010_24-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Stray2010-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> While postmasters were not obliged to deliver items to places outside the boundary, they could agree to do so on payment of an extra fee. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="New_modes_of_transport">New modes of transport</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: New modes of transport"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Road">Road</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Road"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:James_Pollard_-_North_Country_Mails_at_the_Peacock,_Islington_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/James_Pollard_-_North_Country_Mails_at_the_Peacock%2C_Islington_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/250px-James_Pollard_-_North_Country_Mails_at_the_Peacock%2C_Islington_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="174" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/James_Pollard_-_North_Country_Mails_at_the_Peacock%2C_Islington_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/375px-James_Pollard_-_North_Country_Mails_at_the_Peacock%2C_Islington_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/James_Pollard_-_North_Country_Mails_at_the_Peacock%2C_Islington_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/500px-James_Pollard_-_North_Country_Mails_at_the_Peacock%2C_Islington_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5925" data-file-height="4125" /></a><figcaption><i>North Country Mails at the Peacock, Islington</i> by <a href="/wiki/James_Pollard" title="James Pollard">James Pollard</a> (1821).</figcaption></figure> <p>In the 1780s, Britain's General Post network was revolutionised by theatrical impresario <a href="/wiki/John_Palmer_(postal_innovator)" title="John Palmer (postal innovator)">John Palmer</a>'s idea of using <a href="/wiki/Mail_coaches" class="mw-redirect" title="Mail coaches">mail coaches</a> in place of the longstanding use of post horses. After initial resistance from the postal authorities, a trial took place in 1784, by which it was demonstrated that a mail coach departing from Bristol at 4pm would regularly arrive in London at 9 o'clock the following morning: a day and a half quicker than the post horses. As a result, the conveyance of letters by mail coach, under armed guard, was approved by Act of Parliament.<sup id="cite_ref-Jubilee1891_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Jubilee1891-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Charles_Cooper_Henderson_-_Mail_Coaches_on_the_Road-_the_%60Quicksilver%27_Devonport-London_Royal_Mail_about_to_Start_with_a_new_Te..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Charles_Cooper_Henderson_-_Mail_Coaches_on_the_Road-_the_%60Quicksilver%27_Devonport-London_Royal_Mail_about_to_Start_with_a_new_Te..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/250px-Charles_Cooper_Henderson_-_Mail_Coaches_on_the_Road-_the_%60Quicksilver%27_Devonport-London_Royal_Mail_about_to_Start_with_a_new_Te..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="152" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Charles_Cooper_Henderson_-_Mail_Coaches_on_the_Road-_the_%60Quicksilver%27_Devonport-London_Royal_Mail_about_to_Start_with_a_new_Te..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/375px-Charles_Cooper_Henderson_-_Mail_Coaches_on_the_Road-_the_%60Quicksilver%27_Devonport-London_Royal_Mail_about_to_Start_with_a_new_Te..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Charles_Cooper_Henderson_-_Mail_Coaches_on_the_Road-_the_%60Quicksilver%27_Devonport-London_Royal_Mail_about_to_Start_with_a_new_Te..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/500px-Charles_Cooper_Henderson_-_Mail_Coaches_on_the_Road-_the_%60Quicksilver%27_Devonport-London_Royal_Mail_about_to_Start_with_a_new_Te..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5370" data-file-height="3266" /></a><figcaption>A fresh team of horses being harnessed to the Devonshire-London mail coach in the 1820s (<a href="/wiki/Charles_Cooper_Henderson" title="Charles Cooper Henderson">Charles Cooper Henderson</a>).</figcaption></figure> <p>Mail coaches were similar in design to the passenger-carrying <a href="/wiki/Stage_coaches" class="mw-redirect" title="Stage coaches">stage coaches</a>, but were smaller, lighter and more manoeuvrable (being pulled by a team of four horses, rather than six as was usual for a stage coach at that time).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The long-established practice of 'riding post' was acknowledged through the provision of four seats inside the coach for passengers. The mail bags were carried in a locked box at the back, above which sat a scarlet-coated guard. While the coaches and coachmen were provided by contractors, the guards worked for the Post Office. As well as two pistols and a <a href="/wiki/Blunderbuss" title="Blunderbuss">blunderbuss</a>, each guard carried a secure timepiece by which departure times at each stage of the journey were strictly regulated.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Rail">Rail</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Rail"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1830 mail was carried by train for the first time, on the newly-opened <a href="/wiki/Liverpool_and_Manchester_Railway" title="Liverpool and Manchester Railway">Liverpool and Manchester Railway</a>; over the next decade the railways replaced mail coaches as the principal means of conveyance (the last mail coach departed from London on 6 January 1846).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The first <a href="/wiki/Travelling_Post_Office" title="Travelling Post Office">Travelling Post Office</a> (TPO) was introduced in 1837, and these began to be widely used enabling mail to be sorted in transit;<sup id="cite_ref-Jubilee1891_30-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Jubilee1891-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> TPO operation was greatly aided by the invention in 1852 of a trackside '<a href="/wiki/Catcher_pouch" title="Catcher pouch">mail-bag apparatus</a>' which enabled bags to be collected and deposited <i>en route</i>. By the 1860s the Post Office had contracts with around thirty different rail companies. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Maritime">Maritime</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Maritime"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:SS_Britannia_(image_1).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/SS_Britannia_%28image_1%29.jpg/250px-SS_Britannia_%28image_1%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="133" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/SS_Britannia_%28image_1%29.jpg/375px-SS_Britannia_%28image_1%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/SS_Britannia_%28image_1%29.jpg/500px-SS_Britannia_%28image_1%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="640" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/RMS_Britannia" title="RMS Britannia">RMS <i>Britannia</i></a>, a transatlantic <a href="/wiki/Paddle_steamer" title="Paddle steamer">paddle steamer</a> of the <a href="/wiki/British_and_North_American_Royal_Mail_Steam_Packet_Company" class="mw-redirect" title="British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company">British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company</a>, in 1840.</figcaption></figure> <p>The development of <a href="/wiki/Marine_steam_engine" title="Marine steam engine">marine steam propulsion</a> inevitably affected the packet ship services. Since the 1780s these had been run on behalf of the Post Office by private contractors, who depended on supplementary income from fee-paying passengers in order to make a profit; but in the 19th-century steamships began to lure the passengers away.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At some considerable cost the Post Office resolved to build and operate its own fleet of steam vessels, but the service became increasingly inefficient. In 1823 <a href="/wiki/The_Admiralty" class="mw-redirect" title="The Admiralty">the Admiralty</a> took over managing the long-distance routes out of Falmouth, while services to and from Ireland and the continent were increasingly put out to commercial tender. Eventually, in 1837, the Admiralty took over control of the whole operation (and with it the remaining Post Office vessels).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Subsequently, contracts for carrying mail began to be awarded to new large-scale <a href="/wiki/Shipping_lines" class="mw-redirect" title="Shipping lines">shipping lines</a>: the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail_Steam_Packet_Company" title="Royal Mail Steam Packet Company">Royal Mail Steam Packet Company</a> ran ships out of Southampton to the West Indies and South America, the British and North American Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company (aka the <a href="/wiki/Cunard_Line" title="Cunard Line">Cunard Line</a>) covered the North Atlantic route, while the <a href="/wiki/Peninsular_and_Oriental_Steam_Navigation_Company" class="mw-redirect" title="Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company">Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company</a> provided services on eastward routes to the Mediterranean, India and Australia. From 1840 vessels carrying mail under Admiralty contract had the privilege of being badged and designated as <a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail_Ship" title="Royal Mail Ship">Royal Mail Ships</a> (RMS). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Money_Order_Office">The Money Order Office</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: The Money Order Office"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1838 the <a href="/wiki/Money_Order" class="mw-redirect" title="Money Order">Money Order</a> Office was established, to provide a secure means of transferring money to people in different parts of the country (or world), and to discourage people from sending cash by post.<sup id="cite_ref-Callender1868_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Callender1868-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The money order system had first been introduced as a private enterprise by three Post Office clerks in 1792, with the permission of the Postmaster General. Alongside money orders, <a href="/wiki/Postal_order" title="Postal order">postal orders</a> were introduced in 1881, which were cheaper and easier to cash.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Postal orders and money orders were vital at this time for transactions between small businesses, as well as individuals, because <a href="/wiki/Bank_transfer" class="mw-redirect" title="Bank transfer">bank transfer</a> facilities were only available to major businesses and for larger sums of money.<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce2013_29-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce2013-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Uniform_Penny_Postage">Uniform Penny Postage</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Uniform Penny Postage"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Uniform_Penny_Post" title="Uniform Penny Post">Uniform Penny Post</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_Great_Britain" title="Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain">Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:GB1840_PennyBlackNK.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/GB1840_PennyBlackNK.JPG/130px-GB1840_PennyBlackNK.JPG" decoding="async" width="130" height="148" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/GB1840_PennyBlackNK.JPG/195px-GB1840_PennyBlackNK.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/GB1840_PennyBlackNK.JPG/260px-GB1840_PennyBlackNK.JPG 2x" data-file-width="510" data-file-height="582" /></a><figcaption>A '<a href="/wiki/Penny_Black" title="Penny Black">Penny Black</a>' stamp issued in 1840.</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1840 the <a href="/wiki/Uniform_Penny_Post" title="Uniform Penny Post">Uniform Penny Post</a> was introduced, which incorporated the two key innovations of a uniform postal rate, which cut administrative costs and encouraged use of the system, and adhesive pre-paid stamp. Packets (weighing up to 16 ounces (450 g)) could also be sent by post, the cost of postage varying with the weight.<sup id="cite_ref-Dickens1850_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dickens1850-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The reforms were devised and overseen by <a href="/wiki/Rowland_Hill" title="Rowland Hill">Rowland Hill</a>, having been initially proposed in Parliament by <a href="/wiki/Robert_Wallace_(MP_for_Greenock)" title="Robert Wallace (MP for Greenock)">Robert Wallace MP</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A book post service was introduced in 1848, and <a href="/wiki/Parcel_post" title="Parcel post">parcel post</a> in 1883;<sup id="cite_ref-BlueGuide1922_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BlueGuide1922-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> that same year the term 'letter-carrier' was replaced with '<a href="/wiki/Postman" class="mw-redirect" title="Postman">postman</a>' in the GPO's official nomenclature.<sup id="cite_ref-PostMusRoles_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PostMusRoles-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>By the 1850s the postal system was described as having become 'universal all over the three kingdoms: no village, however insignificant, being without its receiving-house'.<sup id="cite_ref-IMA1853_25-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-IMA1853-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1855 a network of 920 post offices and 9,578 sub-offices were in place around the country.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The 1850s also saw the widespread introduction of red-painted <a href="/wiki/Post_boxes" class="mw-redirect" title="Post boxes">post boxes</a> where the public could deposit their outgoing mail. Few other organisations (either of state or of commerce) could rival the early Victorian Post Office in the extent of its national coverage.<sup id="cite_ref-Stray2010_24-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Stray2010-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Its counters began to be relied upon for providing other government services (e.g. the issuing of <a href="/wiki/Licences" class="mw-redirect" title="Licences">licences</a> of various types); and increasingly (and significantly) in this period, the GPO came to be viewed less as a <a href="/wiki/Government_revenue" title="Government revenue">revenue-raising</a> body and more as a <a href="/wiki/Public_service" title="Public service">public service</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Financial_services">Financial services</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Financial services"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237032888/mw-parser-output/.tmulti">.mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner{display:flex;flex-direction:column}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{display:flex;flex-direction:row;clear:left;flex-wrap:wrap;width:100%;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{margin:1px;float:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .theader{clear:both;font-weight:bold;text-align:center;align-self:center;background-color:transparent;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbcaption{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-left{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-right{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .text-align-center{text-align:center}@media all and (max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tmulti .thumbinner{width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:none!important;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow{justify-content:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle{float:none!important;max-width:100%!important;box-sizing:border-box;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .tsingle .thumbcaption{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .tmulti .trow>.thumbcaption{text-align:center}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner img{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .tmulti .multiimageinner img{background-color:white}}</style><div class="thumb tmulti tright"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:208px;max-width:208px"><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:102px;max-width:102px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Front_cover_of_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Front_cover_of_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg/100px-Front_cover_of_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="139" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Front_cover_of_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg/150px-Front_cover_of_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Front_cover_of_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg/200px-Front_cover_of_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1158" data-file-height="1614" /></a></span></div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:102px;max-width:102px"><div class="thumbimage"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Inside_a_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Inside_a_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg/100px-Inside_a_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="139" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Inside_a_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg/150px-Inside_a_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Inside_a_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg/200px-Inside_a_Post_Office_Savings_Bank_deposit_book.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1509" data-file-height="2104" /></a></span></div></div></div><div class="trow" style="display:flex"><div class="thumbcaption">A Post Office Savings Bank deposit book, dating from 1869.