London EC (GB)

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Four £1 QV Greens on a parcel label cancelled at the London EC Office
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The London EC office was in fact the London Chief Office created when the 10 Districts became into being.

The EC (Eastern Central) postcode area, also known as the London EC postal area, is a group of postcode districts in central London, England.
It includes almost all of the City of London and parts of the London Boroughs of Islington, Camden, Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

The early EC office was the hub of the London Postal system. In 1880 it delivered the Town Delivery within a 2-3 miles radius of the General Post Office.
From the start of each day (Starting at 7:30am) it delivered 12 times the first post being all the post from overseas (Colonial and Oversea's),
and from all other area's of Great Britain, that had arrived the previous day.
The next delivery commencing at 8:30am was the Night Mails arriving from Ireland and from Scotland and the North.
The third delivery commencing at 10:30 is for mail that is gathered in the district and from other London Districts with the previous hour of collecting/sorting
and so it continued throughout the day.

London EC Chief Office

In 1844 the Eastern Central ofiice remained part of the main post office building, but became sectioned off to seperate the business.

The main office became the Inland Branch Office and was allocated Numeral Maltese Crosses, whilst the E.C. Office was allocated Barred Numeral Cancels with the numerals in a circle.

London Inland number 54 1954
London EC (GB) b.jpg
London EC Geometrical Squared Circle Cancel
London EC number 66
London EC number 89 duplex both parts on same stamp.
London EC 2 L rare usage (first known cover) of the cancel on a wrapper to Hastings, then re-directed back to London.
London EC 45 Code G rare cancel usage on ½d wrapper sent from London to Berlin and redirected on arrival in Berlin to another address.

Covers

London EC (GB) a.jpg
1881 Bournemouth to London E.C. (front)
1881 Bournemouth to London E.C. (back)
1904 London E.C. to Rotterdam, Holland forwarded to Utrecht
1905 Registered, London to Frankfurt, Germany
2 x 1d Venetian Reds on Registered {Posted out of Course} 1880 with German label Vom Ausland über Bahnpost 10 Cöln - Verviers Eingeschrieben translated as "From abroad via train post 10 Cologne - Verviers Registered" LONDON E.C. BZ coded duplex.
Cover LONDON E.C. 98 duplex 1872 sent to Veracrus, Mexico 2/- Blue and 1/- Green stamps. Sent via Southampton 3 Shilling Paid handstamped
Rare Combination Cover LONDON E.C. W code hooded cancel of 1895 sent to Quebec Canada uprated with a 1½d jubilee. The cover features two impressions of the 3d Stationery impressed on it with one showing the 9 florets and the other showing the 5 floret impressions.
Rare Combination detail of the 3d Stationery impressed on it with one showing the 9 florets and the other showing the 5 floret impressions.

Registered Letters

Registered Letter London, E.C. 1946, with perfin on 1/2d KGVI
Registered Letter London, E.C. 1946, (back)
Swift Beef Co., 0630.03bm (Perfin)

Mount Pleasant Mail Centre Cyan marker.png

The Mount Pleasant Mail Centre (often shortened as Mount Pleasant, known internally as the Mount and officially known as the London Central Mail Centre); is a mail centre operated by Royal Mail in London, England. The site has previously operated as one of the largest sorting offices in the world. It is located in the London Borough of Islington, on the boundary with the London Borough of Camden.

It was officially opened on 30 August 1889 when the Post Office (Sites) Act (52 & 53 Vict. Ch. ccix) was passed by Parliament.

It was built on the location of the former Coldbath Fields Prison that ceased to function in 1885. The original prison gate was incorporated into the post office and not demolished until 1901. The remaining sections of the prison were demolished in 1929, when the new wing was built as an extension to the Letter Office.

From 1927 to 2003, Mount Pleasant was connected to other major Royal Mail offices and railways stations in London, via the London Post Office Railway. In the 1970s, it pioneered the use of optical character recognition for sorting purposes with the installation of a machine in 1979.

Mount Pleasant Mail Centre Cyan marker.png Mount Pleasant 17 * parcel handstamps 1998
Mount Pleasant Parcel Office Mount Pleasant Parcel Office handstamp on 1d Lilac c.1880-1890

Branch Offices

Lombard Street

Lombard Street branch office (previously chief office to 1829)

LOMBARD ST. B.O./E.C. (DT) Jan. 09 1901
Postal/Registered usage of the £5 Orange in Dec 1900 code B.1 On hessian money envelope.

Leadenhall Street

Leadenhall Street branch office.

