The part-entire below was sent from Frome to "Knightsbridge near High Park Corner" in August 1792.
The address the entire was sent to is interesting, "High Park Corner" - was this the earlier name for Hyde Park Corner, or is it just a mistake on the sender's part ?
The Ship Letter below was sent from New York to London in 1842, with a London "SHIP -LETTER" mark. It was then reposted from Frome to London about a week later.
"the day was beautifully fine, but at night a storm commenced, and again I was very sick, the vessel rolled terribly and I was obliged to lie in my berth or outside hold myself in the noise of the wind and the halloing of the sailors made it appear more terrific than it really was for I believe there was a very great danger but I determined I would not lie in my berth again as I did at Plymouth"
The Bankruptcy Affadavit below went from Frome to Swindon in February 1880, with a "FROME / 306" 3-bar vertical oval duplex cancel, time in code. Frome was issued with four such cancels, and I think this is an example of the second one.
Here are a trio of skeleton cancels starting with one from Evercreech in 1922. The cancel was only known used on Christmas Eve so may have been brought into service to cope with increased workload.
And the last of the trio is from Langport. It was also only used for one day, on 8th August 1924.
Some items from Frome (can be quite difficult to search for items from Frome as sites often give you those with "from" as well), starting with an item to Florence in January 1895. The item has a hexagon Tax mark with a "L" below - which may be for a Late Fee.
Finally an Air Mail postcard sent from Bombay to Frome in June 1941 bearing a triangular censor mark.
Here are two examples of the Frome 115 boxed mileage mark, both on free fronts. The first from August 1805 was franked "Bath" by the Bishop of Bath and Wells.
The second was franked by Lord John Thynne, I think in November 1807 though it could possibly be 1801.
The example of the Frome Parcel Post Label below also has an unclear date, it could be July 1902 or 1907.
The two examples of the Frome Krag machine cancel are from 1941 and 1943.
And finally a commemorative cover for the Frome & District Stamp Club in 2007. I'm not sure if the club is still active.
A Frome Cheese Show has been held on a Wednesday in September since 1861, with a Mobile Post Office in attendance in 1928 and in most years from 1947 to 1874. The cover below from 1948 has a hand written unattributed registration etiquette.
In 1949 the registration etiquette is printed - the show is now just the Frome Show.
An undated cover, with a postcard showing the Cheese Show at Frome, sent in 1956.
A registered cover sent in 1958. The show is now the Frome & District Show.
Two more registered covers from the Frome & District Show, in 1959 and 1961.
Another cover from the 1961 show.
The rather tatty entire below was sent from Frome to Hampstead Heath in July 1837, and is franked by "T. Sheppard". Thomas Sheppard was MP for Frome from 1832.
The contents are sketches of the voters at Frome, possibly from before 1832 when 'Rotten Boroughs' were abolished.
The item below went on an approximately 70 mile excursion in May 1810.
This clear example of the Watchet Penny Post handstamp was used in January 1843, three years after the end of the local penny posts. It also has a Taunton Penny Post dated handstamp.
This Shepton Mallet single ring cancel was used in January 1888, thirteen years after the cancel was issued.
These Frome items were sent in September 1897. The first is marked as Book Post but could have been overfranked at 1d.
The second item from Frome, sent six days later was not franked so incurred 2d postage due.
Frome has four different receiving house handstamps recorded, a boxed "No.1" thought to be used at Norton St Philip, an unboxed "No.2" thought to be used in Beckington, a boxed "No.2" used at Beckington (shown below) ...
... and an unboxed "No.3" used at Mells, where a receiving house was established in 1832.
In a fit of madness I have started a Catalogue of the Postal Markings of Somerset, available online at https://sites.google.com/site/sanddphg/home/somerset-ph-catalogue. It does not include the marks of the post offices under Bristol which can already be found at https://sites.google.com/site/bristolphg/home/offices-under-bristol.
This means that this blog can now contain any postmark from Somerset (& Bristol & elsewhere) that I haven't seen before or that has a new date - however poor or potentially boring an example it is !
Edington is a new Post Office to me ...
... while I did not have this particular Frome cancel. To distinguish similar cancels I find the best approach is to scan the cancels, fiddle with one to make the background transparent and then overlay one on top of the other. This can add a fair bit of time to processing a new cover.
The only postmarks I'd had from Huntspill previously were UDCs - here is a more modern one from 1960 - which I call a "double circle double blob" cancel.
The item below, a printed notice from Somerset House about getting probate, was missent via Frome rather than via Sherborne, and was handstamped with the "FROME / 115" handstamp (SO 495, in use 1813-1819) with the mileage not struck. This was probably deliberate to indicate to the recipient where the letter had been if it was late.
The cover below, from Frome to Stourton in July 1840, has a red maltese cross. Thc colour of the cancels were changed to black in January 1841 at the same time that the penny red was issued.
As shown above, the cover is a receipt from John & Richard Mees, Haberdashers and Lacemen.
Mail transport had been exempt from road tolls from 1785 (road tolls arose on turnpike roads which had been privately built in order to recover costs and fund repairs). In 1813 this exemption was repealed in Scotland (though not England), and in compensation the Post Office was allowed to charge an additional halfpenny on mail carried in a coach with more than two wheels in Scotland.
The entire below has an example of an "Addl / 1/2" handstamp applied.
Here is a nice advertising envelope for S. Rawlings & Son Ltd. from Frome used in January 1909.