</div></div></div></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/National_Savings_and_Investments" title="National Savings and Investments">Post Office Savings Bank</a> was introduced in 1861, when there were few banks outside major towns. By 1863, 2,500 post offices were offering a <a href="/wiki/Savings_bank" title="Savings bank">savings service</a>. Gradually more financial services were offered by post offices, including government stocks and bonds in 1880, insurance and annuities in 1888, and war savings certificates in 1916. In 1909 old age pensions were introduced, payable at post offices.<sup id="cite_ref-parliament-20090623_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parliament-20090623-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1956 a <a href="/wiki/Lottery_bond" title="Lottery bond">lottery bond</a> called the <a href="/wiki/Premium_Bond" class="mw-redirect" title="Premium Bond">Premium Bond</a> was introduced. In the mid-1960s the GPO was asked by the government to expand into banking services which resulted in the creation of the <a href="/wiki/National_Giro" class="mw-redirect" title="National Giro">National Giro</a> in 1968.<sup id="cite_ref-parliament-20090623_36-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parliament-20090623-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="New_communication_systems">New communication systems</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: New communication systems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When new forms of communication came into existence in the 19th and early 20th centuries the GPO claimed monopoly rights on the basis that like the postal service they involved delivery from a <i>sender</i> and to a <i>receiver</i>. The theory was used to expand state control of the mail service into every form of electronic communication possible on the basis that every sender used some form of distribution service.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2019)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> These distribution services were considered in law as forms of electronic post offices. This applied to <a href="/wiki/Telegraph" class="mw-redirect" title="Telegraph">telegraph</a> and telephone switching stations. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Telegraph">Telegraph</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Telegraph"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Electrical_telegraphy_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Electrical telegraphy in the United Kingdom">Electrical telegraphy in the United Kingdom</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Shell_merger_telegram.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Shell_merger_telegram.jpg/220px-Shell_merger_telegram.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="144" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Shell_merger_telegram.jpg/330px-Shell_merger_telegram.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Shell_merger_telegram.jpg/440px-Shell_merger_telegram.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="525" /></a><figcaption>Telegram sent in 1907</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1846, the <a href="/wiki/Electric_Telegraph_Company" title="Electric Telegraph Company">Electric Telegraph Company</a>, the world's first public telegraph company, was established in the UK and developed a nationwide communications network. Several other private telegraph companies soon followed. The <a href="/wiki/Telegraph_Act_1868" title="Telegraph Act 1868">Telegraph Act 1868</a> granted the Postmaster General the right to acquire inland telegraph companies in the United Kingdom and the <a href="/w/index.php?title=Telegraph_Act_1869&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Telegraph Act 1869 (page does not exist)">Telegraph Act 1869</a> conferred on the Postmaster General a monopoly in telegraphic communication in the UK. The responsibility for the 'electric telegraphs' was officially transferred to the GPO in 1870. Overseas telegraphs did not fall within the monopoly. The private telegraph companies that already existed were bought out. The new combined telegraph service had 1,058 telegraph offices in towns and cities and 1,874 offices at railway stations. 6,830,812 telegrams were transmitted in 1869 producing revenue of £550,000.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_romance_of_the_British_Post_Office_-_its_inception_and_wondrous_development_(1897)_(14780895684).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/The_romance_of_the_British_Post_Office_-_its_inception_and_wondrous_development_%281897%29_%2814780895684%29.jpg/220px-The_romance_of_the_British_Post_Office_-_its_inception_and_wondrous_development_%281897%29_%2814780895684%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="140" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/The_romance_of_the_British_Post_Office_-_its_inception_and_wondrous_development_%281897%29_%2814780895684%29.jpg/330px-The_romance_of_the_British_Post_Office_-_its_inception_and_wondrous_development_%281897%29_%2814780895684%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/The_romance_of_the_British_Post_Office_-_its_inception_and_wondrous_development_%281897%29_%2814780895684%29.jpg/440px-The_romance_of_the_British_Post_Office_-_its_inception_and_wondrous_development_%281897%29_%2814780895684%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2884" data-file-height="1840" /></a><figcaption>Telegraphic Operating Room in the Central Telegraph Office (GPO West), St Martin's Le Grand, London.</figcaption></figure> <p>London's Central Office in the first decade of nationalized telegraphy created two levels of service. High-status circuits catering to the state, international trade, sporting life, and imperial business. Low-status circuits directed toward the local and the provincial. These distinct telegraphic orbits were connected to different types of telegraph instruments operated by differently gendered telegraphists.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>1909 saw the establishment of the Research Section of the Telegraph Office, which had its origins in innovative areas of work being pursued by staff in the Engineering Department.<sup id="cite_ref-PORS_39-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PORS-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the 1920s a <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Research_Station" title="Post Office Research Station">dedicated research station</a> was set up by the GPO seven miles away in <a href="/wiki/Dollis_Hill" title="Dollis Hill">Dollis Hill</a>; during the Second World War the world's first electronic computer, '<a href="/wiki/Colossus_computer" title="Colossus computer">Colossus</a>', was designed and constructed there by <a href="/wiki/Tommy_Flowers" title="Tommy Flowers">Tommy Flowers</a> and other GPO engineers.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Telegraph Office was slightly damaged by a German bomb in 1917 and in 1940, was set alight during the <a href="/wiki/London_Blitz" class="mw-redirect" title="London Blitz">London Blitz</a>, destroying much of the interior. It reopened in 1943. By the 1950s, the volume of telegraph traffic had declined and the Telegraph Office closed in 1963. In 1984 the new <a href="/wiki/BT_Centre" class="mw-redirect" title="BT Centre">British Telecom Centre</a> was opened on the site.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Telephone">Telephone</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Telephone"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/GPO_telephones" title="GPO telephones">GPO telephones</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:K6_Telephone_Box_and_Edward_VII_Pillar_Box_Amberley.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/K6_Telephone_Box_and_Edward_VII_Pillar_Box_Amberley.jpg/170px-K6_Telephone_Box_and_Edward_VII_Pillar_Box_Amberley.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="227" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/K6_Telephone_Box_and_Edward_VII_Pillar_Box_Amberley.jpg/255px-K6_Telephone_Box_and_Edward_VII_Pillar_Box_Amberley.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/K6_Telephone_Box_and_Edward_VII_Pillar_Box_Amberley.jpg/340px-K6_Telephone_Box_and_Edward_VII_Pillar_Box_Amberley.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2112" data-file-height="2816" /></a><figcaption>A GPO <a href="/wiki/Red_telephone_box" title="Red telephone box">red telephone box</a> and Edward VII <a href="/wiki/Pillar_box" title="Pillar box">pillar box</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>The Post Office commenced its telephone business in 1878, however the vast majority of telephones were initially connected to independently run networks. In December 1880, the Post Master General obtained a court judgement that telephone conversations were, technically, within the remit of the Telegraph Act. The General Post Office then licensed all existing telephone networks. </p><p>The effective nationalisation of the UK telecommunications industry occurred in 1912 with the takeover of the <a href="/wiki/National_Telephone_Company" title="National Telephone Company">National Telephone Company</a> which left only a few municipal undertakings independent of the GPO (in particular the <a href="/wiki/Kingston_Communications" class="mw-redirect" title="Kingston Communications">Hull Telephones Department</a> (now privatised) and the telephone system of <a href="/wiki/Guernsey" title="Guernsey">Guernsey</a>). The GPO took over the company on 1 January 1912; transferring 1,565 exchanges and 9,000 employees at a cost of £12,515,264. </p><p>The GPO installed several automatic telephone exchanges from several vendors in trials at Darlington on 10 October 1914 and Dudley on 9 September 1916 (<a href="/wiki/Rotary_system" title="Rotary system">rotary system</a>), Fleetwood (relay exchange from Sweden), Grimsby (Siemens), Hereford (Lorimer) and Leeds (Strowger).<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The GPO then selected the <a href="/wiki/Strowger_system" class="mw-redirect" title="Strowger system">Strowger system</a> for small and medium cities and towns. </p><p>The telephone systems of <a href="/wiki/Jersey" title="Jersey">Jersey</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Man" title="Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a>, obtained from the NTC were offered for sale to the respective governments of the islands. Both initially refused, but the <a href="/wiki/Jersey_Telecom" class="mw-redirect" title="Jersey Telecom">States of Jersey</a> did eventually take control of their island's telephones in 1923. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Radio">Radio</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Radio"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On 27 July 1896, <a href="/wiki/Guglielmo_Marconi" title="Guglielmo Marconi">Guglielmo Marconi</a> gave the first demonstration of <a href="/wiki/Wireless_telegraphy" title="Wireless telegraphy">wireless telegraphy</a> from the roof of the Telegraph Office in St. Martin's Le Grand. </p><p>The development of radio links for sending telegraphs led to the <a href="/wiki/Wireless_Telegraphy_Act_1904" class="mw-redirect" title="Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904">Wireless Telegraphy Act 1904</a>, which granted control of radio waves to the General Post Office, who licensed all senders and receivers. This placed the Post Office in a position of control over radio and television broadcasting as those technologies were developed. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_GPO_in_the_twentieth_century">The GPO in the twentieth century</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: The GPO in the twentieth century"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:UK_6d_postal_order_(1935).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/UK_6d_postal_order_%281935%29.jpg/220px-UK_6d_postal_order_%281935%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="106" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/UK_6d_postal_order_%281935%29.jpg/330px-UK_6d_postal_order_%281935%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/UK_6d_postal_order_%281935%29.jpg/440px-UK_6d_postal_order_%281935%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4152" data-file-height="1992" /></a><figcaption>A 6d <a href="/wiki/Postal_order" title="Postal order">postal order</a> dating from 1935.</figcaption></figure> <p>By 1900 house-to-house mail delivery was taking place across England (and was close to being in place in Scotland and Ireland).<sup id="cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Employing over 250,000 people and with an annual revenue of £32 million, the Post Office in 1914 is said to have been 'the biggest economic enterprise in Britain and the largest single employer of labour in the world'.<sup id="cite_ref-PostMus1914_43-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PostMus1914-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The GPO ran the nation's telegraph and telephone systems, as well as handling some 5.9 billion items of mail each year, while branch post offices offered an increasing number of financial, municipal and other public services alongside those relating to postage.<sup id="cite_ref-PostMus1914_43-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PostMus1914-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1900 there were nearly 22,000 post offices operating across the United Kingdom: 906 were classified as head post offices and 255 as associated branch offices, in addition to which there were 4,964 town sub-offices and 15,815 country post offices.<sup id="cite_ref-Stray2010_24-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Stray2010-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the <a href="/wiki/Edwardian_era" title="Edwardian era">pre-war period</a> motor vehicles began to replace the (previously ubiquitous) <a href="/wiki/Horse_and_cart" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse and cart">horse and cart</a> on short-haul postal routes.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Ireland">Ireland</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Ireland"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:DUBLIN(1837)_p095_POST_OFFICE.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/DUBLIN%281837%29_p095_POST_OFFICE.jpg/220px-DUBLIN%281837%29_p095_POST_OFFICE.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="152" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/DUBLIN%281837%29_p095_POST_OFFICE.jpg/330px-DUBLIN%281837%29_p095_POST_OFFICE.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/DUBLIN%281837%29_p095_POST_OFFICE.jpg/440px-DUBLIN%281837%29_p095_POST_OFFICE.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1979" data-file-height="1364" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office,_Dublin" title="General Post Office, Dublin">GPO</a> on <a href="/wiki/O%27Connell_Street" title="O'Connell Street">Sackville Street</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dublin" title="Dublin">Dublin</a>, in 1837</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1831, the office of <a href="/wiki/Postmaster_General_of_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Postmaster General of Ireland">Postmaster General of Ireland</a> had been amalgamated with the equivalent office for Great Britain; for the next 90 years the GPO operated throughout Great Britain and Ireland. In 1916, during <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>, the <a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office,_Dublin" title="General Post Office, Dublin">General Post Office, Dublin</a> was a focus of the <a href="/wiki/Easter_Rising" title="Easter Rising">Easter Rising</a>, during which the GPO served as the headquarters of the uprising's leaders. It was from outside this building on the 24th of April 1916, that <a href="/wiki/Patrick_Pearse" title="Patrick Pearse">Patrick Pearse</a> read out the <a href="/wiki/Proclamation_of_the_Irish_Republic" title="Proclamation of the Irish Republic">Proclamation of the Irish Republic</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (The building was destroyed by fire in the course of the rebellion, save for the <a href="/wiki/Granite" title="Granite">granite</a> facade, and not rebuilt until 1929, by the Irish Free State government). </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:National_Army_soldiers_search_remains_of_a_fire_during_Irish_Civil_War_1922_(6314582749).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/National_Army_soldiers_search_remains_of_a_fire_during_Irish_Civil_War_1922_%286314582749%29.jpg/220px-National_Army_soldiers_search_remains_of_a_fire_during_Irish_Civil_War_1922_%286314582749%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="161" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/National_Army_soldiers_search_remains_of_a_fire_during_Irish_Civil_War_1922_%286314582749%29.jpg/330px-National_Army_soldiers_search_remains_of_a_fire_during_Irish_Civil_War_1922_%286314582749%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/National_Army_soldiers_search_remains_of_a_fire_during_Irish_Civil_War_1922_%286314582749%29.jpg/440px-National_Army_soldiers_search_remains_of_a_fire_during_Irish_Civil_War_1922_%286314582749%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1099" /></a><figcaption>Soldiers of the National Army of the Irish Free State searching through the remains of a fire at the Rotunda Rink, <a href="/wiki/Parnell_Square" title="Parnell Square">Parnell Square</a>, which was the sorting office of the General Post Office in Dublin (5 November 1922)</figcaption></figure> <p>Following the <a href="/wiki/Anglo-Irish_Treaty" title="Anglo-Irish Treaty">Anglo-Irish Treaty</a> of December 1921, responsibility for posts and telegraphs in most of <a href="/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> (but not in <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>) transferred to the new <a href="/wiki/Provisional_Government_of_the_Irish_Free_State" class="mw-redirect" title="Provisional Government of the Irish Free State">Provisional Government</a> and then, upon the formal establishment of the <a href="/wiki/Irish_Free_State" title="Irish Free State">Irish Free State</a> in December 1922, to the <a href="/wiki/Executive_Council_of_the_Irish_Free_State" title="Executive Council of the Irish Free State">Free State Government</a>. A Postmaster General was initially appointed by the Free State Government, being replaced by the office of <a href="/wiki/Minister_for_Posts_and_Telegraphs" title="Minister for Posts and Telegraphs">Minister for Posts and Telegraphs</a> in 1924. An early visible manifestation was the repainting of all post boxes in the new Free State in green instead of red. In 1984, the Department of Posts and Telegraphs ('the P. & T.') was replaced by the separate Irish state-owned companies <a href="/wiki/An_Post" title="An Post">An Post</a> and <a href="/wiki/Telecom_%C3%89ireann" title="Telecom Éireann">Telecom Éireann</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Control_of_broadcasting">Control of broadcasting</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Control of broadcasting"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:BBC_receiver_license_1923.