Free
Front franked from Glastonbury on 1st January 1840 with
unboxed “No.4” handstamp
The
image above was provided by a private collector as a result of seeing the
article in this blog on the Glastonbury Penny Post, where I
indicated that the No.4 Receiving House handstamp was not known.
It
is from the 1st of January 1840, just 9 days before the
end of the parliamentary franking privilege on 10th
January (with the introduction of the uniform penny post), and bears
a “To Pay 1D only” cachet to indicate that only the
Penny Post charge was payable.
The
front is franked “Doncaster” - this was one of the titles of
Walter Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of
Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry, and 5th
Earl of Doncaster. The Earl of Doncaster's wife was Charlotte Anne
Montagu-Douglas-Scott, daughter of Thomas Thynne, 2nd
Marquess of Bath. One of her brothers was the Right Hon. and Rev.
Lord John Thynne who resided "in some style" at Walton
Rectory as Rector of Street, one of his ecclesiastical appointments.
The 1841 census records him as being at the Rectory in Walton, with
his wife and five children.
It
is probable that the Earl of Doncaster's wife was visiting her
brother, Lord John Thynne at Walton when this front was sent.
It
is believed that Walton was the No.4 Receiving House in the
Glastonbury Penny Post and this front provides supportive evidence of
this through the Thynne family connection to Walton.
Delighted to see my Free Front on your website with a well written up web page, a year after it was written! From the "private collector" mentioned in your article.
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