Here are a collection of postmarks from Ilminster, starting with an example of the "ILMINSTER / 143" mileage mark from June 1824.
Next is a nice example of the "ILMINSTER" single arc datestamp and red maltese cross from August 1840
And finally a range of Ilminster postmarks on piece ranging from a double circle double arc cancel from 1933 ('Dulwich' after where that type of postmark was first issued), to a self-inking datestamp (SID) from 2004.
It is difficult to find examples of postmarks from Town Sub-Offices (TSOs) - there were relatively few occasions when a TSO needed to use a postmark, once they no longer needed to postmark mail going through their office.
Here are examples of two TSOs - East Reach, Taunton andStation Road, Ilminster.
Stoke(-sub-Hamdon) had the boxed "No.2" receiving house handstamp in the Ilminster Penny Post and the Yeovil Penny Post. It was also in the South Petherton Penny Post but with very small volumes. In the Report of the Select Committee of 1838, Stoke had an annual revenue of £42 in the Yeovil PP, £3 in the Ilminster PP, and £1-5s-7d in the South Petherton PP.
Here are examples in the Ilminster PP (1832 & undated) and in the Yeovil PP (1832). The first entire was written at Martock (2 miles north of Stoke) to Kingsbridge, while the other two examples were written at East Stoke and addressed to Chard. The natural route from Stoke-sub-Hamdon to Chard would seem to be via Ilminster rather than via Yeovil.
The Exeter "E" bishop mark is known used from 1798 to 1713. Like the Bristol "B", it consisted of 365 different handstamps, one for each day of the year and carved out of boxwood. The example below has "IV" and "8", being for 8th June.
The envelope below, posted from Two Mile Hill in October 1900 has an interesting address:
"the golden Cupid jewellery shop at the end of old market st against the photo place, Bristol"
Here are two Parcel Post Labels for Horton in 1902 and 1911.
In the first PPL from 1902, Horton is "Under Ilminster", while in the second PPL from 1911, Horton is "Horton, Ilminster" but is now "under Taunton".
The reason for this change is probably that in 1907 Ilminster post office changed from a Head Office to a Salaried Sub-Office (a Crown Office that is not a Head Office).
The two PPLs have examples of two of the six different climax rubber cancels issued to Horton and used between 1891 and 1918. In all of the cancels Horton is under Ilminster - I wonder if there was a different hierarchy of post offices for Parcels compared to Letters ?
The sheet below, printed on 17th April 1812, is advertising two farms to let. One is in Elworthy and the other in Brompton Ralph. The first farm is called "Natcotts, Shorneys, Criddles, and Uphams".
The second piece of miscellany is a letter from 1926 in response to a request that postal deliveries to Chilworthy House be from Ilminster rather than Chard.
In a previous post (http://somersetph.blogspot.com/2013/01/crewkerne-penny-post.html) I illustrated the discovery of an example of the "Crewkerne / Penny Post" handstamp that had only been known in GPO archives. Below is a second example, recently discovered, used on post from Beaminster to Chard in 1839.
The wrapper below went from Bath to Dublin in 1766, and received a clear "BATH" handstamp with large serifs and a Dublin bishop mark as a receiving mark.