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/BBC_receiver_license_1923.jpg/220px-BBC_receiver_license_1923.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="159" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/BBC_receiver_license_1923.jpg/330px-BBC_receiver_license_1923.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/BBC_receiver_license_1923.jpg/440px-BBC_receiver_license_1923.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2984" data-file-height="2156" /></a><figcaption>Broadcast Licence 'issued on behalf of the Postmaster-General' in 1922 (permitting the licencee to establish a '<a href="/wiki/Radio_receiver" title="Radio receiver">wireless receiving station</a>').</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1922 a group of radio manufacturers formed the <a href="/wiki/British_Broadcasting_Company" title="British Broadcasting Company">British Broadcasting Company</a> (BBC), which was the sole organisation granted a broadcasting licence by the GPO. In 1927, the original BBC was dissolved and reformed by royal charter as the <a href="/wiki/British_Broadcasting_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="British Broadcasting Corporation">British Broadcasting Corporation</a>. </p><p>From the start the GPO had trouble with competitive <a href="/wiki/Pirate_radio" title="Pirate radio">pirate radio</a> broadcasters who found ways to deliver electronic messages to British receivers without first obtaining a GPO licence. These competitors were well aware of the fact that the GPO would never grant them such a licence. To police these unlicensed stations the GPO evolved its own force of detectives and "<a href="/wiki/TV_detector_van" title="TV detector van">detector vans</a>". </p><p>The radio regulation functions were transferred to the <a href="/wiki/Independent_Broadcasting_Authority" title="Independent Broadcasting Authority">Independent Broadcasting Authority</a> and later <a href="/wiki/Ofcom" title="Ofcom">Ofcom</a>. Due to its regulatory role, as well as its expertise in developing long-distance communication networks, the GPO was contracted by the <a href="/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">BBC</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Independent_Television_Authority" title="Independent Television Authority">ITA</a> in the 1950s and 60s, to develop and extend their television networks. A network of transmitters was built, connected at first by cable, and later by microwave radio links. The Post Office also took responsibility for the issuing of <a href="/wiki/Television_licence" title="Television licence">television licence</a> fees (and radio, until 1971), and the prosecution of evaders until 1991. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Growth_in_telecommunications">Growth in telecommunications</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Growth in telecommunications"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/TXK" title="TXK">TXK</a> and <a href="/wiki/TXE" title="TXE">TXE</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:GPO_232_Telephone_without_bell_set_26.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/GPO_232_Telephone_without_bell_set_26.JPG/220px-GPO_232_Telephone_without_bell_set_26.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/GPO_232_Telephone_without_bell_set_26.JPG/330px-GPO_232_Telephone_without_bell_set_26.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/GPO_232_Telephone_without_bell_set_26.JPG/440px-GPO_232_Telephone_without_bell_set_26.JPG 2x" data-file-width="2048" data-file-height="1536" /></a><figcaption>British (BPO) Type 232 phone of 1932</figcaption></figure> <p>The GPO wished to standardise on the <a href="/wiki/Strowger_switch" title="Strowger switch">Strowger switch</a> (also called SXS or step-by step) but the basic SXS exchange was not suitable for a large city like London until the <a href="/wiki/Director_telephone_system" title="Director telephone system">Director telephone system</a> was developed by the <a href="/wiki/Automatic_Telephone_Manufacturing_Company" title="Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company">Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company</a> in the 1920s. The first London Director exchange, <b>HOL</b>born, cutover on Saturday 12 November 1927, <b>BIS</b>hopgate and <b>SLO</b>ane exchanges were to follow in six weeks, followed by <b>WES</b>tern and <b>MON</b>ument exchanges. The London area contained 80 exchanges, and full conversion would take many years.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>All London customers were given seven-digit numbers, with the first three digits spelling out the (local) exchange name. In March 1966 after all London (and other Director) exchanges were automatic, <a href="/wiki/All-figure_dialling" title="All-figure dialling">all-figure dialling</a> was introduced. The Director system enabled the London network to operate with both automatic and manual exchanges in the local network until the 1960s and it was subsequently installed in other large British cities; starting with Manchester (1930), then Birmingham (1931), Glasgow (1937), Liverpool (1941), and Edinburgh (1950).<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lark_Lane_telephone_exhange.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Lark_Lane_telephone_exhange.jpg/220px-Lark_Lane_telephone_exhange.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="154" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Lark_Lane_telephone_exhange.jpg/330px-Lark_Lane_telephone_exhange.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Lark_Lane_telephone_exhange.jpg/440px-Lark_Lane_telephone_exhange.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4437" data-file-height="3106" /></a><figcaption>A typical mid-20th century telephone exchange building in <a href="/wiki/Lark_Lane,_Liverpool" title="Lark Lane, Liverpool">Lark Lane, Liverpool</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>After the <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World War</a>, there began to be an unprecedented demand for telephone services. In addition, there was the need to make comprehensive repairs, and upgrades to a network which had been severely degraded by war, and lack of investment. Waiting lists for new telephone lines quickly emerged, and persisted for several decades. To alleviate the situation, the Post Office began to provide shared service residential lines, each known as a <i><a href="/wiki/Party_line_(telephony)" title="Party line (telephony)">party line</a></i>, which could share a cable pair. Most of the line was shared between two subscribers usually splitting off to each within sight of the houses, and both lines attracted a small discount; however, this arrangement had its disadvantages. </p><p>At this time, the majority of lines in rural, and regional areas (particularly in <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a>) were still manually switched. This inhibited growth, and caused bottlenecks in the network, as well as being labour and cost-intensive. The Post Office began to introduce automatic switching, and replaced all of its 6,000 exchanges. Subscriber Trunk Dialling (<a href="/wiki/Subscriber_Trunk_Dialling" class="mw-redirect" title="Subscriber Trunk Dialling">STD</a>) was also added from 1958, which allowed subscribers to dial their own long-distance calls. </p><p>Telecommunications services in the United Kingdom were reorganised as <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Telecommunications" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Telecommunications">Post Office Telecommunications</a> in October 1969; and then as <a href="/wiki/British_Telecom" class="mw-redirect" title="British Telecom">British Telecom</a> in 1980, although remaining part of the GPO until 1981. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="1930s_reviews_and_innovations">1930s reviews and innovations</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: 1930s reviews and innovations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Gpo_1934-1950.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Gpo_1934-1950.jpg/120px-Gpo_1934-1950.jpg" decoding="async" width="120" height="144" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Gpo_1934-1950.jpg/180px-Gpo_1934-1950.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Gpo_1934-1950.jpg/240px-Gpo_1934-1950.jpg 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="720" /></a><figcaption>The first GPO logo (1937–1950)</figcaption></figure> <p>The Bridgeman Committee, chaired by <a href="/wiki/William_Bridgeman,_1st_Viscount_Bridgeman" title="William Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman">Lord Bridgeman</a>, was set up in 1932 to investigate criticisms of the General Post Office and reported the same year.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It highlighted defects in the structure of the organisation and recommended creation of a new Board (to be chaired by the Postmaster-General) and a new official: the Director-General, who would serve as vice-chair 'with the duty of ensuring that board decisions were made effective and that continuity and unity of policy were maintained'.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Motor Transport branch was established in 1932; previously provision of motor vehicles had been contracted out, but henceforward the GPO would maintain its own fleet, the mainstays of which were, initially, <a href="/wiki/Morris_Minor_(1928)" title="Morris Minor (1928)">Morris Minor</a> vans (built to the Post Office's own specification) and <a href="/wiki/BSA_motorcycles" title="BSA motorcycles">BSA motorcycles</a> (which were used by the <a href="/wiki/Telegraph_boys" class="mw-redirect" title="Telegraph boys">telegraph boys</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1933 Sir <a href="/wiki/Stephen_Tallents" title="Stephen Tallents">Stephen Tallents</a> was appointed to head up a new <a href="/wiki/Public_relations" title="Public relations">public relations</a> department.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Among other things he established the influential <a href="/wiki/GPO_Film_Unit" title="GPO Film Unit">GPO Film Unit</a>, while his acumen in the field of <a href="/wiki/Graphic_design" title="Graphic design">graphic design</a> led to the Post Office becoming a leader and trend setter in its use of posters for the purposes of marketing, information and publicity.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:FFC_Imp_Air_London-Calcutta_1933.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/FFC_Imp_Air_London-Calcutta_1933.jpg/220px-FFC_Imp_Air_London-Calcutta_1933.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="137" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/FFC_Imp_Air_London-Calcutta_1933.jpg/330px-FFC_Imp_Air_London-Calcutta_1933.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/FFC_Imp_Air_London-Calcutta_1933.jpg/440px-FFC_Imp_Air_London-Calcutta_1933.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1773" data-file-height="1101" /></a><figcaption>Prior to 1937, sending a letter by airmail entailed paying surcharges (in addition to the standard imperial letter rate of 1½ d or foreign rate of 2½ d).</figcaption></figure> <p>The number of <a href="/wiki/Airmail" title="Airmail">airmail</a> flights on offer had multiplied during the 1920s, with government-supported long-haul services provided initially by the <a href="/wiki/RAF" class="mw-redirect" title="RAF">RAF</a> and then by <a href="/wiki/Imperial_Airways" title="Imperial Airways">Imperial Airways</a>; but the GPO's role in these enterprises was minimal (beyond providing blue <a href="/wiki/Airmail_etiquette" title="Airmail etiquette">air mail labels</a> at counters and directing labelled mail to <a href="/wiki/Croydon_Aerodrome" class="mw-redirect" title="Croydon Aerodrome">Croydon Aerodrome</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1935, however, the pioneering Postmaster-General <a href="/wiki/Kingsley_Wood" title="Kingsley Wood">Kingsley Wood</a> sanctioned an <a href="/wiki/Empire_Air_Mail_Scheme" title="Empire Air Mail Scheme">Empire Air Mail Scheme</a>, by which a half-ounce letter could be sent anywhere in the Empire for a flat rate of three-halfpence (1½ d);<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the scheme was rolled out in stages from 1937-38. Whilst immediately successful, it proved costly both to Imperial Airways (who had drastically underestimated the volume of cargo it would have to carry)<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the Post Office (who had agreed to <a href="/wiki/Subsidise" class="mw-redirect" title="Subsidise">subsidise</a> the company through <a href="/wiki/Tonnage" title="Tonnage">tonnage</a> payments). Airmail services ceased with the outbreak of war in 1939.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Gardiner Committee, chaired by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Gardiner_(civil_servant)" title="Thomas Gardiner (civil servant)">Sir Thomas Gardiner</a>, was set up to investigate improvements in efficiency and reported in 1936. The report recommended the setting up of eight provincial regions outside London,<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the introduction of the <a href="/wiki/London_Postal_Region" class="mw-redirect" title="London Postal Region">London Postal Region</a> and <a href="/wiki/London_Telecommunications_Region" class="mw-redirect" title="London Telecommunications Region">London Telecommunications Region</a> for the capital and surrounding area. The changes were implemented between 1936 and 1940. </p><p>During World War II the generation of engineers trained by the GPO for its telecommunications operations were to have important roles in the British development of radar and in code breaking. The <a href="/wiki/Colossus_computer" title="Colossus computer">Colossus computers</a> used by <a href="/wiki/Bletchley_Park" title="Bletchley Park">Bletchley Park</a> were designed and built by GPO engineer <a href="/wiki/Tommy_Flowers" title="Tommy Flowers">Tommy Flowers</a> and his team at the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Research_Station" title="Post Office Research Station">Post Office Research Station</a> in <a href="/wiki/Dollis_Hill" title="Dollis Hill">Dollis Hill</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Dissolution">Dissolution</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Dissolution"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:YLH_449_1960_Morris_JB_Van_Amberley_-_5637593186.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/YLH_449_1960_Morris_JB_Van_Amberley_-_5637593186.jpg/220px-YLH_449_1960_Morris_JB_Van_Amberley_-_5637593186.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="186" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/YLH_449_1960_Morris_JB_Van_Amberley_-_5637593186.jpg/330px-YLH_449_1960_Morris_JB_Van_Amberley_-_5637593186.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/YLH_449_1960_Morris_JB_Van_Amberley_-_5637593186.jpg/440px-YLH_449_1960_Morris_JB_Van_Amberley_-_5637593186.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3130" data-file-height="2650" /></a><figcaption>A 1960s vintage Royal Mail <a href="/wiki/Mail_truck" title="Mail truck">post van</a>. A <a href="/wiki/Roundel" title="Roundel">roundel</a> painted on the nearside door indicated each such vehicle's <a href="/wiki/Serial_number" title="Serial number">fleet number</a> and district.<sup id="cite_ref-POVC_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-POVC-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>Under the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Act_1969" title="Post Office Act 1969">Post Office Act 1969</a>, the assets of the GPO were transferred from a government department with a <a href="/wiki/Royal_charter" title="Royal charter">royal charter</a> to a <a href="/wiki/Statutory_corporation" title="Statutory corporation">statutory corporation</a> named <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Limited" title="Post Office Limited">the Post Office</a> (the word 'General' being dropped from the name). Responsibility for telecommunications was given to <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Telecommunications" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Telecommunications">Post Office Telecommunications</a>, the successor of the GPO Telegraph and Telephones department, with its own separate budget and management. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Jersey_Post" title="Jersey Post">Jersey Post</a> and <a href="/wiki/Guernsey_Post" title="Guernsey Post">Guernsey Post</a> became independent in 1969, followed by <a href="/wiki/Guernsey_Telecom" class="mw-redirect" title="Guernsey Telecom">Guernsey</a> and <a href="/wiki/Jersey_Telecom" class="mw-redirect" title="Jersey Telecom">Jersey Telecom</a> in 1973. <a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Man_Post" class="mw-redirect" title="Isle of Man Post">Isle of Man Post</a> also commenced operation on 5 July 1973. </p><p>In 1969, the Post Office Savings Bank was transferred to the <a href="/wiki/HM_Treasury" title="HM Treasury">Treasury</a>, and renamed the <a href="/wiki/National_Savings_and_Investments" title="National Savings and Investments">National Savings Bank</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:LMG309K_Morris_Minor_Van_GPO_Telephones_Yellow_livery.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/LMG309K_Morris_Minor_Van_GPO_Telephones_Yellow_livery.jpg/220px-LMG309K_Morris_Minor_Van_GPO_Telephones_Yellow_livery.