Sixpenny Handley in the Woodyates Penny Post in Dorset

Further to my earlier post on Woodyates Penny Post (in Dorset), here is another example of the unboxed "No.2" receiving house handstamp in use at Sixpenny Handley.  This example dates from February 1840.

An interesting aspect is the spelling of the letter to a solicitor in Blandford:

Stamp Duty, 1820

Today 'Stamp Duty' is something one pays on a house purchase but originally it was a general tax on legal documents introduced in 1671.  Embossed stamps were applied to legal documents like the receipt below from 1820.

 

Bristol Packet Cancels part 5

Back to the Packet Cancels, here are some "BRISTOL / BATH/TAUNTON" cancels with a slash rather then an ampersand.

Then we get more "BRISTOL / BATH & TAUNTON" with code at the bottom but with the date line raised.

 

 

 

Crewkerne "230" Barred Numeral Duplex Cancels

Up to now I have generally held my postal history collection sorted by the town in the postmark, but recently I have started putting my material into order based on the type of postmark, for example Barred Numerals.  In doing this I have been identifying where I have gaps, some of which are fairly common postmarks.

One such gap was the "CREWKERNE / 230" 3-bar vertical oval duplex (3VOD) cancel with the time in code (as opposed to time in clear) as in the example below from 1896 which I have just acquired.

The cancel above was preceded by a 4-bar vertical oval duplex (4VOD) and followed by a 3-bar vertical oval duplex (3VOD) with the time in clear, as shown by the examples from 1873 and 1905 on the sheet below.

Squared Circle cancels from Martock (1895) and Williton (1884)

The Squared Circle cancel below from Martock in March 1895 was in use from July 1881 to February 1914 ....

.... while the Williton squared circle cancel was in use from July 1881 to May 1901.

 

Parcel Post Labels from East Twerton, Bath (1896) and North Town, Taunton (1895)

A couple of early-ish Parcel Post Labels (parcel service started August 1883), beginning with one for East Twerton under Bath in September 1896.  The franking of 4½d was the rate for a 1-2lb parcel.

This second one is for North Town, Taunton in July 1895.  The 6d franking was the rate for a 2-3lb parcel.

 

Cranborne, Dorset in 1911

The postcard below shows Water Street, Cranborne, being sent in August 1911 to Salisbury.  Before around 1840 Cranborne was a Post Town before losing out to Woodyates Inn a few miles to the west when a turnpike road was not built from Cranborne to Salisbury.  Water Street depicted below is where the turnpike would have had to go to go direct to Salisbury.

 

Bristol Packet Cancels part 4

More Packets, here are some cancels in the form of "BRISTOL / BATH & TAUNTON" with code at the top, "BRISTOL / BATH, TAUNTON" with a comma rather than an ampersand, and "BRISTOL / BATH & TAUNTON" with the code at the bottom.

 

Late Format "ANGERSLEIGH" UDC, May 1858

Serendipity is good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries.  Acquiring this cover was definitely serendipitous:  I was after an example of the Wellington (Somerset not Shropshire) 3HOS cancel, which the cover below has, when, having received it in the post, I spotted that it had an "ANGERSLEIGH" late format undated circular handstamp (UDC) on the reverse.

This UDC was issued under Wellington on 15th April 1858, and below is the first recorded usage from 4th May 1858.