GB 1867 Two Shilling Blue Plate 1 inverted wmk pair FJFK, used at Leadenhall EC 1872

Covers

First day cover prepaid 4d rate posted at Lombard Street on 5 December 1839

Sub-Offices and Receiving Houses

The Baltic Green marker.png

The Baltic Exchange was a shipping exchange building on St Mary Axe in London. It now stands in the shadow of The Gherkin

THE BALTIC B.O. E.C Jan 1889
THE BALTIC B.O. E.C on Jubilee Shilling Jan 1889
THE BALTIC B.O. E.C Dec 1889

Threadneedle Street

Threadneedle Street was a major branch office of the City of London, neighbouring to The Bank of England, it handled a large number of mails.

REGISTERED THREADNEEDLE ST B.O. E.C. Paper rate parcel tag for mail routed on a Saturday to Lisbon to catch the packet steamer that had sailed from Liverpool on the Friday.

Lothbury

Lothbury EC single arc on 6d Mauve 1872

Lothbury is a short street in the City of London. It runs east–west with traffic flow in both directions, from Gresham Street's junction with Moorgate to the west, and Bartholomew Lane's junction with Throgmorton Street to the east.

The Bank of England moved to its present site on Threadneedle Street in 1734. Lothbury borders the Bank on the building's northern side, and some of Sir John Soane's work dating from 1788 can still be seen there today.

Opposite the Bank is the Christopher Wren church St Margaret Lothbury. The orginal Post Office opened up behind the Church, established there by Sir Robert Vyner. The Post office took over his house after his death, as a hostel for postal clerks.

The Post office moved to Founder's Court where it became a Branch Office. Whilst it had a receiver for telegrams it did not accept them.

41 Lothbury is a particularly noteworthy office building, designed by architects Mewes and Davis, with interior columns, marble walls and floor. It was for many years the head office of National Westminster Bank. The Grade II listed building was completed in 1932 and replaced a nineteenth-century building designed by Charles Robert Cockerell.



Throgmorton Avenue Yellow marker.png

Late Fee (L1)Cancel, Throgmortan Av. 1906. Throgmortan Av is a little bit North of Throgmortan Street. It is a private road.
Throgmorton Avenue cancel on 1/- Brown to New Caledonia via Brindisi and Sydney 1882

It is named after Nicholas Throckmorton, chief banker of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and the head of an ancient Warwickshire family. The London Stock Exchange formerly occupied the southern side of Throgmorton Street. It was also once the home of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's chief minister.

Throgmorton Avenue London E.C. 111 cancel issued 1905. Throgmorton was issued with numerals of this type 110-111

Throgmorton Avenue runs from Throgmorton Street to London Wall: it is a private road belonging to the Drapers' livery company and Carpenters' livery company with gates at each end. The gates to London Wall are controlled by the Carpenters' Company and are open between about 7 am and 7 pm on working weekdays. The livery halls of both companies can be accessed from the avenue, as can Drapers' Gardens; the Drapers occasionally use their hall's grander entrance on Throgmorton Street.

Fleet Street

Fleet Street is a major street in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was named.Fleet Street has a significant number of monuments and statues along its length, including the dragon at Temple Bar and memorials to a number of figures from the British press, such as Samuel Pepys and Lord Northcliffe. The street is mentioned in several works by Charles Dickens and is where the legendary fictitious murderous barber Sweeney Todd lived.

International Reply Coupon 4d sent from FLEET ST. B.O. E.C.
1d lilac FLEET ST. B.O. E.C.
FLEET ST. B.O. E.C. 4 on 5/- Carmine Seahorse

Fenchurch Street Purple marker.png

Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of a large number of corporate offices and headquarters

To the south of Fenchurch Street and towards its eastern end is Fenchurch Street railway station, a mainline terminus with services towards east London and Essex. Other notable sites include the commercial buildings at 20 Fenchurch Street and Plantation Place.

International Reply Coupon 9d sent from FENCHURCH STREET B.O. E.C. 3 used in 1954 IRC type 15a
Letter sent from Fenchurch to Tonnerre in 1841. Click here to see the back of the cover.
The detail postmark of Fenchurch.

Seething Lane Pink marker.png

Seething Lane, once home to Samuel Pepys,is thought to derive its name, because it was once said to be a centre for making soap and glue; this involved the boiling of animal skins and the smelly, steaming cauldrons gave rise to the name of Seething.

SEETHING LANE BO EC Code A to Schönebeck
SEETHING LANE BO EC Code P

Mark Lane

Mark Lane is a street in the City of London linking Great Tower Street and Fenchurch Street. It was once the location of Mark Lane tube station, which was opened in 1884, renamed Tower Hill in 1964, and closed three years later. For some 240 years, Mark Lane was known for the Corn Exchange (which was the only market in London for corn, grain and seed); it occupied a series of properties on the east side of the southern end of the street. At its northern end, Mark Lane originates as a two-way side-road off Fenchurch Street, leading to Dunster Court, the home of the Worshipful Company of Clothworkers since 1456. From the south, it is a one-way turn off Great Tower Street; the one-way stretch ends at London Street.In the nineteenth century 'Mark Lane' was a metonym for London's corn and grain markets. The first Corn Exchange opened on Mark Lane in 1747, bringing together the various agents who sold oats, beans and all kinds of grain on behalf of the farmers. (Corn, brought by river into the City, was customarily landed at Bear Quay, not far from the Exchange). The Corn Exchange, designed by George Dance the Elder in the classical style, was built around a courtyard which was open to the sky. The courtyard was surrounded by stalls or counters at which samples were available of the goods being traded. Either side of the Exchange were coffee-houses, where further business was transacted.