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/LMG309K_Morris_Minor_Van_GPO_Telephones_Yellow_livery.jpg/330px-LMG309K_Morris_Minor_Van_GPO_Telephones_Yellow_livery.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/LMG309K_Morris_Minor_Van_GPO_Telephones_Yellow_livery.jpg/440px-LMG309K_Morris_Minor_Van_GPO_Telephones_Yellow_livery.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3504" data-file-height="2336" /></a><figcaption>A 1970s vintage Post Office Telephones van. The GPO introduced this 'golden yellow' livery (for safety) in 1968; earlier GPO Telephones vans had been painted bronze-green.<sup id="cite_ref-POVC_54-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-POVC-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/British_Telecommunications_Act_1981" title="British Telecommunications Act 1981">British Telecommunications Act 1981</a> split off the telecommunications business to form the British Telecommunications corporation, leaving the Post Office corporation with the Royal Mail, parcels, Post Office Counters and <a href="/wiki/National_Giro" class="mw-redirect" title="National Giro">National Giro</a> businesses. British Telecommunications was converted to <a href="/wiki/BT_Group" title="BT Group">British Telecommunications plc</a> in 1984, and was privatised. <a href="/wiki/Girobank" title="Girobank">Girobank</a> was divested to <a href="/wiki/Alliance_%26_Leicester" title="Alliance & Leicester">Alliance & Leicester</a> in 1990. </p><p>As part of the <a href="/wiki/Postal_Services_Act_2000" title="Postal Services Act 2000">Postal Services Act 2000</a>, the businesses of the Post Office were transferred in 2001 to a <a href="/wiki/Public_limited_company" title="Public limited company">public limited company</a>, Consignia plc, which was quickly renamed <a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail" title="Royal Mail">Royal Mail</a> Holdings plc. The government became the sole shareholder in Royal Mail Holdings plc and its subsidiary <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Ltd" class="mw-redirect" title="Post Office Ltd">Post Office Ltd</a>. </p><p>Finally, on 5 April 2007, the government published <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/1180/made"><i>The Dissolution of the Post Office Order 2007</i></a> under which the old Post Office statutory corporation was formally abolished, with effect from 1 May 2007. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Post_Office_Headquarters">Post Office Headquarters</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Post Office Headquarters"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office,_London" title="General Post Office, London">General Post Office, London</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:General-Letter-Office-1653-London.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/General-Letter-Office-1653-London.JPG/220px-General-Letter-Office-1653-London.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/General-Letter-Office-1653-London.JPG/330px-General-Letter-Office-1653-London.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/General-Letter-Office-1653-London.JPG/440px-General-Letter-Office-1653-London.JPG 2x" data-file-width="1536" data-file-height="1152" /></a><figcaption>Blue plaque by Threadneedle Street, marking the former site of the General Letter Office.</figcaption></figure> <p>The head office of the General Post Office was firmly established in the <a href="/wiki/City_of_London" title="City of London">City of London</a> by 1653, in a sizeable building at the lower end of <a href="/wiki/Threadneedle_Street" title="Threadneedle Street">Threadneedle Street</a> (by the junction with <a href="/wiki/Poultry,_London" title="Poultry, London">Poultry</a>, <a href="/wiki/Cornhill,_London" title="Cornhill, London">Cornhill</a> and <a href="/wiki/Lombard_Street,_London" title="Lombard Street, London">Lombard Street</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-Greenwood1973_56-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Greenwood1973-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Prior to this date there is evidence of the posts having been administered at various times either from the house of the chief postmaster or from one of the City's <a href="/wiki/Post_house_(historical_building)" title="Post house (historical building)">post houses</a>. The office in Threadneedle Street was destroyed in the <a href="/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London" title="Great Fire of London">Great Fire of London</a>, after which various temporary locations were used up until 1678, when a new office was established in <a href="/wiki/Lombard_Street,_London" title="Lombard Street, London">Lombard Street</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Greenwood1973_56-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Greenwood1973-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The General Post Office remained there for the next 150 years. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="St_Martin's_Le_Grand"><span id="St_Martin.27s_Le_Grand"></span>St Martin's Le Grand</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: St Martin's Le Grand"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_(late_1820s).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_%28late_1820s%29.jpg/220px-The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_%28late_1820s%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="131" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_%28late_1820s%29.jpg/330px-The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_%28late_1820s%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_%28late_1820s%29.jpg/440px-The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_%28late_1820s%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="570" data-file-height="339" /></a><figcaption>The 19th-century headquarters of the General Post Office in St Martins-le-Grand in the City of London</figcaption></figure> <p>Having outgrown its premises in Lombard Street, the General Post Office purchased slums on the east side of <a href="/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Le_Grand" title="St. Martin's Le Grand">St. Martin's Le Grand</a> and cleared them to establish a new headquarters, Britain's first purpose-built mail facility. The new <a href="/wiki/General_Post_Office_East" class="mw-redirect" title="General Post Office East">General Post Office building</a>, designed with <a href="/wiki/Greek_Revival_architecture" title="Greek Revival architecture">Grecian</a> <a href="/wiki/Ionic_order" title="Ionic order">ionic</a> <a href="/wiki/Portico" title="Portico">porticoes</a> by Sir <a href="/wiki/Robert_Smirke_(architect)" title="Robert Smirke (architect)">Robert Smirke</a>, was built between 1825 and 1829, ran 400 feet (120 m) long and 80 feet (24 m) deep, and was lit with a thousand gas burners at night.<sup id="cite_ref-poher_57-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-poher-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Afterwards 'St. Martin's Le Grand' began to be used as a <a href="/wiki/Metonym" class="mw-redirect" title="Metonym">metonym</a> for the General Post Office (a usage which continued well into the 20th century).<sup id="cite_ref-BlueGuide1922_34-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BlueGuide1922-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the 1840s there were, in addition to the chief office at St. Martin's Le Grand, four branch offices in London: one in the City at Lombard Street (in part of the old headquarters building); two in the <a href="/wiki/West_End_of_London" title="West End of London">West End</a> at <a href="/wiki/Charing_Cross" title="Charing Cross">Charing Cross</a> and Old Cavendish Street near <a href="/wiki/Oxford_Street" title="Oxford Street">Oxford Street</a>; and one south of the <a href="/wiki/Thames" class="mw-redirect" title="Thames">Thames</a> in <a href="/wiki/Borough_High_Street" title="Borough High Street">Borough High Street</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Nomura_House,_City_of_London_(South-east_View).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Nomura_House%2C_City_of_London_%28South-east_View%29.jpg/220px-Nomura_House%2C_City_of_London_%28South-east_View%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Nomura_House%2C_City_of_London_%28South-east_View%29.jpg/330px-Nomura_House%2C_City_of_London_%28South-east_View%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Nomura_House%2C_City_of_London_%28South-east_View%29.jpg/440px-Nomura_House%2C_City_of_London_%28South-east_View%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4032" data-file-height="3024" /></a><figcaption>GPO North at 1 St Martin's Le Grand: Post Office Headquarters from 1895-1984.</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1874, a new headquarters building ('GPO West') was opened on the western side of the street, containing a suite of public rooms and offices for the Postmaster General, the senior officials and all their administrative staff. This left Smirke's building ('GPO East') to function mainly as a sorting office. The upper floors of the new building housed the GPO's newly-acquired <a href="/wiki/Electrical_telegraph" title="Electrical telegraph">telegraph</a> department; but as this fast expanded, more space was needed and in the 1890s a separate new headquarters building was opened ('GPO North'), immediately to the north of the telegraph building. This remained the headquarters of the GPO, and then of the Post Office, until 1984.<sup id="cite_ref-Weinreb1993_59-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Weinreb1993-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the early 20th century various different departments of the General Post Office (most of which had begun their days in St Martin's Le Grand) were provided with their own headquarters in different parts of London: the Post Office Savings Bank was in <a href="/wiki/Blythe_House" title="Blythe House">Blythe House</a>, West Kensington; the Postal and Money Order office in Manor Gardens, off <a href="/wiki/Holloway_Road" title="Holloway Road">Holloway Road</a>; the Stores Department was in Studd Street, Islington and the Telephone Department in Queen Victoria Street (in what became the <a href="/wiki/Faraday_Building" title="Faraday Building">Faraday Building</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-BlueGuide1922_34-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BlueGuide1922-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1910 the <a href="/wiki/King_Edward_Building" title="King Edward Building">King Edward Building</a> was opened on <a href="/wiki/King_Edward_Street,_London" title="King Edward Street, London">King Edward Street</a> (immediately to the west of GPO North) to serve as the new 'London Chief Office' in place of Smirke's GPO East; the latter was then demolished two years later. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Links_to_the_intelligence_services">Links to the intelligence services</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Links to the intelligence services"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The practice of <a href="/wiki/Postal_interception" title="Postal interception">intercepting letters</a> for intelligence purposes was well-established by the Commonwealth period, and it continued after the Restoration. In the early 18th century the authority of Ministers of the Crown to open and read letters for reasons of public safety had been clearly established by statute, drawn up by <a href="/wiki/John_Somers,_1st_Baron_Somers" title="John Somers, 1st Baron Somers">Lord Somers</a>. Warrants were frequently applied for in the 18th-century, sometimes on trivial premises, and by the 1730s a permanent office had been established, in which a number of <a href="/wiki/Cryptanalysts" class="mw-redirect" title="Cryptanalysts">cryptanalysts</a> were employed (as 'His Majesty's Post-Office decipherers'), among them the Revd Dr <a href="/wiki/Edward_Willes_(bishop)" title="Edward Willes (bishop)">Edward Willes</a>. </p><p>In 1844 it was revealed in the House of Commons, in response to an enquiry by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Slingsby_Duncombe" title="Thomas Slingsby Duncombe">Thomas Slingsby Duncombe</a>, that the Home Office had issued a warrant for the Post Office to intercept and investigate correspondence pertaining to <a href="/wiki/Giuseppe_Mazzini" title="Giuseppe Mazzini">Giuseppe Mazzini</a>. The Home Secretary, <a href="/wiki/Sir_James_Graham,_2nd_Baronet" title="Sir James Graham, 2nd Baronet">Sir James Graham</a>, admitted the interception but did not divulge the reason for it.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Duncombe contended that warrants for intercepting mail were being issued at the request of foreign governments, in a way that was both unconstitutional and unlawful. The accusations prompted widespread expressions of disapproval and further questions in Parliament. In response to public disquiet, a <a href="/wiki/Select_committee_(parliamentary_system)" title="Select committee (parliamentary system)">select committee</a> was set up 'to inquire into a department of Her Majesty's Post-Office commonly called "the secret or inner office", the duties and employment of the persons engaged therein, and the authority under which the functions of the said office were discharged'.<sup id="cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Mazzini affair left the Post Office wary of involvement in espionage, and legislation was put in place to prevent letters from being opened without a <a href="/wiki/Warrant_(law)" title="Warrant (law)">warrant</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1910, however, the <a href="/wiki/Home_Secretary" title="Home Secretary">Home Secretary</a> (<a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>) issued a 'general warrant' allowing the <a href="/wiki/MI5" title="MI5">Secret Service Bureau</a> to intercept letters at will; in the run-up to the First World War individuals who had been placed under surveillance routinely had their mail monitored. During the Second World War, and for some years after, a department called the GPO Special Investigations Unit was responsible for intercepting letters as part of British intelligence service operations. The unit had branches in every major sorting office in the UK and in <a href="/wiki/St_Martin%27s_Le_Grand" class="mw-redirect" title="St Martin's Le Grand">St Martin's Le Grand</a> GPO, near St Paul's Cathedral. Letters targeted for interception by the Special Investigations Unit were steamed open and the contents photographed, and the photographs were then sent in unmarked green vans to <a href="/wiki/MI5" title="MI5">MI5</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Post_Office_Rifles">Post Office Rifles</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Post Office Rifles"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Rifles" title="Post Office Rifles">Post Office Rifles</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:General_Post_Office_Rifles_Cigarette_Card.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/General_Post_Office_Rifles_Cigarette_Card.jpg/170px-General_Post_Office_Rifles_Cigarette_Card.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="323" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/General_Post_Office_Rifles_Cigarette_Card.jpg/255px-General_Post_Office_Rifles_Cigarette_Card.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/General_Post_Office_Rifles_Cigarette_Card.jpg/340px-General_Post_Office_Rifles_Cigarette_Card.jpg 2x" data-file-width="417" data-file-height="792" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Cigarette_card" title="Cigarette card">Cigarette card</a> showing a <a href="/wiki/Rifleman" title="Rifleman">rifleman</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Rifles" title="Post Office Rifles">General Post Office Rifles</a> in 1882.</figcaption></figure> <p>In 1868, as part of the <a href="/wiki/Volunteer_Force_(Great_Britain)" class="mw-redirect" title="Volunteer Force (Great Britain)">Volunteer Movement</a>, <a href="/wiki/John_Lowther_du_Plat_Taylor" title="John Lowther du Plat Taylor">John Lowther du Plat Taylor</a>, Private Secretary to the Postmaster General, raised the <a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Rifles" title="Post Office Rifles">49th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers Corps (Post Office Rifles)</a> from GPO employees, who had been either members of the <a href="/wiki/Prince_of_Wales%27s_Own_Civil_Service_Rifles" class="mw-redirect" title="Prince of Wales's Own Civil Service Rifles">21st Middlesex Rifles Volunteer Corps (Civil Service Rifles)</a> or special constables enrolled to combat against <a href="/wiki/Fenians" class="mw-redirect" title="Fenians">Fenian</a> attacks on London in 1867/68.<sup id="cite_ref-SC_Fenwick_2014_61-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SC_Fenwick_2014-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The regiment was restyled 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers Corps (Post Office Rifles) in 1880 as part of the <a href="/wiki/Cardwell_Reforms" title="Cardwell Reforms">Cardwell Reforms</a>. </p><p>‘M' Company, 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers Corps, was formed by <a href="/wiki/Royal_warrant_(document)" class="mw-redirect" title="Royal warrant (document)">royal warrant</a> in 1882 as the <a href="/wiki/BFPO" class="mw-redirect" title="BFPO">Army Post Office Corps</a> (APOC). This newly formed Army Reservist company saw active service providing a postal service to the British military expeditions to Egypt (1882), Suakin (1885) and the <a href="/wiki/Second_Boer_War" title="Second Boer War">Anglo Boer War</a> (1899–1902).