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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. |
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 was privatised although the counter's business (Post Office Ltd) continues to be owned by the Government.
Royal Mail Organisation
Up to 2013 the Royal Mail Group comprised predominantly of the letter delivery network (Royal Mail), a parcel delivery network (Parcel Force Worldwide) and the counter service network (Post Office).
Royal Mail
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On 15th October 2013 Royal Mail was floated on the Stock Market, though the Government initially retained a 30% stake via the Postal Services Holdings Company plc. The Government's remaining shares were sold on 12th October 2015, making the Royal Mail entirely in private ownership.
The current businesses can be found at | www.royalmail.com | www.parcelforce.com | https://gls-group.eu/ |
[Royal Mail, the Royal Mail cruciform and Parcelforce Worldwide are registered trade marks of Royal Mail Group plc in the United Kingdom and other countries. The Post Office symbol is a trade mark of Post Office Ltd.]
Stamps
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In the past, stamps were only sold in Post Offices, or from vending machines outside. Nowadays, books of self-adhesive stamps for first or second class mail can be bought in many shops. |
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First Day Covers are produced (as collectors' items) for the first time a particular stamp is issued. |
From the 21st August 2006 the pricing for letters and packets changed to include size, weight and thickness. This led to the introduction of two new stamps, '1st class Large' and '2nd class Large' for oversized letters.
| Date | Ist Class standard letter (100g) |
2nd Class standard letter (100g) |
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| 30th April 2004 | 28p | 20p |
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| 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 | |||
| 2nd April 2013 | 60p | 50p | |||
| 31st March 2014 | 62p | 53p | |||
| 30th March 2015 | 63p | 54p | |||
| 29th March 2016 | 64p | 55p | |||
| 27th March 2017 | 65p | 56p | |||
| 26th March 2018 | 67p | 58p | |||
| 25th March 2019 | 70p | 61p | |||
| 23rd March 2020 | 76p | 65p | |||
| 1st January 2021 | 85p | 66p | |||
Telegrams
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GPO telegrams were once the quickest way to send an important message. |
Mail by Rail
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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 | |
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Mail by Road - A detailed study of Royal Mail vehicles through the ages... |
| Post Boxes | |
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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.