Post Office: Letters Patent
Identity Statement
Reference code(s) | : GB 0813 POST 67 Series |
Held at | : British Postal Museum and Archive: The Royal Mail Archive Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://catalogue.postalmuseum.org/ › |
Full title | : Post Office: Letters Patent |
Date(s) | : 1715-1964 |
Level of description | : Series |
Extent | : 50 files |
Name of creator(s) | : No further information available |
Context
Administrative/Biographical history:
The position of 'head of The Post Office' was first entitled 'Postmaster General' under the Commonwealth Act of 1657. Previously he had been known by various titles, Master of the Posts, Comptroller General of the Posts and Postmaster of England. The Post Office Act of 1660 provided that 'one Master of the General Letter Office shall be from time to time appointed by the King's Majesty, his heirs and successors, to be made or constituted by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of England, by the name and style of his Majesty's Postmaster General'. The appointment was generally not made for a fixed length of term and Postmaster Generals were succeeded upon retirement or resignation. From 1691 two Postmasters General were appointed to hold office conjointly. At that time one was a member of the Whig party and the other a member of the Tory party. This joint appointment continued as a government policy until 1823, although the political ramifications lost much of their initial importance. Between the years of 1784 and 1831, the Post Offices of Great Britain and Ireland were separate and had separate Postmasters. The post of Receiver General was established in 1677, with the responsibility to receive and account for all payments received and expended by the Post Office. In 1855 these duties were combined with those of the Accountant General. The Office of Court Post, which was abolished [1798] was that of messenger responsible for conveying the sovereign's letters and those of his Principal Secretaries of State to the nearest stage of post town.
Content
Scope and content/abstract:
This series consists of Royal Letters Patent to Postmasters General and Receiver Generals giving the sovereign's written authority to perform their duties. The series also contains a letters patent for the office of Court Post. The patents give: name of appointee; dates of appointment; salary and duties. All have their seals missing but the original seal attached.
Access & Use
Language/scripts of material:
English
System of arrangement:
Arranged chronologically within series.
Conditions governing access:
Public Record
Conditions governing reproduction:
Please contact the Archive for further information
Finding aids:
Please contact the Archive for further information
Archival Information
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Allied Materials
Related material:
Publication note:
Description Notes
Archivist's note:
Entry checked by Barbara Ball
Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General Internation Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G) second edition 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997
Date(s) of descriptions:
Entry checked June 2011
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