<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The APOC was eventually subsumed by the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Engineers" title="Royal Engineers">Royal Engineers</a> in 1913 to re-emerge as the Royal Engineers (Postal Section) Special Reserve. The Postal Section provided the Army Postal Service (now <a href="/wiki/BFPO" class="mw-redirect" title="BFPO">British Forces Post Office</a>) in the <a href="/wiki/First_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="First World War">First</a> and <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World Wars</a> and in 1993 became the Postal & Courier Service <a href="/wiki/Royal_Logistic_Corps" title="Royal Logistic Corps">Royal Logistic Corps</a>. </p><p>In the second week of December 1869 the War Office declared that 22nd Company RE, commanded by Capt Charles Edmund Webber RE, was to be seconded to the GPO on telegraph duties. The first draft took up their appointments with the GPO in June 1870; Webber as South East District divisional engineer based in New Cross, London, his subalterns as district superintendents of the divisional engineer and the NCOs and sappers as inspectors and linesmen/signallers respectively. They received training at both the School of Military Engineering and the London School of Telegraphy and were for a time billeted at St John’s Woods Barracks, London. The following year the Chatham based 34th Company RE joined 22nd at the GPO. It deployed detachments to GPO offices in Inverness, Ipswich and Bristol. The Company HQ was principally based in Ipswich, but later moved to Bristol. The two companies operated the telegraph services in their respective districts. Exploiting the ‘wayleave’ agreements, struck for the laying of rail tracks forty years earlier, they further developed the national telegraph network by laying new lines to the more remote parts of the British Isles <sup id="cite_ref-SC_Fenwick_2014_61-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SC_Fenwick_2014-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1883 the regiment raised 'L’ Company as a Telegraph Corps, a year later it was redesignated as the Telegraph Reserve Royal Engineers. Its role was to supplement the Regular Army's telegraph services operated by the Royal Engineers.<sup id="cite_ref-SC_Fenwick_2014_61-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SC_Fenwick_2014-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>After the <a href="/wiki/Haldane_Reforms" title="Haldane Reforms">Haldane Reforms</a> the regiment kept its association with the Post Office and continued to recruit postal workers into the Territorial Force under its new title '8th (City of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Post Office Rifles)' in 1908. It served as an infantry regiment in the First World War (1914–18). Sergeant <a href="/wiki/Alfred_Joseph_Knight" title="Alfred Joseph Knight">Alfred Joseph Knight</a> was awarded the <a href="/wiki/Victoria_Cross" title="Victoria Cross">Victoria Cross</a> for his bravery in the <a href="/wiki/Capture_of_Wurst_Farm" title="Capture of Wurst Farm">Capture of Wurst Farm</a> (20 September 1917). The regiment was disbanded in 1921. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Lists_of_senior_officials">Lists of senior officials</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Lists of senior officials"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:St_Andrew,_High_Street,_Hornchurch_-_Wall_monument_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2825819.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/St_Andrew%2C_High_Street%2C_Hornchurch_-_Wall_monument_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2825819.jpg/220px-St_Andrew%2C_High_Street%2C_Hornchurch_-_Wall_monument_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2825819.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="346" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/St_Andrew%2C_High_Street%2C_Hornchurch_-_Wall_monument_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2825819.jpg/330px-St_Andrew%2C_High_Street%2C_Hornchurch_-_Wall_monument_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2825819.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/St_Andrew%2C_High_Street%2C_Hornchurch_-_Wall_monument_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2825819.jpg/440px-St_Andrew%2C_High_Street%2C_Hornchurch_-_Wall_monument_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2825819.jpg 2x" data-file-width="636" data-file-height="1000" /></a><figcaption>Monument in <a href="/wiki/St_Andrew%27s_Church,_Hornchurch" title="St Andrew's Church, Hornchurch">St Andrew's Church, Hornchurch</a>, 'sacred to the memory of Thomas Witherings Esq, chiefe Postmaster of great Britaine and Foreigne Parts' (who died in 1651).</figcaption></figure> <p>The Postmaster General was the <a href="/wiki/Government_minister" class="mw-redirect" title="Government minister">government minister</a> in charge of the GPO (the office was held jointly by two appointees between 1691 and 1823). The Secretary of the Post Office was the senior civil servant (equivalent to a <a href="/wiki/Permanent_secretary_(UK)" title="Permanent secretary (UK)">permanent secretary</a>), who managed the operation from day to day. <a href="/wiki/Evelyn_Murray_(civil_servant)" title="Evelyn Murray (civil servant)">Evelyn Murray</a>, who served as Secretary until 1934, was not replaced when he left office. Instead a Director-General was appointed, together with a Board which brought together a number of GPO heads of department.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Postmasters_General">Postmasters General</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Postmasters General"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Postmaster_General_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Postmaster General of the United Kingdom">Postmaster General of the United Kingdom</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Secretaries_of_the_Post_Office">Secretaries of the Post Office</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Secretaries of the Post Office"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Name</th> <th>Date of appointment </th></tr> <tr> <td>John Avent</td> <td>20 June 1694 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Benjamin Waterhouse</td> <td>c.1700 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Henry Weston</td> <td>c.1714 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Joseph Godman</td> <td>c.1720 </td></tr> <tr> <td>W. Rouse</td> <td>c.1730 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Thomas Robinson</td> <td>c.1737 </td></tr> <tr> <td>John D. Barbutt</td> <td>15 September 1739 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/George_Shelvocke" title="George Shelvocke">George Shelvocke</a></td> <td>22 July 1742 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Henry Potts</td> <td>19 March 1760 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Anthony Todd</td> <td>1 December 1762 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Henry Potts</td> <td>19 July 1765 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Anthony Todd</td> <td>6 January 1768 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Francis_Freeling" title="Francis Freeling">Francis Freeling</a></td> <td>7 June 1798 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/William_Leader_Maberly" title="William Leader Maberly">William Leader Maberly</a></td> <td>29 September 1836 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Rowland_Hill" title="Rowland Hill">Rowland Hill</a></td> <td>22 April 1854<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>notes 8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/John_Tilley_(civil_servant)" title="John Tilley (civil servant)">John Tilley</a></td> <td>15 March 1864 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Stevenson Arthur Blackwood</td> <td>1 May 1880 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Spencer_Walpole" title="Spencer Walpole">Spencer Walpole</a></td> <td>10 November 1893 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/George_Murray_(civil_servant)" title="George Murray (civil servant)">George H. Murray</a></td> <td>10 February 1899 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Henry_Babington_Smith" title="Henry Babington Smith">Henry Babington Smith</a></td> <td>1 October 1903 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Matthew_Nathan" title="Matthew Nathan">Matthew Nathan</a></td> <td>17 January 1910 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Alexander F. King</td> <td>1 October 1911 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Evelyn_Murray_(civil_servant)" title="Evelyn Murray (civil servant)">Evelyn Murray</a></td> <td>24 August 1914 </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Directors_General_of_the_Post_Office">Directors General of the Post Office</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Directors General of the Post Office"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Name</th> <th>Date of appointment </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Donald_Banks" title="Donald Banks">Donald Banks</a></td> <td>14 April 1934 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Gardiner_(civil_servant)" title="Thomas Gardiner (civil servant)">Thomas Gardiner</a></td> <td>9 August 1936 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Raymond Birchall</td> <td>1 January 1946 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Alexander Little</td> <td>1 October 1949 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Gordon Radley</td> <td>1 October 1955 </td></tr> <tr> <td>Ronald German</td> <td>1 June 1960 </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Sir Ronald German was replaced by <a href="/wiki/John_Wall,_Baron_Wall" title="John Wall, Baron Wall">John Wall</a> on 1 November 1966, who had been brought in from the <a href="/wiki/Private_sector" title="Private sector">private sector</a> to serve as 'Deputy Chairman of the Board' in preparation for the GPO's disestablishment. He departed in September 1968, after which it was announced that the Postmaster General, <a href="/wiki/John_Stonehouse" title="John Stonehouse">John Stonehouse</a>, would assume the role of 'Chairman and Chief Executive' in preparation for the business's re-establishment as a public corporation the following year.<sup id="cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/GPO_Film_Unit" title="GPO Film Unit">GPO Film Unit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/GPO_telephones" title="GPO telephones">GPO telephones</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Research_Station" title="Post Office Research Station">Post Office Research Station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Postal,_telegraph_and_telephone_service" title="Postal, telegraph and telephone service">Postal, telegraph and telephone service</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Postmaster_General_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Postmaster General of the United Kingdom">Postmaster General of the United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Red_telephone_box" title="Red telephone box">Red telephone box</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Royal_Mail" title="Royal Mail">Royal Mail</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom#History" title="Television licensing in the United Kingdom">Television licensing in the UK</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The original meaning of 'post' in this context comes from the horses being placed or 'posted' (Latin <i>positi</i>) at regular intervals along the route.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">As per the 1657 Act, a single-sheet letter cost 2d up to 80 miles, 3d over 80 miles and 4d for carriage to or from Scotland.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ireland at about this time had three post roads (the Connaught road, the Munster road and the Ulster road) likewise staffed by Deputy Post-Masters (45 in number).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The term 'bye-posts' also covered 'letters not going or coming from, to or through London'.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The cost was the same as for letters sent by sea, except that the sea rate allowed letters weighing up to an ounce.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Between 1935/6 and 1938/9, the number of letters sent annually by airmail increased from 10.8 million to 91.2 million.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Home Counties; Midland; Northern Ireland; North-Eastern; North-Western; Wales and Border Counties; Scotland; South-Western</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-63">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Between 1846 and 1854 Hill had served in the distinct role of Secretary to the Postmaster General (a position created specifically for him).</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110517212232/http://postalheritage.org.uk/history/keydates/">"Summary of Post Office history"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_British_Postal_Museum_%26_Archive" class="mw-redirect" title="The British Postal Museum & Archive">The British Postal Museum & Archive</a></i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://postalheritage.org.uk/history/keydates/">the original</a> on 17 May 2011.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+British+Postal+Museum+%26+Archive&rft.atitle=Summary+of+Post+Office+history&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fpostalheritage.org.uk%2Fhistory%2Fkeydates%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMarshall2003" class="citation book cs1">Marshall, Allan (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=vpHMnBeiXrQC"><i>Intelligence and Espionage in the Reign of Charles II, 1660–1685</i></a>. Cambridge: <a href="/wiki/Cambridge_University_Press" title="Cambridge University Press">Cambridge University Press</a>. p. 79. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780521521277" title="Special:BookSources/9780521521277"><bdi>9780521521277</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Intelligence+and+Espionage+in+the+Reign+of+Charles+II%2C+1660%E2%80%931685&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pages=79&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=9780521521277&rft.aulast=Marshall&rft.aufirst=Allan&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DvpHMnBeiXrQC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.royalmail.com/about-us">"About us"</a>. <i>Royal Mail</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 October</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Royal+Mail&rft.atitle=About+us&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalmail.com%2Fabout-us&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/08680755/filing-history/MzM1Mzg3Mzg2NmFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0">"NM04 notice for Royal Mail plc"</a>. 3 October 2022<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">25 October</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=NM04+notice+for+Royal+Mail+plc&rft.date=2022-10-03&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Ffind-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk%2Fcompany%2F08680755%2Ffiling-history%2FMzM1Mzg3Mzg2NmFkaXF6a2N4%2Fdocument%3Fformat%3Dpdf%26download%3D0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Hemmeon1912-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-9"><sup><i><b>j</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-10"><sup><i><b>k</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-11"><sup><i><b>l</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-12"><sup><i><b>m</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-13"><sup><i><b>n</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hemmeon1912_5-14"><sup><i><b>o</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHemmeon1912" class="citation book cs1">Hemmeon, J. C. (1912). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42983/42983-h/42983-h.htm"><i>The History of the British Post Office</i></a>. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard university. pp. 13–34<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">4 June</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+History+of+the+British+Post+Office&rft.place=Cambridge%2C+Mass.&rft.pages=13-34&rft.pub=Harvard+university&rft.date=1912&rft.aulast=Hemmeon&rft.aufirst=J.+C.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gutenberg.org%2Ffiles%2F42983%2F42983-h%2F42983-h.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Borer1972-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Borer1972_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Borer1972_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBorer1972" class="citation book cs1">Borer, Mary Cathcart (1972). <i>The British Hotel through the Ages</i> (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Lutterworth Press. pp. 44–45.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+British+Hotel+through+the+Ages&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pages=44-45&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Lutterworth+Press&rft.date=1972&rft.aulast=Borer&rft.aufirst=Mary+Cathcart&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-EB1842-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-EB1842_8-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-EB1842_8-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1">"Post Office". <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica (vol. XVIII)</i> (7th ed.). Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black. 1842. pp. 486–497.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Post+Office&rft.btitle=Encyclopaedia+Britannica+%28vol.+XVIII%29&rft.place=Edinburgh&rft.pages=486-497&rft.edition=7th&rft.pub=Adam+and+Charles+Black&rft.date=1842&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Beale1998-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Beale1998_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBeale1998" class="citation book cs1">Beale, Philip (1998). <i>A History of the Post in England from the Romans to the Stuarts</i> (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. p. 154.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+History+of+the+Post+in+England+from+the+Romans+to+the+Stuarts&rft.place=London&rft.pages=154&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=1998&rft.aulast=Beale&rft.aufirst=Philip&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-May2023-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-May2023_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMay2023" class="citation book cs1">May, Steven W. (2023). <i>English Renaissance Manuscript Culture</i>. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 144.