GPO Ledger with Cross Post mileages for Exeter to Chester and Portsmouth to Bath & Bristol

The undated sheet below is probably from a GPO Ledger and shows the mileages for the Exeter to Chester Cross Post and the Portsmouth to Bristol Cross Post.

Prior to the establishment of the first Cross Post from Exeter to Bristol by Joseph Quash in 1696, the Postmaster of Exeter, mail from Exeter to Bristol had to go via London (up one Post Road and down another).  The cross post road was extended to Chester in 1701.

According to R.C. Tombs in his book "The Bristol Royal Mail", a new branch post was established from Bristol & Bath to Salisbury in 1740, and by 1772 the posts at Salisbury included mail from Bristol three days a week; mail from Postsmouth also came three days a week.  It wasn't until 1798 that a "Long" coach was established that went from Portsmouth to Bristol in one journey.

It is possible that the Ledger sheet above was created fairly soon after John Palmer's introduction of Mail Coaches in 1784, when detailed schedules had to be drawn up for the new coaches.  The mileages on the Exeter - Chester post are to the nearest quarter of a mile, perhaps the level of detail required for coach contracts.
 

Free Wrapper from "BIDDE / FORD" via Exeter to Monmouth, 1783

The wrapper below was sent Free from Bideford ("BIDDE / FORD") via Exeter to Monmouth in October 1783.

The cover is franked "Morgan" which could be either John Morgan, MP for Monmouthshire, or Charles Morgan his brother, MP for Breconshire.

The filing note says "Col Orchard" which is probably Colonel Paul Orchard, who became MP for Callington in the following year, 1784.
 

Falmouth India Letter, 1834

The wrapper below was sent to Rothschild's in London in 1834 from Batavia.  Batavia was an imperial Dutch port city that eventually, after two centuries of Dutch occupation, became the capital of the Dutch East Indies, and is now present-day Jakarta, Indonesia.

The letter had a framed "FALMOUTH / Ship Letter" applied in error, was overstruck with a framed "INDIA LETTER / FALMOUTH", and then had a second India Letter handstamp applied.  It arrived in London on 2nd October 1834.  The India Letter handstamp indicated that a reduced rate of postage applied compared to the standard ship letter rate.

The letter was sent via the Blair which arrived at Plymouth on 27th September 1834, having first dropped off its mail at Falmouth, common practice to hand over the mail quickly without navigating further up the Channel. 
 

Another Miscellany - Cannington, East Anstey Camp, East Chinnock & a Penang Paquebot to Bristol

Here is another miscellany, starting with a skeleton from Cannington in May 1903.  Unfortunately the postcard has a filing hole through the year in the Cannington pstmark but the year can readily be een from the Bridgwater cancel.

This next item is another skeleton, from East Anstey Camp in 1908.  Earlier East Anstey Camp skeleton cancels are from Tiverton but it is likely that by 1908 East Anstey Camp came under Dulverton.  The reverse of the postcard shows a Parade which the message identifies as a Church Parade.  The writer starts by saying "Have had a ripping time here the past week" - I hope he survived WWI but there is no way of establishing his name.  The addressee, Miss F. Cruttenden, is still at the same address in the 1911 census and was unmarried.

This next postmark is a Climax rubber cancel from East Chinnock in 1911 - this is the first recorded example.  There was also an earlier rubber cancel issued in 1889 but no usage of that has been recorded.

Finally here is a "PAQUEBOT / PENANG" cancel on a P&O envelope to Bristol in 1934.