Re: London Postal Districts

[Gene Freeman <genefree@speed.net>]

>Dear Ex-Librans,
>
>Richard Noble asked:
>> Can anyone out there, from available knowledge and without the
>> time-consuming effort it would probably cost me, suggest when the London
>> Postal Districts were first established?
>

This isn't easy, but probably 1680 is the earliest date with Dockwra's
"Penny Post" stations being the reasonable equivalent of postal districts.
Official pickup, and delivery stations began in 1682 when the government
took over Dockwra's operation. The 1839 act that established prepaid,
weight based mail, also established London postal districts. The British
Postal Museum maintains records of these things and a visit or postal query
should provide specific detail.

Gene Freeman
genefree@speed.net
Fax: (714) 542-0365