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=English+Renaissance+Manuscript+Culture&rft.place=Oxford&rft.pages=144&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2023&rft.aulast=May&rft.aufirst=Steven+W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHumeStafford1867" class="citation book cs1">Hume, David; Stafford, William Cooke (1867). <i>History of England from the Earliest Time to the Present Day (Vol. II)</i>. London: London Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd. p. 311.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=History+of+England+from+the+Earliest+Time+to+the+Present+Day+%28Vol.+II%29&rft.place=London&rft.pages=311&rft.pub=London+Printing+and+Publishing+Co.+Ltd.&rft.date=1867&rft.aulast=Hume&rft.aufirst=David&rft.au=Stafford%2C+William+Cooke&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Lewins1864-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Lewins1864_12-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLewins1864" class="citation book cs1">Lewins, William (1864). <i>Her Majesty's Mails: an Historical and Descriptive Account of the British Post-office</i>. London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston. pp. 1–18.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Her+Majesty%27s+Mails%3A+an+Historical+and+Descriptive+Account+of+the+British+Post-office&rft.place=London&rft.pages=1-18&rft.pub=Sampson+Low%2C+Son%2C+and+Marston&rft.date=1864&rft.aulast=Lewins&rft.aufirst=William&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Committee1844-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Committee1844_13-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Committee1844_13-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1">"A PROCLAMATION for the settling of the Letter-office of <i>England</i> and <i>Scotland</i>". <i>Report from the Secret Committee on the Post-Office; together with the Appendix</i>. London: House of Commons. 1844. p. 57.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=A+PROCLAMATION+for+the+settling+of+the+Letter-office+of+England+and+Scotland&rft.btitle=Report+from+the+Secret+Committee+on+the+Post-Office%3B+together+with+the+Appendix&rft.place=London&rft.pages=57&rft.pub=House+of+Commons&rft.date=1844&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120831192736/http://postalheritage.org.uk/page/peoplespost-secretroom">"The Secret Room"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_British_Postal_Museum_%26_Archive" class="mw-redirect" title="The British Postal Museum & Archive">The British Postal Museum & Archive</a></i>. 2011. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/page/peoplespost-secretroom">the original</a> on 31 August 2012<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2 October</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+British+Postal+Museum+%26+Archive&rft.atitle=The+Secret+Room&rft.date=2011&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.postalheritage.org.uk%2Fpage%2Fpeoplespost-secretroom&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4274335.stm">"Royal Mail loses postal monopoly"</a>. BBC News. 18 February 2005<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 April</span> 2010</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Royal+Mail+loses+postal+monopoly&rft.date=2005-02-18&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fbusiness%2F4274335.stm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol5/pp297-301">"Charles II, 1660: An Act for Erecting and Establishing a Post Office. | British History Online"</a>. <i>www.british-history.ac.uk</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 July</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.british-history.ac.uk&rft.atitle=Charles+II%2C+1660%3A+An+Act+for+Erecting+and+Establishing+a+Post+Office.+%7C+British+History+Online&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.british-history.ac.uk%2Fstatutes-realm%2Fvol5%2Fpp297-301&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Campbell-Smith2011-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-7"><sup><i><b>h</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-8"><sup><i><b>i</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-9"><sup><i><b>j</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-10"><sup><i><b>k</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-11"><sup><i><b>l</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-12"><sup><i><b>m</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-13"><sup><i><b>n</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-14"><sup><i><b>o</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-15"><sup><i><b>p</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-16"><sup><i><b>q</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-17"><sup><i><b>r</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-18"><sup><i><b>s</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campbell-Smith2011_17-19"><sup><i><b>t</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCampbell-Smith2011" class="citation book cs1">Campbell-Smith, Duncan (2011). <i>Masters of the Post: The Authorized History of the Royal Mail</i>. London: Penguin Books.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Masters+of+the+Post%3A+The+Authorized+History+of+the+Royal+Mail&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Penguin+Books&rft.date=2011&rft.aulast=Campbell-Smith&rft.aufirst=Duncan&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Joyce1893-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-4"><sup><i><b>e</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-5"><sup><i><b>f</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce1893_18-6"><sup><i><b>g</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJoyce1893" class="citation book cs1">Joyce, Herbert (1893). <i>The History of the Post Office from Its Establishment Down to 1836</i>. London: Richard Bentley & Son.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+History+of+the+Post+Office+from+Its+Establishment+Down+to+1836&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Richard+Bentley+%26+Son&rft.date=1893&rft.aulast=Joyce&rft.aufirst=Herbert&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Blome1673-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Blome1673_20-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Blome1673_20-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBlome1673" class="citation book cs1">Blome, Richard (1673). <i>Britannia: or, a Geographical Description of the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the Isles and Territories thereto belonging</i>. London: Thomas Roycroft. pp. 12–15.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Britannia%3A+or%2C+a+Geographical+Description+of+the+Kingdoms+of+England%2C+Scotland%2C+and+Ireland%2C+with+the+Isles+and+Territories+thereto+belonging.&rft.place=London&rft.pages=12-15&rft.pub=Thomas+Roycroft&rft.date=1673&rft.aulast=Blome&rft.aufirst=Richard&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Daybell2012-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Daybell2012_22-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDaybell2012" class="citation book cs1">Daybell, James (2012). <i>The Material Letter in Early Modern England: Manuscript Letters and the Culture and Practices of Letter-Writing, 1512-1635</i>. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 136.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Material+Letter+in+Early+Modern+England%3A+Manuscript+Letters+and+the+Culture+and+Practices+of+Letter-Writing%2C+1512-1635&rft.place=Basingstoke%2C+Hampshire&rft.pages=136&rft.pub=Palgrave+Macmillan&rft.date=2012&rft.aulast=Daybell&rft.aufirst=James&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-206394">"Post Office Blue Ensign (before 1864)"</a>. <i>Royal Museums Greenwich</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">15 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Royal+Museums+Greenwich&rft.atitle=Post+Office+Blue+Ensign+%28before+1864%29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rmg.co.uk%2Fcollections%2Fobjects%2Frmgc-object-206394&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Stray2010-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Stray2010_24-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Stray2010_24-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Stray2010_24-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Stray2010_24-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStray2010" class="citation book cs1">Stray, Julian (2010). <i>Post Offices</i>. Botley, Oxon.: Shire Publications Ltd.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Post+Offices&rft.place=Botley%2C+Oxon.&rft.pub=Shire+Publications+Ltd&rft.date=2010&rft.aulast=Stray&rft.aufirst=Julian&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-IMA1853-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-IMA1853_25-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-IMA1853_25-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation journal cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/20537996">"Metropolitan Post-Offices. The Chief Office, London"</a>. <i>The Illustrated Magazine of Art</i>. <b>1</b> (6): 327–32. 1853. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20537996">20537996</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Illustrated+Magazine+of+Art&rft.atitle=Metropolitan+Post-Offices.+The+Chief+Office%2C+London.&rft.volume=1&rft.issue=6&rft.pages=327-32&rft.date=1853&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F20537996%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F20537996&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation journal cs1">"Public Offices, Ninth Report: General Post Office". <i>Reports from Commissioners (Ireland)</i>. <b>X</b>: 3. 23 January – 21 June 1810.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Reports+from+Commissioners+%28Ireland%29&rft.atitle=Public+Offices%2C+Ninth+Report%3A+General+Post+Office&rft.volume=X&rft.pages=3&rft.date=1810-01-23%2F1810-06-21&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Tombs1905-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Tombs1905_27-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTombs1905" class="citation book cs1">Tombs, Robert Charles (1905). <i>The King's Post</i>. Bristol: W. C. Hemmons. p. 21.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+King%27s+Post&rft.place=Bristol&rft.pages=21&rft.pub=W.+C.+Hemmons&rft.date=1905&rft.aulast=Tombs&rft.aufirst=Robert+Charles&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Joyce2013-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce2013_29-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce2013_29-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJoyce2013" class="citation book cs1">Joyce, Patrick (2013). "Postal economy and society". <i>The State of Freedom: A Social History of the British State since 1800</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 114–115.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Postal+economy+and+society&rft.btitle=The+State+of+Freedom%3A+A+Social+History+of+the+British+State+since+1800&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pages=114-115&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2013&rft.aulast=Joyce&rft.aufirst=Patrick&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Jubilee1891-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Jubilee1891_30-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Jubilee1891_30-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><i>Account of the Celebration of the Jubilee of Uniform Inland Penny Postage</i>. London: General Post Office. 1891. pp. 15–18.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Account+of+the+Celebration+of+the+Jubilee+of+Uniform+Inland+Penny+Postage&rft.place=London&rft.pages=15-18&rft.pub=General+Post+Office&rft.date=1891&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Callender1868-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Callender1868_31-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCallender1868" class="citation book cs1">Callender, Henry (1868). <i>The Post-Office and its Money Order System</i>. Edinburgh: Edmondston and Douglas. pp. 6–8.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Post-Office+and+its+Money+Order+System&rft.place=Edinburgh&rft.pages=6-8&rft.pub=Edmondston+and+Douglas&rft.date=1868&rft.aulast=Callender&rft.aufirst=Henry&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/140-years-of-postal-orders">"140 Years of Postal Orders"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">23 May</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=140+Years+of+Postal+Orders&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.postalmuseum.org%2Fblog%2F140-years-of-postal-orders&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Dickens1850-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Dickens1850_33-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDickens1850" class="citation journal cs1">Dickens, Charles (September 1850). "Mechanism of the Post Office". <i><a href="/wiki/The_Eclectic_Magazine_of_Foreign_Literature,_Science,_and_Art" title="The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art">The Eclectic Magazine</a></i>: 74–95.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Eclectic+Magazine&rft.atitle=Mechanism+of+the+Post+Office&rft.pages=74-95&rft.date=1850-09&rft.aulast=Dickens&rft.aufirst=Charles&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-BlueGuide1922-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-BlueGuide1922_34-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-BlueGuide1922_34-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-BlueGuide1922_34-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMuirhead1922" class="citation book cs1">Muirhead, Findlay, ed. (1922). <i>The Blue Guides: London and its Environs</i> (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd. pp. 225–226.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Blue+Guides%3A+London+and+its+Environs&rft.place=London&rft.pages=225-226&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Macmillan+and+Co.+Ltd&rft.date=1922&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-PostMusRoles-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-PostMusRoles_35-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.postalmuseum.org/collections/the-archive/family-history/roles/">"Historical Post Office roles"</a>. <i>The Postal Museum</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Postal+Museum&rft.atitle=Historical+Post+Office+roles&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.postalmuseum.org%2Fcollections%2Fthe-archive%2Ffamily-history%2Froles%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-parliament-20090623-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-parliament-20090623_36-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-parliament-20090623_36-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmberr/371/37109.htm">"Post Offices – Securing their Future: Annex A – The development of the post office network"</a>. UK Parliament. 23 June 2009<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 April</span> 2014</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Post+Offices+%E2%80%93+Securing+their+Future%3A+Annex+A+%E2%80%93+The+development+of+the+post+office+network&rft.pub=UK+Parliament&rft.date=2009-06-23&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fpublications.parliament.uk%2Fpa%2Fcm200809%2Fcmselect%2Fcmberr%2F371%2F37109.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-37">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Tom Standage, <i>The Victorian Internet: The remarkable story of the telegraph and the nineteenth century's online pioneers</i> (Phoenix, 1998) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8a2d/e81882302b13a8363eed181227f9819151cc.pdf">online</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-38">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Katie Hindmarch-Watson, "Embodying Telegraphy in Late Victorian London." <i>Information & Culture</i> 55#1 (2020): 10-29 <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/749003">online</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-PORS-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-PORS_39-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation journal cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2F162051a0">"The Post Office Research Station"</a>. <i>Nature</i>. <b>162</b> (4106): 51–53. 10 July 1948. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1948Natur.162...51.">1948Natur.162...51.</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2F162051a0">10.1038/162051a0</a></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Nature&rft.atitle=The+Post+Office+Research+Station&rft.volume=162&rft.issue=4106&rft.pages=51-53&rft.date=1948-07-10&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1038%2F162051a0&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1948Natur.162...51.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1038%252F162051a0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-40">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.tnmoc.org/colossus">"Colossus"</a>. <i>The National Museum of Computing</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+National+Museum+of+Computing&rft.atitle=Colossus&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tnmoc.org%2Fcolossus&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-41">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bt.com/bt-plc/assets/documents/about-bt/our-history/bt-archives/information-sheets-and-timelines/central-telegraph-office-and-bt-centre.pdf">"Central Telegraph Office and BT Centre – a timeline"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>www.bt.com</i>. BT Archives. May 2008<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">7 November</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.bt.com&rft.atitle=Central+Telegraph+Office+and+BT+Centre+%E2%80%93+a+timeline&rft.date=2008-05&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bt.com%2Fbt-plc%2Fassets%2Fdocuments%2Fabout-bt%2Four-history%2Fbt-archives%2Finformation-sheets-and-timelines%2Fcentral-telegraph-office-and-bt-centre.