Existing comment:
"All those that will send letters to the most parts of the habitable world, or to any parts of our King of Great Britain's Dominions; let them repair to the General Post Master Thomas Withering at his house in Sherbourne lane."
-- The Carrier's Cosmography by John Taylor, 1637
During the reign of King Charles I (1625-1649) London merchants petitioned the Royal Mail to carry business letters. Saddled with debts inherited from his predecessors and embroiled in costly foreign wars, Charles decided that opening his personal postal system for public use might be a good way to raise much-needed cash.
The king's order was given as a proclamation issued from his royal lodge at Bagshot near Windsor on July 31, 1635. Fittingly, it was carried over the Exeter post road to London where it was typeset and printed by Robert Barker, the king's printer. Royal Mail now operated "for the advancement of all His Majesties Subjects in their trade and correspondence."
Thomas Witherings, a merchant and politician who was already in charge of England's foreign mail, was granted a monopoly on carrying "all such Letters as shall be directed to any Post-towne." The proclamation also contains the first standardized letter postage rates, based on the number of sheets in the letter and the distance it travelled. By November public post offices were operating in Bishopsgate Street and at Withering's own home in Sherbourne Lane. |