London Inland Office Late Fee (GB)
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INLAND LATE FEES AT THE CHIEF OFFICE, ST MARTINS LE GRAND.
1840 to 1865
With the start of the Penny Post in 1840 the late fee rate was established at 1d for 6 to 7 pm 6d for 7 to 7.30 pm
These rates continued in use for twenty-five years until January 1865.
Postage and thus the late fee had to be prepaid on late fee mail from 1842 either in cash or stamps and from 1856 only in stamps. The 1856 Post Office Guide has this comment 'No letters are to be forwarded by the mail preparing for dispatch unless prepaid, and that in stamps, so as to include both the ordinary postage and the late letter fee'. The one exception to this rule was the last half hour in St Martins le Grand where the 6d late fee rate could still be prepaid in cash.
This was changed in the 1859 Post Office Guide to both 1d and 6d rates, which had to be prepaid in stamps. From Apr 1860, there was also a 1d late fee payable for posting in the 15 minutes before the mail was dispatched from the Chief Office for transmission by the Provincial Morning Mails.
January 1865 to 1869 1d for 6 to 6.45 pm 2d for 6.45 to 7.15 pm 4d for 7.15 to 7.30 pm
Describing the reduction in late fee rates that took place in January 1865 and the consequent increase in revenue. Rowland Hill wrote: Thus the period for posting Late letters at the district offices has been extended by half an hour, whilst the extra charge for the late posting of letters has been reduced, in the case of letters posted between 6.45 pm and 7.15 pm, from sixpence to twopence; and in the case of letters posted between 7.15 pm and 7.30 pm, from sixpence to fourpence. A further advantage has been given to letters posted at a district office in the vicinity of the railway station from which they are conveyed. The period for the late posting of such letters at district offices has been extended to 7.45 pm at an extra charge of twopence. The success of this measure as a whole will be obvious when it is stated that, notwithstanding the considerable reductions of charge involved in it, the revenue derived from late letter fees in London, during 1865, exceeded by 20 per cent, the revenue derived from the same source in 1864. (Postmaster General’s Report, 1866).
An example of the classic paradox that by reducing taxes you increase revenue.
The 1d and 6d late fee rates had lasted for 25 years, whilst the new rates involving the new 4d period only lasted for 3½ years to August 1869. This might explain the rarity of the well-known L4 handstamp.
August 1869 to 1874 1d for 6 to 6.45 pm 2d for 6.45 to 7.30 pm.
The long period of the 2d rate, which existed from 1869 to 1877, explains the relative abundance of handstamps and cancellations showing L 2.
1875 to 1876 1d for 6 to 6.45 pm 2d for 6.45. to 7.30 pm 1/- for 7.30. to 7.45 pm.
A new very late rate of 1/- was introduced for an extra quarter of an hour from the end of the second period to 7.45 pm.
In the Postmaster General’s Report for 1875 is the comment Increased accommodation has been afforded by the establishment of an additional late letter box at the General Post Office, in which letters prepaid with a fee of one shilling can be posted for despatch up to 7.45 pm; that is, within fifteen minutes of the despatch of the mails. This service was for Inland Mail only
1877 to 1880 1d for 6 to 7 pm 2d for 7 to 7.15 pm 6d for 7.15 to 7.30 pm 1/- for 7.30 to 7.45 pm
This trend to make the late posting rates even more expensive carried on in the period 1877 to 1880 with an increase from 2d to 6d for the period from 7.15 pm to 7.30 pm.
April 1880 to 1900 ½d for 6 to 7.45 pm
In April 1880 a complete change took place with the entire one and three quarter hours of late posting costing only ½d: The Fee on Inland Late Letters has been reduced to a halfpenny on each letter; but there is no alteration as regards Foreign Letters, Registered Letters, Newspapers, or Book Packets.( Post Office Guide 1880.)
Between 1900 & 1905 to 1929 ½d for 6 to 7.45 pm at Mount Pleasant and 6 to 7.30 pm. at St Martins Le Grand. The change was sometime between 1900 and 1905.
1930 ½d for 6 to 7 30 pm For Scotland, Northern Ireland and Channel Islands. ½d for 7 to 7.30 pm England and Wales.