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTsHistory/1912to1968/1927.htm">Events in Telecommunications History - 1927</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160622215413/http://btplc.com/Thegroup/BTsHistory/1912to1968/1927.htm">Archived</a> 22 June 2016 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> BT Archives</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-PostMus1914-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-PostMus1914_43-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-PostMus1914_43-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.postalmuseum.org/collections/ww1/">"The Post Office in 1914"</a>. <i>The Postal Museum</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">21 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Postal+Museum&rft.atitle=The+Post+Office+in+1914&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.postalmuseum.org%2Fcollections%2Fww1%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-44">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.irishtimes.com/1916/1916-the-articles/easter-rising-day-1-rebels-on-the-streets-1.2575678">"Easter Rising – Day 1: Rebels on the streets"</a>. <i>The Irish Times</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">25 June</span> 2018</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Irish+Times&rft.atitle=Easter+Rising+%E2%80%93+Day+1%3A+Rebels+on+the+streets&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2F1916%2F1916-the-articles%2Feaster-rising-day-1-rebels-on-the-streets-1.2575678&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>The Times</i> (London), 1927; 14 November p 9, 16 November p 9</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-46">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britishtelephones.com/histuk.htm">"UK TELEPHONE HISTORY"</a>. <i>www.britishtelephones.com</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.britishtelephones.com&rft.atitle=UK+TELEPHONE+HISTORY&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishtelephones.com%2Fhistuk.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-47">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.btplc.com/Thegroup/BTsHistory/1912to1968/1932.htm">"Events in Telecommunications History: 1932"</a>. <i>BT Archives</i>. <a href="/wiki/British_Telecom" class="mw-redirect" title="British Telecom">British Telecom</a>. 28 June 2013<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">18 September</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=BT+Archives&rft.atitle=Events+in+Telecommunications+History%3A+1932&rft.date=2013-06-28&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.btplc.com%2FThegroup%2FBTsHistory%2F1912to1968%2F1932.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation journal cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/130338b0">"Report on the Post Office"</a>. <i>Nature</i>. <b>130</b> (3279): 338–339. 3 September 1932. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1932Natur.130R.338.">1932Natur.130R.338.</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2F130338b0">10.1038/130338b0</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Nature&rft.atitle=Report+on+the+Post+Office&rft.volume=130&rft.issue=3279&rft.pages=338-339&rft.date=1932-09-03&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1038%2F130338b0&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1932Natur.130R.338.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2F130338b0&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/464254/index.html">"GPO Film Unit (1933-1940)"</a>. <i>Screenonline</i>. British Film Institute<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Screenonline&rft.atitle=GPO+Film+Unit+%281933-1940%29&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.screenonline.org.uk%2Ffilm%2Fid%2F464254%2Findex.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.postalmuseum.org/collections/highlights/posters/">"Posters"</a>. <i>The Postal Museum</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Postal+Museum&rft.atitle=Posters&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.postalmuseum.org%2Fcollections%2Fhighlights%2Fposters%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-POVC-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-POVC_54-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-POVC_54-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.povehclub.org.uk/heritage.html">"Heritage"</a>. <i>Post Office Vehicle Club</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">19 September</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Post+Office+Vehicle+Club&rft.atitle=Heritage&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.povehclub.org.uk%2Fheritage.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nsandi.com/about-nsi-who-we-are-story-nsi"><i>Story of NS&I</i></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131017042019/http://www.nsandi.com/about-nsi-who-we-are-story-nsi">Archived</a> 17 October 2013 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> National Savings & Investments, 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131017042019/http://www.nsandi.com/about-nsi-who-we-are-story-nsi">Archived here.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Greenwood1973-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Greenwood1973_56-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Greenwood1973_56-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGreenwood1973" class="citation journal cs1">Greenwood, Jeremy (August 1973). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gbps.org.uk/information/downloads/lphg-notebook/13%20-%20Aug%201973.pdf">"The Location of the London Head Office and Post Houses 1526-1687"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>London Postal History Group Notebook</i> (13): 3–5.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=London+Postal+History+Group+Notebook&rft.atitle=The+Location+of+the+London+Head+Office+and+Post+Houses+1526-1687&rft.issue=13&rft.pages=3-5&rft.date=1973-08&rft.aulast=Greenwood&rft.aufirst=Jeremy&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gbps.org.uk%2Finformation%2Fdownloads%2Flphg-notebook%2F13%2520-%2520Aug%25201973.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-poher-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-poher_57-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://postalheritage.wordpress.com/tag/lombard-street/">"The General Post Office East: 1829–1912"</a>. <i>Postal Heritage</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2 October</span> 2013</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Postal+Heritage&rft.atitle=The+General+Post+Office+East%3A+1829%E2%80%931912&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fpostalheritage.wordpress.com%2Ftag%2Flombard-street%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-58">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.victorianlondon.org/communications/postoffice.htm">"Victorian London – Communications – Post – General Post Office"</a>. <i>The Dictionary of Victorian London</i>. Lee Jackson.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=The+Dictionary+of+Victorian+London&rft.atitle=Victorian+London+%E2%80%93+Communications+%E2%80%93+Post+%E2%80%93+General+Post+Office&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.victorianlondon.org%2Fcommunications%2Fpostoffice.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Weinreb1993-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Weinreb1993_59-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWeinrebHibbert1993" class="citation book cs1">Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher, eds. (1993). "Post Office". <i>The London Encyclopaedia</i> (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 634.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Post+Office&rft.btitle=The+London+Encyclopaedia&rft.place=London&rft.pages=634&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=Macmillan&rft.date=1993&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-60">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSaunders2015" class="citation journal cs1">Saunders, Frances Stonor (9 April 2015). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n07/frances-stonorsaunders/stuck-on-the-flypaper">"Stuck on the Flypaper"</a>. <i>London Review of Books</i>. <b>37</b> (7): 3<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">26 March</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=London+Review+of+Books&rft.atitle=Stuck+on+the+Flypaper&rft.volume=37&rft.issue=7&rft.pages=3&rft.date=2015-04-09&rft.aulast=Saunders&rft.aufirst=Frances+Stonor&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lrb.co.uk%2Fv37%2Fn07%2Ffrances-stonorsaunders%2Fstuck-on-the-flypaper&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AGeneral+Post+Office" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-SC_Fenwick_2014-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-SC_Fenwick_2014_61-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-SC_Fenwick_2014_61-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-SC_Fenwick_2014_61-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">SC Fenwick (2014). Rifle Volunteers and Distance Writing – Why the Posties became Sappers. 128. Royal Engineers Journal</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-62">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Col ET Vallance (2015). Postmen at War – A history of the Army Postal Services from the Middle Ages to 1945. Stuart Rossiter Trust, Hitchin. p. 46</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Bruton, Elizabeth. "Something in the air: The Post Office and early wireless, 1882–1899." in <i>Knowledge Management and Intellectual Property</i> (Edward Elgar, 2013).</li> <li>Campbell-Smith, Duncan. <i>Masters of the Post: The Authorized History of the Royal Mail</i> (Penguin 2012)</li> <li>Clinton, Allan. <i>Post Office Workers: A Trade Union and Social History</i> (George Allen and Unwin, 1984)</li> <li>Daunton, M. J. <i>Royal Mail: The Post Office Since 1840</i> (Athlone, 1985).</li> <li>Hemmeon, Joseph Clarence. <i>The history of the British post office</i> (Harvard University Press, 1912) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/download/bub_gb_DMhAAAAAIAAJ/bub_gb_DMhAAAAAIAAJ.pdf">online</a>.</li> <li>Hochfelder, David. "A comparison of the postal telegraph movement in Great Britain and the United States, 1866–1900." <i>Enterprise & Society</i> 1.4 (2000): 739–761.</li> <li>Lin, Chih-lung. "The British dynamic mail contract on the North Atlantic: 1860–1900." <i>Business History</i> 54.5 (2012): 783–797.</li> <li>Morus, Iwan Rhys “‘The Nervous System Of Britain’: Space, Time, and the Electric Telegraph in the Victorian Age,” <i>British Journal for the History of Science</i> 33#4 (2000): 455–75, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007087400004210">online</a></li> <li>Perry, C. R. <i>The Victorian Post Office: The Growth of a Bureaucracy</i> (Boydell Press, 1992)</li> <li>Standage, Tom. <i>The Victorian Internet: The remarkable story of the telegraph and the nineteenth century's online pioneers</i> (Phoenix, 1998) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8a2d/e81882302b13a8363eed181227f9819151cc.pdf">online</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:General_Post_Office_(United_Kingdom)" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:General Post Office (United Kingdom)">General Post Office (United Kingdom)</a></span>.</div></div> </div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/">The British Postal Museum & Archive</a></li> <li>An 18th-century <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/ecco/004859210.0001.000/1:7.26?rgn=div2;view=fulltext">listing of expenses, shipping schedules, and regulations</a> for the office on Lombard Street</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bt.com/archives/">BT Archives</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.connected-earth.com">Connected Earth (History of Communications)</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070510101949/http://www.connected-earth.com/">Archived</a> 10 May 2007 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bathpostalmuseum.org/">Bath Postal Museum</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/about-us/">Royal Mail Group – About us</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.redbikeboys.co.uk">Site for former Leicestershire Telegram Messenger Boys</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=5446">G.P.O. GLASGOW (c.1961)</a> (archive film showing functions of the telephone exchange, enquiries and repair – from the National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE)</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Telecommunications_industry_in_the_United_Kingdom" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Telecommunications_industry_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Template:Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Telecommunications_industry_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Template talk:Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Telecommunications_industry_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Telecommunications_industry_in_the_United_Kingdom" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Telecommunications in the United Kingdom">Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Economy of the United Kingdom">Economy of the United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Science and technology in the United Kingdom">Science and technology in the United Kingdom</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left">Companies</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; background-color:#eee">Infrastructure<br />providers</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arqiva" title="Arqiva">Arqiva</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Babcock_International" title="Babcock International">Babcock International</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BT_Wholesale_and_Ventures" title="BT Wholesale and Ventures">BT Wholesale and Ventures</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CityFibre" title="CityFibre">CityFibre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/KCOM_Group" title="KCOM Group">KCOM Group</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nexfibre" title="Nexfibre">Nexfibre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Openreach" title="Openreach">Openreach</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interxion" title="Interxion">Interxion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/TelecityGroup" title="TelecityGroup">TelecityGroup</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telehouse_Europe" title="Telehouse Europe">Telehouse Europe</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; background-color:#eee">Service<br />providers</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Current</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Andrews_%26_Arnold" title="Andrews & Arnold">Andrews & Arnold</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Asda_Mobile" title="Asda Mobile">Asda Mobile</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BT_Group" title="BT Group">BT Group</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/BT_Consumer" title="BT Consumer">BT Consumer</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/BT_Business_and_Public_Sector" title="BT Business and Public Sector">BT Business and Public Sector</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/BT_Global_Services" title="BT Global Services">BT Global Services</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/EE_(telecommunications)" title="EE (telecommunications)">EE</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/Plusnet" title="Plusnet">Plusnet</a></small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/China_Mobile" title="China Mobile">China Mobile</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/China_Mobile#United_Kingdom" title="China Mobile">CMLink</a></small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Claranet" title="Claranet">Claranet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Colt_Technology_Services" title="Colt Technology Services">Colt Group</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Phone_Co-op" title="The Phone Co-op">The Co-operative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cable_%26_Wireless_Communications" title="Cable & Wireless Communications">Cable & Wireless</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Entanet" title="Entanet">Entanet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inmarsat" title="Inmarsat">Inmarsat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/KCOM_Group" title="KCOM Group">KCOM Group</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/Eclipse_Internet" title="Eclipse Internet">Eclipse Internet</a></small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lebara" title="Lebara">Lebara</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lycamobile" title="Lycamobile">Lycamobile</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sky_Group" title="Sky Group">Sky</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/Sky_Broadband" title="Sky Broadband">Sky Broadband</a></small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spusu" title="Spusu">spusu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/TalkTalk_Group" title="TalkTalk Group">TalkTalk</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/TalkTalk_Business" title="TalkTalk Business">Business</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/TalkTalk_Group#Mobile_telephony" title="TalkTalk Group">Mobile</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/TalkTalk_TV" title="TalkTalk TV">TV</a></small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecom_Plus" title="Telecom Plus">Telecom Plus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tesco_Mobile" title="Tesco Mobile">Tesco</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/3_(company)" title="3 (company)">Three</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/Three_UK" title="Three UK">Three UK</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/SMARTY" title="SMARTY">SMARTY</a></small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Truphone" title="Truphone">Tru</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trunk_Networks" title="Trunk Networks">Trunk Networks</a> <ul><li><small>Leetline</small></li> <li><small>No One</small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virgin_Media_O2" title="Virgin Media O2">Virgin Media O2</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/O2_(UK)" title="O2 (UK)">O2</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/Giffgaff" title="Giffgaff">Giffgaff</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/Virgin_Media" title="Virgin Media">Virgin Media</a></small> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/Virgin_Media_Business" title="Virgin Media Business">Virgin Media Business</a></small></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vodafone" title="Vodafone">Vodafone</a> <ul><li><small><a href="/wiki/Vodafone_UK" title="Vodafone UK">Vodafone UK</a></small></li> <li><small><a href="/wiki/Talkmobile" title="Talkmobile">Talkmobile</a></small></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Voipfone" title="Voipfone">Voipfone</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/WightFibre" title="WightFibre">WightFibre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zen_Internet" title="Zen Internet">Zen Internet</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Defunct</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/AOL_Broadband" title="AOL Broadband">AOL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atlantic_Telegraph_Company" title="Atlantic Telegraph Company">Atlantic Telegraph Company</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Be_Un_Limited" title="Be Un Limited">Be Un Limited</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bonelli%27s_Electric_Telegraph_Company" title="Bonelli's Electric Telegraph Company">Bonelli's Electric Telegraph Company</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_and_Irish_Magnetic_Telegraph_Company" title="British and Irish Magnetic Telegraph Company">British and Irish Magnetic Telegraph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cable_%26_Wireless_plc" title="Cable & Wireless plc">Cable & Wireless plc</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cable_%26_Wireless_Worldwide" title="Cable & Wireless Worldwide">Cable & Wireless Worldwide</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Electric_Telegraph_Company" title="Electric Telegraph Company">Electric Telegraph Company</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Energis" title="Energis">Energis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Family_Mobile" title="Family Mobile">Family</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">General Post Office</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gutta_Percha_Company" title="Gutta Percha Company">Gutta Percha Company</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ionica_(company)" title="Ionica (company)">Ionica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_District_Telegraph_Company" title="London District Telegraph Company">London & Provincial District Telegraph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercury_Communications" title="Mercury Communications">Mercury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_Telephone_Company" title="National Telephone Company">National Telephone Company</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/NTL_Incorporated" title="NTL Incorporated">NTL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orange_UK" title="Orange UK">Orange</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ovivo" class="mw-redirect" title="Ovivo">Ovivo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Post_Office_Limited" title="Post Office Limited">Post Office</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pipex" title="Pipex">Pipex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rabbit_(telecommunications)" title="Rabbit (telecommunications)">Rabbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mobile_by_Sainsbury%27s" title="Mobile by Sainsbury's">Sainsbury's</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Submarine_Telegraph_Company" title="Submarine Telegraph Company">Submarine Telegraph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tiscali_UK" class="mw-redirect" title="Tiscali UK">Tiscali UK</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T-Mobile_UK" title="T-Mobile UK">T-Mobile</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Universal_Private_Telegraph_Company" title="Universal Private Telegraph Company">Universal Private Telegraph</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virgin_Mobile_(UK)" title="Virgin Mobile (UK)">Virgin Mobile</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; background-color:#eee">Suppliers</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Current</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Arm_Holdings" title="Arm Holdings">Arm Holdings</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Icera" title="Icera">Icera</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metaswitch" title="Metaswitch">Metaswitch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sarantel" class="mw-redirect" title="Sarantel">Sarantel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spirent" title="Spirent">Spirent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telent" title="Telent">Telent</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Defunct</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/CSR_(company)" class="mw-redirect" title="CSR (company)">CSR</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/GEC_Plessey_Telecommunications" title="GEC Plessey Telecommunications">GEC Plessey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marconi_Company" title="Marconi Company">Marconi Company</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marconi_Communications" title="Marconi Communications">Marconi Communications</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pace_plc" title="Pace plc">Pace</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/PicoChip" title="PicoChip">PicoChip</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Standard_Telephones_and_Cables" title="Standard Telephones and Cables">Standard</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left; background-color:#eee">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Carphone_Warehouse" title="Carphone Warehouse">Carphone Warehouse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hibu" title="Hibu">Hibu</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left">Government and<br />regulatory bodies</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Broadband_Stakeholder_Group" title="Broadband Stakeholder Group">Broadband Stakeholder Group</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Defence_Science_and_Technology_Laboratory" title="Defence Science and Technology Laboratory">Defence Science and Technology Laboratory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Conference_of_Postal_and_Telecommunications_Administrations" title="European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations">European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Telecommunication_Union" title="International Telecommunication Union">International Telecommunication Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ofcom" title="Ofcom">Ofcom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phone-paid_Services_Authority" title="Phone-paid Services Authority">Phone-paid Services Authority</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left">Industry bodies</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/GSM_Association" class="mw-redirect" title="GSM Association">GSM Association</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet_Service_Providers_Association_(United_Kingdom)" title="Internet Service Providers Association (United Kingdom)">Internet Service Providers Association</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet_Telephony_Services_Providers%27_Association" title="Internet Telephony Services Providers' Association">Internet Telephony Services Providers' Association</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/LONAP" title="LONAP">LONAP</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_Internet_Exchange" title="London Internet Exchange">London Internet Exchange</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manchester_Network_Access_Point" title="Manchester Network Access Point">MaNAP</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Symbian_Foundation" title="Symbian Foundation">Symbian Foundation</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left">In <a href="/wiki/Crown_Dependencies" title="Crown Dependencies">Crown Dependencies</a> and<br /><a href="/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories" title="British Overseas Territories">British Overseas Territories</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Akrotiri_and_Dhekelia#Communications" title="Akrotiri and Dhekelia">Akrotiri and Dhekelia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Anguilla" title="Telecommunications in Anguilla">Anguilla</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Antarctica" title="Telecommunications in Antarctica">Antarctica</a> (including <a href="/wiki/British_Antarctic_Territory" title="British Antarctic Territory">British Antarctic Territory</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Ascension_Island" class="mw-redirect" title="Telecommunications in Ascension Island">Ascension Island</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Bermuda" title="Telecommunications in Bermuda">Bermuda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_British_Indian_Ocean_Territory" class="mw-redirect" title="Telecommunications in the British Indian Ocean Territory">British Indian Ocean Territory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_British_Virgin_Islands" title="Telecommunications in the British Virgin Islands">British Virgin Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_Cayman_Islands" title="Telecommunications in the Cayman Islands">Cayman Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_Falkland_Islands" title="Telecommunications in the Falkland Islands">Falkland Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Gibraltar" class="mw-redirect" title="Telecommunications in Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Guernsey" title="Telecommunications in Guernsey">Guernsey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_Isle_of_Man" class="mw-redirect" title="Telecommunications in the Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Jersey" title="Telecommunications in Jersey">Jersey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Montserrat" title="Telecommunications in Montserrat">Montserrat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_Pitcairn_Islands" class="mw-redirect" title="Telecommunications in the Pitcairn Islands">Pitcairn Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Saint_Helena" class="mw-redirect" title="Telecommunications in Saint Helena">Saint Helena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_South_Georgia_and_the_South_Sandwich_Islands" class="mw-redirect" title="Telecommunications in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands">South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_Turks_and_Caicos_Islands" title="Telecommunications in the Turks and Caicos Islands">Turks and Caicos Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tristan_da_Cunha#Communications" title="Tristan da Cunha">Tristan da Cunha</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:left">History,<br />legislation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Adastral_Park" title="Adastral Park">Adastral Park</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_Approvals_Board_for_Telecommunications" title="British Approvals Board for Telecommunications">British Approvals Board for Telecommunications</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_Telecommunications_Act_1981" title="British Telecommunications Act 1981">British Telecommunications Act 1981</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_telephone_sockets" class="mw-redirect" title="British telephone sockets">British telephone sockets</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BT_Research" title="BT Research">BT Research</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BT_site_engineering_code" title="BT site engineering code">BT site engineering code</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buzby" title="Buzby">Buzby</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Communications_Act_2003" title="Communications Act 2003">Communications Act 2003</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Earth_stations_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:Earth stations in the United Kingdom">Earth stations in UK</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hull_Colour_Pages" title="Hull Colour Pages">Hull Colour Pages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interception_of_Communications_Act_1985" title="Interception of Communications Act 1985">Interception of Communications Act 1985</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Internet_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Internet in the United Kingdom">Internet in UK</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telegraph_Act" title="Telegraph Act">Telegraph Act</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telegraph_Act_1868" title="Telegraph Act 1868">Telegraph Act 1868</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telegraph_Act_1885" title="Telegraph Act 1885">Telegraph Act 1885</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom">Telephone numbers in UK</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/UK_telephone_code_misconceptions" title="UK telephone code misconceptions">UK telephone code misconceptions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Web_blocking_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Web blocking in the United Kingdom">Web blocking in UK</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/31px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <b><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:Telecommunications in the United Kingdom">Category</a></b></li> <li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Commons page"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/18px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/24px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></span></span> <b><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="extiw" title="commons:Category:Telecommunications in the United Kingdom">Commons</a></b></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&oldid=1258050973">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&oldid=1258050973</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:General_Post_Office" title="Category:General Post Office">General Post Office</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1660_establishments_in_England" title="Category:1660 establishments in England">1660 establishments in England</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:2007_disestablishments_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom">2007 disestablishments in the United Kingdom</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Defunct_departments_of_the_Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:Defunct departments of the Government of the United Kingdom">Defunct departments of the Government of the United Kingdom</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Postal_system_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:Postal system of the United Kingdom">Postal system of the United Kingdom</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Telecommunications_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:Telecommunications in the United Kingdom">Telecommunications in the United Kingdom</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Webarchive_template_wayback_links" title="Category:Webarchive template wayback links">Webarchive template wayback links</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:EngvarB_from_November_2015" title="Category:EngvarB from November 2015">EngvarB from November 2015</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_November_2015" title="Category:Use dmy dates from November 2015">Use dmy dates from November 2015</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements" title="Category:All articles with unsourced statements">All articles with unsourced statements</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_January_2019" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019">Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Commons_category_link_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Commons category link from Wikidata">Commons category link from Wikidata</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 17 November 2024, at 22:17<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=General_Post_Office&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-mzm7s","wgBackendResponseTime":184,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.897","walltime":"1.119","ppvisitednodes":{"value":5612,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":139870,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":5844,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":20,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":18,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":201257,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 879.155 1 -total"," 35.72% 313.997 2 Template:Reflist"," 15.30% 134.481 19 Template:Cite_web"," 11.56% 101.659 4 Template:Navbox"," 11.22% 98.661 1 Template:Telecommunications_industry_in_the_United_Kingdom"," 10.41% 91.492 1 Template:Infobox_government_agency"," 9.64% 84.775 1 Template:Infobox"," 9.32% 81.961 1 Template:Short_description"," 8.69% 76.418 20 Template:Cite_book"," 5.65% 49.680 1 Template:Commons_category"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.461","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":9769101,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-f69cdc8f6-6whj2","timestamp":"20241122155734","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"General Post Office","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/General_Post_Office","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1325334","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1325334","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2005-01-20T17:04:16Z","dateModified":"2024-11-17T22:17:08Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/5\/59\/Royal_Coat_of_Arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%28HM_Government%29_%28St_Edwards_Crown%29.svg","headline":"postal system in the United Kingdom"}</script> </body> </html>