Mark Lane B.O., E.C.
Early Square Circle of 1884 use at Mark Lane on 1d Lilac
ML2 Late fee L1 denoting the 1d late fee required with 2½d Plate 19 paying the postage rate and 1d Venetian Red paying the late fee to France.
Reverse of ML2 Late fee L1
Mark Lane cover to sent at the 1oz 5d Rate plus 2d Registration and 2d Late Fee to Chalon-sur-Saone, France
reverse

Curtain Road

Curtain Road EC (GB) Cover a.jpg

Curtain Road is located in the Shoreditch area of London. Formerly called Holywell Street. In this street (the site of the Curtain Theatre, said to have been the oldest building erected for scenic exhibitions in London) , lived and died Richard Burbage, the fellow-actor and friend of Shakespeare. (Reference: Jesse's London, vol. II, p. 418) Takes its name from one of the oldest London theatres. James Burbage began to build a theatre here in 1576, and it was opened the same year. It was called by the name of The Theatre, as it was the very first of its kind in London. Plays were at that time forbidden in the City, and the site for the theatre was consequently chosen without, but near to, the City walls, and it was easy of access from Finsbury Fields by a footpath following the course of the present Holywell Row. Later Burbage built a second playhouse, The Curtain, on or near the spot where the present St. James's Church stands. Shakespeare took part in the dramas at The Curtain. His play Romeo and Juliet is said to have been first produced at this theatre.

Billingsgate Branch Office

BILLINGSGATE B.O., E.C. Parcel cancel

Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. Its name derives from being the City's original water gate, and this small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile.

The modern Ward extends south to the Thames, west to Lovat Lane and Rood Lane, north to Fenchurch Street and Dunster Court, and east to Mark Lane and St Dunstan's Hill. Billingsgate's most ancient historical reference is as a water gate to the city of Trinovantum (the name given to London in medieval British legend), as mentioned in the Historia Regum Britanniae. Originally known as Blynesgate and Byllynsgate, its name apparently derives from its origins as a water gate on the Thames, where goods were landed, becoming Billingsgate Wharf, part of London's docks close to Lower Thames Street.

Billingsgate Fish Market was formally established by an Act of Parliament in 1699 to be "a free and open market for all sorts of fish whatsoever". Oranges, lemons, and Spanish onions were also landed there, alongside the other main commodities, coal and salt. In 1849, the fish market was moved off the streets into its own riverside building, which was subsequently demolished (c. 1873) and replaced by an arcaded-market hall (designed by City architect Horace Jones, built by John Mowlem) in 1875.

Gresham House Branch Office

Gresham House, built in 1563 by Sir Thomas Gresham. Gresham was a businessman who helped set up the Royal Exchange. Upon the death of his wife in 1596, Gresham House became the 'Institute for Physic, Civil Law, Music, Astronomy, Geometry and Rhetoric', as directed by Gresham's will (Sir Thomas died 17 years earlier). Professors at Gresham College, described as the Third University of England by Chief Justice Coke in 1612, included Robert Hooke, Sir Christopher Wren and the composer John Bull. The building survived the Great Fire, and saw use as a garrison, a Guildhall and Royal exchange. The College moved to Gresham Street. Gresham House was demolished in 1768 and a new Gresham House was built in its place.

The Branch Post Office served The Royal Exchange.

GRESHAM HOUSE B.O., E.C. CDS
GRESHAM HOUSE B.O., E.C2. CDS on first day of issue QEII Coronation stamps.

Wormwood Street Branch Office Pink marker.png

Wormwood Street is a short street in the City of London which runs between London Wall at its western end and a junction with Bishopsgate and Camomile Street in the east. It is a dual carriageway which forms part of the A1211 route between Barbican and Whitechapel. The name of the street refers to a plant called wormwood which used to grow on the London Wall and in other areas of wasteland in the City. Wormwood Street's course follows the line of a sector of the original city wall, the wall forming the rear of the buildings on the north side of the street.

It escaped destruction in the Great Fire of 1666 but had to be extensively redeveloped after suffering severe damage in an IRA bombing in 1993. The bomb exploded on Bishopsgate near its junction with Wormwood Street.

Archaeological investigations by the Museum of London Archaeology Service undertaken during the reconstruction after the bombing discovered a coin in the remains of London Wall that led to the date of construction to be reappraised to preceding the year 180.

