Delivering the Mail

Road, rail and air services are used to move the mail across the country, and locally postal workers use many different delivery methods. These have changed from foot to horse to cycles, and from horse-drawn and motor vehicles to electrically powered machines. 

Developments in the Post Office, such as the introduction of the Parcels Post in 1883, increased loads and meant new delivery equipment was needed. The Post Office has also tried to make the most of certain delivery routes by introducing services such as the Post Bus.

Distance, landscape and weather have all influenced how mail is carried.

The Letter Carrier

 
Postmen used to be called Letter Carriers. With the introduction of the Parcels Post the title changed to Postman as they no longer carried only letters.

The increased workload led to demands for higher pay. In 1889 the Post Office made postmen’s wages a minimum of 18 shillings a week (the equivalent of £54 today).

Many postmen began their careers as telegram messengers. This job was created in 1870 when the Post Office began delivering telegrams. On lower wages and with less responsibility than postmen, messengers were not permitted to carry letters or parcels.

A local postman can be a trusted and familiar face. Although the title has changed, the role has altered little over time.

	Letter Carrier c1820 P8653
	William Gates, Postman. Hurstpierpoint, Brighton c1897 Good conduct stripes used to be awarded to Letter Carriers (Postmen from 1883) for completion of long and good service. These were displayed on the breast of the jacket. P9251
	Messenger boys. Ealing, London 1934 POST 118/70
	A rural delivery 2007 E11201

Delivery equipment

Delivery equipment is important to ensure the post can be carried quickly and safely. Postal workers today are not expected to carry more than 16kg (35lb) at a time.

Motorcycles, tricycles, electric trolleys and carts have all been used to ease the load. Most familiar are the mail pouch and bicycle. A standard pattern bicycle was issued by the Post Office in 1929 and the design remained virtually unchanged until 1992.

Mail coaches are often thought of as having been the traditional way of moving mail. However, they lasted only 62 years from their first journey in 1784. Other delivery methods have included horses, horse-drawn vans, motor vehicles and trains.

The Post Bus

The first Post Bus service was introduced on 20 February 1967. This ran between Llanidloes and Llangurig, North Wales.

Post Buses covered 300 routes at their peak, where they ran mostly in Scotland and the South East of England. They provided a lifeline for isolated communities that may have lost their local bus service. Combining mail delivery and collection with passenger transport was a simple solution, and also forged stronger ties between the Post Office and its customers.

More recent changes in Royal Mail business policy, such as single day delivery, have seen the number of services decline drastically and there are now less than twenty Post Buses remaining.

Oral History

Below you can listen to many different types of people who have either worked at, or used the Post Office, and their thoughts on how it has affected them and those around them.

This exhibition can be seen in full at Blists Hill Victorian Town, Shropshire. Please click here to find out more.