The Somerset & Dorset Postal History Group are meeting today at Hornsbury Mill, Chard. The agenda includes a display on "Coaching" - below is the earliest item on display, a Royal Messenger's Warrant dated June 1588.
The Warrant is for £5 expenses for a journey from London to Guildford, Lewes, Winchester, Southampton, Dorchester, Ilchester, Bristol, Exeter and Lostwithiel. £5 is equivalent to about £1,700 today. For those of us that cannot read the script, below is a transcript !
One of the key aspects of delivering the mail was the state of the roads. The highways had to be maintained by the parish and were paid for by a Highways Rate. Below are examples of two receipts for the Parish Highway Rate in July 1843.
Up until the introduction of Uniform Penny Postage in April 1840, postage was charged based on mileage, as shown on the item below. However, based on the Population column which shows the population in 1841, this mileage table was produced after postage rates ceased to be based on them.
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