REGISTERED WORMWOOD STREET B.O. E.C. 1894

Cannon Street Branch Office

REGISTERED CANNON STREET B.O. E.C. 1893 6th step rate to Innsbruck, Austria. 17 1d Lilacs paying the step rate and 2d Registration Rate.
REGISTERED CANNON STREET B.O. E.C. 1893 reverse showing Innsbruck receiver.

Minories

Receiving House on Minories East Central London, situated North of Tower Street and the Tower.

Minories Receiving House was situated at Richardson's who was a Grocer on the corner of 102,Minories & Hamlet Street, near Tower hill and was allocated the 102 of the early South East Division of the city.

Short lived Receiving house mark - London Letter Receiver “Minories.” type L514 on entire. Reverse has a London shield datestamp of 13 April 1845.

Feldman states this was issued 18 July 1844, but unrecorded used.

Minories receiver straight-line cancel on 1846 entire, 2d unpaid charge mark in black

Temple Bar

Temple Bar was the principal ceremonial entrance to the City of London from the City of Westminster. It stood at the junction of the Strand and Fleet Street. The physical 'bar' monument was moved to Paternoster Square in 2004.

At Temple Bar, the Corporation of the City of London formerly erected a barrier to regulate trade into the City.The term 'Temple Bar' strictly refers to a notional bar or barrier across the route, but it is also commonly used to refer to the 17th-century ornamental Baroque arched gateway designed by Christopher Wren, which spanned the road until its removal in 1878.

The Post Office was situated on the Fleet Street - Strand road.

Temple Bar 1879 Registered cover sent at the 4½d (2½d postage & 2d Registration) rate to Paris.

Railway

Liverpool Street Station

Liverpool Street Station EC2 1956

Other Examples notable Offices

See also London Receiving Houses (GB)

Two Penny Post Cornhill Blue marker.png

Boxed T.P. CORNHILL Two Penny Post Cornhill cancel in Black
T.P. CORNHILL Two Penny Post Cornhill cancel in Red 1841 Plate 11
T.P. CORNHILL Two Penny Post Cornhill cancel in Red 1842 Plate 13

Two Penny Post Tabernacle Square

T.P. Tabernacle Square

Tabernacle Square office was at the junction of Old Street Road and the square of the same name. The office closed in 1840 shortly after the introduction of stamps. A new district office named Tabernacle Street opened up under the EC district.

Black MX with T.P. TABERNACLE SQr partial

Late Fee Hooded Circles of the London EC Offices

London E.C. Late Fee Hooded Circles of Eastcheap Branch Office, 47 Cannon Street Branch Office, Mark Lane, Fleet Street (3), Gracechurch Street and Throgmorton Aveneue Branch Office.
London E.C. Late Fee Hooded Circles of Ludgate Circus (½d), Threadneedle St Branch Office (1d), London E.C. (1d)
London E.C. Late Fee Hooded Circle of Foreign Office with additional Letter Post Late Fee cachet.

Letters from abroad receiving marks

First Dutch Letter Card, model 1871, sent on 2 JAN 1873 from Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to London EC (Great Britain). Receiving date is 9 JAN 1873. Three postage stamps of 5 cents were used, which is the correct franking rate. Stamps were cancelled with coded postal obliterator number 91 (=Rotterdam). The sender printed an embossed name in the upper righthand corner, reading "C.van der Zwet - Rotterdam". King William III is depicted on the blue postage stamp (catalogued as nvph-19), emission of 1872.

Inland Office Postmarks othere than Numerals

The 1843-1857 Inland Office diamond numerals are dealt with in depth on the 5 pages HERE.

Handstamp showing ISL for Inland Section London replaced many of the NPB marks. Various types exist.

Commemorative Postmarks

40th Anniversary Of Post Office Railway

6 Dec 1967
7 Dec 1967

A Committee, appointed in 1909 by the Postmaster General, recommended the construction of an underground electric railway to speed transfer of mails between offices and to help ease the traffic problems in London Streets.

Tunnelling started in 1914 but the Great War intervened and orders for equipment were not placed until 1924. The railway opened for Postal Traffic on 5 December 1927

The Post Office Railway, the only one of its kind in the world, runs for 6.1/2 miles between Paddington and Whitechapel at an average of 70 feet below ground level. It serves six of the principal sorting offices north of th Thames and two main line British Railways Stations - Paddington and Liverpool Street.

The trains are unmanned and carry about 250,000 bags of mail every week (1967). The railway operates for 22 hours per day and 6 days a week. It is only available to the maintenance staff between 8-10 a.m. and on Sundays.

Each of the trains in service has covered at least 1.1/4 million miles.

The railway was closed on 31 May 2003. On 5 September 2017 the British Postal Museum & Archive opened part of the network to the public. More information [1]




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