Parcels Post, 1883

One of my interests is in Parcels, which before 1883 went by Coach or Waggon and then later by Railway.  Here is a receipt from "Drewett's Original Waggon & Van Offices", Spur Inn Yard, Borough, London dated 19th April 1843.  At this time the Railways were starting to take the trade from the traditional horse-drawn coaches/waggons (I don't know when 'waggons' became 'wagons').

In 1883 the General Post Office introduced its own Parcel Post service, in response to the UPU agreement in 1880.  Below is a Notice from the GPO in June 1883 warning people who were likely to send parcels.  Note that in the beginning it was referred to as 'Parcels Post' not 'Parcel Post'.

New 'CREWKHERN' handstamp, 1796

Here is a newly identified "CREWKHERN" handstamp, used in November 1796 on an entire sent free to London by John Poulett, 4th Earl Poulett.  It has been added to the Somerset County Catalogue as SO 399.

The handstamp has an 'H' in the middle but no final 'E' unlike SO 400 "CREWKHERNE" which is known in use in 1798-1801.  The sizes are similar (54x5 mm vs 54x4mm) but the new handstamp is without the final 'E'.

A few Perfins from Bristol, Langport, Shepton Mallet & Taunton

Here are a few Perfins, starting with some from Bristol.  The first is from John Lysaght Ltd, an iron and steel company in 1920.  [A perfin is a postage stamp perforated with the initials or insignia of an organization to prevent misuse.]

Great Western Railway (GWR) were prolific users of Perfins, this one is from 1927.

Colthurst & Harding Ltd was a paint manufacturing company.  The windowed commercial envelope below was posted in 1935.

Bristol Corporation (BC) was probably the largest user of perfins in Bristol, the pieces below were receipts bearing a perfinned stamp in 1952.

Moving into Somerset, the commercial postcard below from Langport in 1903 has a "K&S / L" perfin from Kelway & Son Ltd.

The commercial envelope below is from 1899 with an "ABB" perfin from the Anglo-Bavarian Brewery.  The firm suffered a decline during WWI because of their apparent German name.

Small & Sons in Taunton sent out this bill in 1946.

Minehead selection 1705 to 1915

A few items of Minehead post, starting with an entire dated February 1705 with a straight-line "MINEHEAD".  

This handstamp is known used from 1703 to 1719, earlier than the first handstamp known from Taunton which is only known used from 1704.

The next entire is dated 1779 bearing a two-line "MINE / HEAD" handstamp, at the end of its known usage (1737 - 1779).  It is from Luxborough, about 8 miles south of Minehead, to Nether Stowey, about 12 miles north of Taunton.

The entire below is a Money Letter, one containing coin or jewellery, sent in August 1838.  It was treated as registered free of charge as an internal measure to avoid losses in the post.

 

This next item went from Minehead to London on 25th November 1850.  It actually originated in Rio de Janeiro (see contents below) and is extremely likely to be a ship letter even though it wasn't marked or charged as such.  On 25th November 1850 there was a severe gale with squalls, with ships foundering in the Bristol Channels with loss of life.  It is likely that the ship bearing the letter put into Minehead to escape the weather.

The sender of the novelty postcard below in July 1915 obeyed the rules for Printed Matter, surprising the Post Office which was so used to the rules being broken that they franked it for 1d postage due and then had to cancel the charge with a barred numeral cancel.

Crewkerne misdirected, missent and miscellaneous

A few Crewkerne covers, starting with one misdirected to Crewkerne in 1816.  It was incorrectly addressed to "Chard, Crewkerne".  The cover has a faint "CREWKERN / 134" handstamp.

The next item was missent to Crewkerne from London in 1821, this time to Whatley which was under Frome.  It has a straight -line "CREWKERN" handstamp which is probably the top line of the "CREWKERN / 134" handstamp.

The entire below was sent from Crewkerne to Chard, a distance of about 8 miles and was charged 2d in September 1839.  This was the new rate introduced from January 1838 for distances up to 8 miles.

 

The next item are a pair of covers sent in December 1878, one from Crewkerne, the other from Yeovil, concerning the estate of William Bond, sent at the Printed Matter rate.

Finally the postcard below from the USA in 1914 was charged 1d postage due because the sender had only franked it at the 1c US domestic rate rather than the 2c international rate. 

Ilminster Damaged Mail, Strike Mail, Stolen Mail

The envelope below was damaged in the cancellation machine at Ilminster on 23rd March 1971, and repaired with Post Office tape.

During the seven week Postal strike in 1971, the Ilminster Postmaster Mr Withers continued a limited local mail delivery service.  The strike began on 20th January and continued until 8th March 1971.

In September 2000 a postman at Ilminster was jailed after being caught stealing from letters.

Postage Due at Ilminster in the 1990s

Throughout the 1990s "TO PAY" stamps applied for Postage Due were left uncancelled at Ilminster.

This first cover has a fixed surcharge fee of 15p, plus the deficiency of 19p for a total of 34p.

The next item has the same handling fee of 15p for a total of 19p in this case.

The example below now has a "SURCHARGE" of 15p rather than a Handling Fee.

The Handling Fee increased to 20p from 8th July 1996, as did the second class postage rate.

By 2003 any Postage Due had to be paid for at the Delivery Office or a Post Office.

Ilminster Local Post 1988-1990

From 1979 mail from Ilminster went to Bristol for sorting and cancellation as witnessed by this postcard from dentists in Ilminster to an address in Ashill.  The addressee had "Gone Away" so it was returned to Ilminster.

From 1988 to 1990 mail posted in Ilminster for an Ilminster address was sorted locally at Ilminster and cancelled with rubber packet cancels or obsolete handstamps.

The practice was short lived and was stopped by Royal Mail, the decision not being reversed despite protests by local residents in the newspapers and TV.

Some Ilminster PAID marks from the 1960s with Council Rates demands

These first couple of sheets haven't been written up yet but they all relate to the payment of Council Rates, starting with 1960 (May and October) ...

... then 1961 and 1966.  Sent as Printed Matter, the rate was 2d from ast June 1956, going up to 2½d on 1st October 1961 and 3d on 17th May 1965 ....

... and finally 1965 and 1967.   The top cover has the inside of the dater inverted and has the time inserted but no year (the year can be deduced from the contents).

Here are the contents of the May 1960 rates cover, and the receipt for payment of £4 - 1s - 4d.

Ilminster from WW2 onwards

The first item was a key part of  life in WW II, being a National Service certificate of registration, in this case for an Agricultural Worker.

The postal service carried on through WW 2 using the same cancels and postal stationery.

Below is an Advice of Delivery of a Registered Letter, sent within Ilminster in March 1946 - it travelled a distance of about a third of a mile.

The handstamps continued to be used, here is the "ILMINSTER / SOMERSET" double circle double-arc cancel in use from 1954 to 1969.