The Early History of the Post in Grant and Farm

In Short

This historical study traces the turbulent first decades of Britain's public postal system, from early royal monopolies under the Stuarts to the established networks of the Restoration. Drawing entirely from public archives and state papers, it documents how an erratic service for monarchical dispatches gradually transformed into a regulated public utility. Through tales of courtly rivalries, unpaid local postmasters, interdicted letters, and sea-bound mail boat raids, the narrative reveals the political intrigue, financial desperation, and logistical friction that shaped early modern communications across England, Scotland, and Ireland.

The Story

The narrative begins during the late Elizabethan and early Stuart eras, when carrying messages was primarily a royal prerogative managed through private patents. Early controllers like Lord Stanhope held lucrative monopolies over the king's posts, treating postmaster appointments as commodities to be bought and sold. Local postmasters paid steep fees for their positions, relying on carrying private merchants' letters or running "tippling-houses" to recoup their costs. This absence of centralized oversight led to systemic delays, with couriers lingering in taverns or prioritizing their own side-trades over state dispatches.

A turning point arrives in the 1630s with the rise of ambitious reformers like Thomas Witherings. Appointed alongside William Frizell as Foreign Postmaster, Witherings systematically overhauls foreign and inland routes. He establishes fixed stages, regular schedules, and set tariffs, proving to the Crown that a structured system could eliminate costly expresses and generate revenue. However, his success breeds powerful enemies. High-ranking state figures like Secretary Windebank plot to sequester Witherings' lucrative patent, leveling accusations of corruption and taking advantage of his political leanings toward Parliament.

As the English Civil War approaches, the postal network becomes a vital instrument of statecraft and espionage. The Crown seizes control of key offices, placing them in the hands of royal loyalists like Philip Burlamachi, while Parliament later reorganizes the routes under its own committees. During the Commonwealth and Protectorate, the post is farmed out to the highest bidder to raise state funds, with figures like John Manley and Secretary John Thurloe turning the system into both a profitable enterprise and a tool for political surveillance, routinely intercepting suspicious correspondence.

Following the Restoration, Charles II grants the postal monopoly to royal favorites such as Daniel O'Neale, whose widow, the Countess of Chesterfield, continues managing the lease after his death. Under energetic administrators like Colonel Roger Whitley, the service expands its practical reach. Whitley establishes daily posts to resort towns like Tunbridge Wells, coordinates letter delivery through university college butlers, facilitates passage for foreign craftsmen, and attempts to resolve wage and fee disputes with regional postmasters in Edinburgh and Ireland. By the late seventeenth century, despite persistent challenges—from pressed post-boys and slow riding speeds to pirate raids off Dover—the post has evolved into an indispensable, state-regulated public infrastructure.

How It Unfolds

Monopolies and middle-men The Stuart Crown grants broad patents to court favorites who treat the post as private property. Local postmasters buy their offices for high fees, forcing them to run side businesses to survive while official dispatches languish.

The reform of Witherings Thomas Witherings takes charge of the foreign posts, replacing irregular couriers with fixed riding stages and standardized transit times. His efficiency dramatically speeds up merchant correspondence and saves the government thousands of pounds annually.

Petitions from the road Underfunded postmasters across the country deluge the Treasury with desperate petitions for years of unpaid wages. Many face ruin or arrest by creditors while maintaining dozens of horses for public service without pay.

State seizure and factional warfare Envious court figures like Secretary Windebank engineer the removal and sequestration of Witherings' authority on manufactured charges. As political tensions escalate into war, control of the mail shifts rapidly between Royalist and Parliamentary factions.

Cromwell's post-farmers During the Commonwealth, Parliament farms out the postal monopoly to private contractors for immense annual rentals. The network becomes a centralized apparatus used both for funding the government and intercepting seditious letters.

Restoration and professionalization Under Charles II's reign, administrators like Roger Whitley modernize operations by coordinating local deliveries, protecting royal letters, and establishing daily posts to suit the routines of merchant and fashionable society.

The People

• Thomas Witherings wants to build an efficient, standardized national and international postal network. Hindered by entrenched court corruption, unpaid road stages, and political enemies like Secretary Windebank, he succeeds in revolutionizing mail delivery before his offices are sequestered by the Crown.
• Lord Stanhope wants to retain his lucrative royal patent and profit from selling postmaster positions to the highest bidder. Opposed by reforming merchants and independent carriers, he stubbornly defends his medieval monopoly against modernizing oversight.
• Secretary Windebank wants to bring the lucrative carrying of letters under direct state authority to enrich himself and his political allies. Viewing Witherings' success with envy, he uses his position as Secretary of State to strip Witherings of his patent.
• Roger Bedbury wants to maximize his personal profit as postmaster of Salisbury by using official warrants to seize horses from local constables. Opposed by aggrieved local citizens and officials, he exploits his position to supply horses to private travelers for his own gain.
• Colonel Roger Whitley wants to streamline the post under the Restoration and expand revenue through improved public service. Facing slow transit speeds, war-related press-gangs, and contentious regional agents like Mr. Mein in Edinburgh, he introduces daily seasonal routes and systematic handling of Parliamentary mail.

In Its Own Voice

When Secretary Coke examined the frequent breakdowns in the early continental mail service, his informant explained the root of the problem among local postmasters:

"They more minding their own peddling traffic than the service of the State or merchants, omitting many passages, sometimes staying for the vending of their own commodities, many times through neglect by lying in tippling-houses."

As the political climate darkened on the eve of the Civil War, court officials looked for any legal pretext to seize Witherings' efficient service:

"The office of Postmaster-General being now vested in the Secretaries, the carrying of letters is a business of State."

In times of crisis, local officers faced severe pressure to maintain speed, often resorting to heavy-handed measures against postmasters who fell short:

"By a petition of John Paine, postmaster of Saxmundham, it is set forth that he was taken into custody 'for not having seven horses ready as soon as Sir Philip Howard expected, though they were ready within half an hour.'"

What It's Really About

Beneath the administrative details, the book explores how modern state power developed through the control of information. It contrasts the medieval view of office as private property—where positions were bought, sold, and milked for personal profit—with the emerging modern concept of a public utility serving society's broader economic and civic needs.

The narrative constantly highlights the tension between royal authority and private enterprise. While monarchs viewed the posts primarily as an engine for revenue and a mechanism for surveillance, merchants and everyday citizens demanded a reliable, open network for trade and personal news. The history reveals that Britain's postal service was not created by a single grand design, but carved out through endless friction between greedy courtiers, visionary organizers, desperate local innkeepers, and a public hungry for connection.

Why Read It Today

This work offers an absorbing look into the raw mechanics of early modern nation-building. Readers who enjoy administrative history, economic development, or micro-histories of everyday life will appreciate its dense accumulation of archival detail. Rather than offering sweeping generalizations, the book lets original petitions, court warrants, and personal letters speak for themselves, giving the narrative an immediate, human texture.

The reading experience requires some patience. Because the text relies heavily on verbatim historical records, lists of wage rates, and official correspondence, the pacing reflects the slow, methodical assembly of state papers rather than a dramatic narrative arc. Readers must navigate seventeenth-century administrative jargon and minor period details.

Yet, what stays with you is the vivid picture of the sheer physical effort required to move information four hundred years ago. You come away with a fresh appreciation for the obscure innkeepers, overworked post-boys, and relentless reformers who risked debt, imprisonment, and pirate attacks to ensure that a simple sheet of paper could travel safely across the realm.