Henley Archeological and Historical Group

POSTAL historian John Rogers spoke to members of the Henley Archaeological and Historical Group on “Kings, Boxes and Dots”, a brief history of the Post Office.

Nationally, the post office network grew up along the roads radiating from London.

Delivery charges (paid by the recipient) depended on the distance ridden along these roads and the number of sheets of paper.

Following the introduction of the “penny post”, the mail was prepaid by the sender and deposited in a letter box for delivery anywhere in the country for one penny.

Technological changes in distribution (trains, aircraft and motor vehicles) and handling (mechanical sorting and automatic address identification) had their impact on the speed of delivery and the amount of labour required.

The introduction of email in recent decades affected the volume of letter deliveries (although less than feared), while the importance of parcel deliveries increased.

The first post office in the Henley area was established in 1659 in Reading. Henley got its own post office in 1719. The number of post offices in Henley grew to five, plus many more in surrounding villages. Following closures, there are now only four in the RG9 area.

On Tuesday, December 2 in the Chantry House, Henley, at the usual time of 7.30pm, Adrian Cox, of the National Trust, will speak to members of the group about his recent excavation work at Greys Court in Rotherfield Greys.

Anthony Lynch