 |
On 1 May 1840, the first stamps went on sale in Britain and over the years the sending and delivery of letters and parcels has continued to grow as the Post Office has provided an essential public service. Despite its difficulties the Post Office has always found new and innovative ways of ensuring that the demands of its customers are met, by a combination of road, rail, and air transport, supported with new technology. |
Overview
In the 20th century, the Post Office was the controlling organisation with responsibility for delivering the mail and serving the public over the counter. In the 21st century, Royal Mail Group is dominant and Post Office Ltd is a subsidiary. The current line-up (Jan 2011) is:
Royal Mail Organisation:
[Royal Mail, the Royal Mail cruciform, Parcelforce Worldwide and the Post Office symbol are registered trade marks of Royal Mail Group plc in the United Kingdom and other countries. Click on the icons to visit the Royal Mail web sites.]
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Royal Mail
Parcelforce
Post Office Ltd
Post Office Ltd, operates one of the UK's largest retail networks via Post Office™ branches. The network is unique in that Post Office Ltd only owns around 500 Post Office branches. The remainder of the network is owned by the people who run it, including franchisees and subpostmasters and mistresses.
On 1st April 2012, Post Office Limited was demerged from Royal Mail Group, now reporting directly to the Government.
Stamps
First Day Covers
 |
First Day Covers are produced (as collectors' items) for the first time a particular stamp is issued. |
Postage
From the 21st August 2006 the pricing for letters and packets changed to include size, weight and thickness. This lead to the introduction of two new stamps, '1st class Large' and 2nd class Large' for oversized letters.
| Date | Ist Class standard letter |
2nd Class standard letter |
|||
| 30th April 2004 | 28p | 20p |
|
||
| May 2004 | 28p | 21p | |||
| April 2005 | 30p | 21p | |||
| April 2006 | 32p | 23p | |||
| 2nd April 2007 | 34p | 24p | |||
| 6th April 2009 | 39p | 30p | |||
| 6th April 2010 | 41p | 32p | |||
| 4th April 2011 | 46p | 36p | |||
| 30th April 2012 | 60p | 50p |
 |
GPO telegrams were once the quickest way to send an important message. |
Mail by Rail
 |
Mail by Rail looks at the TPOs (Travelling Post Offices) and Mail Rail, the Post Office Railway under the streets of London... |
| Mail by Road | |
 |
Mail by Road - A detailed study of Royal Mail vehicles through the ages... |
| Post Boxes | |
 |
These Post Office pages would not be complete without a brief study of post boxes ... |
All logos and trade marks are the property of their respective owners and are used on the Light Straw site(s) for review only. Students and researchers are recommended to make their own independent enquiries as to the accuracy of the information contained therein.