Taunton ½d Postage Due and 8d Postage Due

Here is a Halfpenny Newspaper wrapper posted from Bristol to Minehead and then redirected to Ealing from October 1893.  As a result of the redirection it has a Taunton (776) ½d due handstamp.  This is not a surcharge so is not double the ½d rate.

Staying with the postage due, here is an unfranked item sent within Taunton in January 1971.  As a result it was charged 8d (double the second class rate of 4d).  This caused the recipient to refuse to accept the item, receiving a lot of cachets in the process.

Bath redirected mail

An item from Hilperton, Devizes to Wm. Uphams's Library, Bath redirected to London.  The postage charged was 1d Devizes Penny Post plus 8d General Post (Devizes to Bath to London).

Oxley does not indicate where Receiving House No.4 was in the Devizes Penny Post.

Taunton Redirected Mail (1842)

The part-entire below was originally from Taunton to Farringdon, and then redirected to the Isle of Wight.  It has a nice Taunton Maltese Cross on the 1841 1d red-brown, and then a manuscript charge of "1" for the redirection.

Redirection was charged at a single rate until 1st June 1892 when it was abolished.

Taunton Redirected and Returned Mail

A much marked windowed envelope from County Hall, Taunton ...

This second sheet describes what I believe all the markings indicated.

Somerton to London redirected to Sussex

An entire from Somerton (address inside) initially to London, in 1761 would have been charged 4d in the General Post, the rate for over 80 miles.  It was then redirected to East Grinstead, a distance of approximately 30 miles, so would have been charged 3d.

Prior to 1797 the legs of a journey via London were charged separately so giving rise to a total postal charge of 7d - after 1797 the postal charge was based on the total mileage, but the mileage rates also increased so the total charge would probably have been the same.

Taunton Maltese Cross selection

Here are a selection of Taunton Maltese Crosses, starting with one from September 1840 in red.

Next here are three sheets with Maltese Crosses from 1843, starting in March and July, then two more from November and December.  According to the Proof Books a new Maltese Cross cancel was issued to Taunton in August 1843.

 

And finally two Maltese Crosses on redirected mail that were both charged an additional 1d for the redirection (this was an additional 1d charge not a surcharge of doubled postage due).  The second of the two entires is addressed to the Countess of Lovelace, who has been called the first computer programmer (see Wikipedia).