"TOO LATE" from Bristol in 1827

The entire below was written by Rev. John Rees Mogg at Cholwell House but was posted too late to make the mail, hence the "TOO LATE" handstamp.  The letter would probably have gone to Cardiff via the ferry at Aust.

 

Taunton Too Late, 1829

The entire below has a really crisp example of the Taunton "TOO LATE" cachet.  It was used in September 1829 and must have been soon after the introduction of the handstamp which is known used from 1829 to 1843.

The entire is from Taunton to Dublin with a postal charge of 1/3d.  This would have been 1/- for the General Post from Taunton to Holyhead via Shrewsbury, plus 1d for the Menai Bridge, plus 2d for the Holyhead-Dublin packet.

Mulready letter sheet from Chard, Too Late in November 1840

The Mulready letter sheet below was sent from Chard to London at the end of November 1840.  The black wax seal on the back indicates that it came from J. Toms of Bridport Bank in Chard.  Unfortunately it was posted too late to catch the mail coach so was handstamped "Too Late" to indicate to the recipient why it had not arrived beforehand [imagine that happening today ?!]

The Chard "Too Late" handstamp has previously only been recorded used in black in 1841 and the "CHARD" double-arc datestamp was also only previously recorded used in black.

Bath "TOO-LATE" Masonic envelope

The envelope below was posted in Bath too late to catch the post, so was handstamped "TOO-LATE" so that the recipient would know why it was late.

The envelope bears the imprint of the Masonic Royal Sussex Lodge No. 53.

Taunton: Too Late and Refused

A pair of covers, the first from 1st January 1840 in the 4d uniform postage period with a Taunton "TOO LATE" handstamp (indicating that the letter missed the post).

The second item is a returned postal packet from 1975 with 11p postage due, with an "UNDELIVERED FOR REASON STATED" cachet with manuscript "Refused".  It is likely that the enclosed letter had been sent unfranked.

Yeovil cursive "Too Late" handstamp, 1843 ?

Cursive "Too Late" handstamps were in use in Somerset at Chard, Ilminster, Shepton Mallet, Wincanton and Wiveliscombe, the last two only known in archives.

Does the wrapper below have a previously unrecorded example from Yeovil ?

Taunton - Too Late !

A couple of examples of the Taunton framed "Too Late" handstamp from 1836 and 1837 (in use from 1829-1843).  This handstamp was applied if post arrived at the Post Office too late to catch the mail wagon or ride and was to indicate that this was why the post might arrive a day later than the sender/recipient thought it should have.