Declared Accounts: Post Office

Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 23, 1709. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1949.

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'Declared Accounts: Post Office', in Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 23, 1709, (London, 1949) pp. ccclvi-ccclxiii. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol23/ccclvi-ccclxiii [accessed 26 April 2024]

Post Office

DECLARED ACCOUNTS: POST OFFICE
PIPE OFFICE: ROLL 2781.
Stephen Lilly, Receiver General of the General Letter Office and the Penny Post Office.
26 March 1708 to 25 March 1709.
Charge £ s. d. £ s. d.
Arrears:
Remaining nil
depending upon several persons for the balances of their Accompts to Lady-day 1685 2,125 6 0
ditto upon divers postmasters belonging to the General Letter Office to Ladyday 1708 60,988 6 11
ditto upon several persons belonging to the Penny Post Office at the same time 1,792 12 7½
ditto upon several other persons in arrear at the same time 671 14 1
65,577 19 7½
Receipts:
revenue and profits of the General Post Office:
in the Foreign Office:
the produce of letters brought in by the mails (monthly figures given) 20,788 4 0
money received for letters to and from Lisbon not included in the above 6,385 10 9
ditto of Capt. Richard Grey for the freight of passengers between Brill and Harwich, Mich. 1707 to Christmas 1708 1,041 14 3
ditto of Mr. Zachary Rogers of Falmouth for the freight of goods and passengers to and from Lisbon and Falmouth, Christmas 1707 to Christmas 1708 (849l. 17s. 6d.) and for letters (151l. 10s. 6d.), for seamen's victuals sick on shore (82l. 4s. 11d.) and for old sails, etc., sold (101l. 10s. 0d.) 1,185 2 11
ditto of Mr. John Six of Amsterdam under his contract for freight of goods or passengers between England and Amsterdam 1,200 0 0
total in the Foreign Office 30,600 11 11
in the Inland Office:
money received for letters taken in at the windows (monthly figures given) 2,282 8 1
ditto of the Letter Receivers (do.) 927 14 8
the Letter Carriers' charge, being the letters sent up from the country (do.) 53,019 0 1
the Postmasters' charge for letters sent from London into the country (do.) 55,816 7 2
money due upon contracts with the several farmers:— £ s. d.
Edward Hall of Rye, co Sussex, for letters between London and Hastings, Battle and adjacent parts of Sussex and Kent 150 0 0
John Smith and Matthew Stoughton of Wellingborough for letters between London and Sheffield, Chesterfield, Mansfield, Melton Mowbray, Oakham, Uppingham 'Woodburne,' Ampthill and Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Rockingham, etc., (at 1,500l. p.a. to Mich. 1708 and thereafter at 1,570l. p.a. 1,535 0 0
William Rawson and Sarah Wainright for letters between London and 'Ferrybriggs' and Tadcaster, Settle and Kirkby Lonsdale, etc. (at 1,400l. to Mich. 1708 and thereafter at 1,470l.) 1,435 0 0
Thomas Atwood of St. Neots for letters between London and St. Neots, Biggleswade, Stevenage, Welling and Hatfield 240 0 0
Anne Howlett of Thetford, co. Norfolk, for letters of Walsingham Branch, co Suffolk 350 0 0
Anne Warren of Whitechapel for letters between London and towns in Hertford, Essex, Suffolk and Cambridge, etc. 400 0 0
John Brett of Tunbridge for letters, parcels and packets between London and adjacent towns, etc., in Kent 330 0 0
John Barnes for letters to and from Chichester 'Arundall', Petworth, 'Hazlemore', 'Godalmin', 'Gulford,' Kingston, etc. 1,550 0 0
Richard Bigg of Buckingham for letters between London and 'Edgworth', Stanmore and Watford, King's 'Henley' (King's Langley), 'Hempstead' 'Barkhampstead', Buckingham, Chesham, 'Agmondesham' Great Marlow, Wendover, Banbury, Warwick, etc. (at 1,100l. p.a. to Mich. 1708 and thereafter at 1,180l.) 1,140 0 0
Joseph Quash of Exeter for letters between London and towns in Somerset, Gloucester, Worcester, Oxford, Hereford, Devon, Shropshire and South Wales 600 0 0
total due upon the above contracts 7,730 0 0
way letters taken in at one stage and delivered at another, farmed to divers Postmasters:
John Stuckley of Plymouth 230 0 0
Mark Hayman of Dartmouth 20 0 0
James Buckley of Totnes 10 0 0
Joseph Quash of Exeter 100 0 0
Ann Woolfreys of Blandford 3 0 0
Charles Coven of Dorchester 6 0 0
William Waterman of Salisbury 4 0 0
John Gayton of Portsmouth 7 0 0
Robert Rodham of Berwick 4 0 0
John Bell of Newcastle 30 0 0
Nicholas Paxton of Durham 10 0 0
John Willson of Darlington 5 0 0
Elizabeth Harker of Northallerton 9 0 0
Barbara Thwaites of Greathabridge [Greta Bridge] 2 0 0
Richard Cowland of Borough-bridge 5 0 0
Catherine Dawson of York 40 0 0
Mary Mould of Hull 50 0 0
Robert Patison of Beverley 4 0 0
Mary Satersfield of Bautry 4 0 0
John Herring of Newark 5 0 0
John Sharp of Grantham 5 0 0
Samuel Ward of Boston 10 0 0
John Richton of Spalding 10 0 0
Edward Tinkerson of 'Peterburgh' 1 0 0
John Exton of Lynn 20 0 0
Richard Bigg of Chester by Letters 160 0 0
Jonathan Bens of Halstone 10 0 0
total, way letters 764 0 0
received from Isaac Manley, manager of the Letter Office in Dublin, for letters sent him from Chester 455 2 3
ditto from Holyhead 18 4 6
received of John Six of Amsterdam for the post of letters to Holland 25 9 8
received for the post of Expresses 105 4 0
and for Expresses sent to London by the Postmasters 106 14 9
received of letter carriers for letters short-taxed 1 8 5
and of John Stuckley of Plymouth for West India letters 398 8 6
received for letters and packets to and from North Britain as by the Quarterly Accompts of George Maine of Edinburgh 2,922 0 4
total in the Inland Office 124,572 2 5
in the Inland Irish Office:
profits for the half year to Mich. 1708 5,414 5 6
ditto to 25 March 1709 5,348 15 4
10,763 0 10
(total receipts of the General Letter Office, 165,935l. 15s. 2d.)
the growing Revenue of the Penny Post:
for 991,284 letters taken in by the Officers of the Penny Post 4,130 7 0
for the second penny on 95,884 letters taken in by the Letter Receivers in London and delivered in the country 399 10 4
and for 47,750 letters taken in at the several Penny Post Offices 198 19 2
total receipts of the Penny Post Office 4,728 16 6
overpayments due to the several postmasters, detailed 3,746 18 1
total charge 239,989 9 4½
Discharge
Abatements out of the General Charge:
country letters from Foreign Parts and from the Deputy Postmasters in England, being first charged at the General Post Office in London and sent as directed to several persons in the country whereby the Growing Duty is increased and likewise charged on the Deputy Postmasters 11,394 3 4
letters charged on several Postmasters and Letter Carriers, brought back to the Post Office as the addressees could not be found 1,767 19 4
letters of her Majesty and of Members of Parliament, delivered free 12,567 7 9
foreign letters and packets enclosing Bills of Lading etc. 536 10 8
letters sent up to the General Post Office by the Farmers at the rents charged above, they being doubly charged 5,403 8 4
31,669 9 5
Money due to Postmasters etc. for the balances of their accompts to Lady day 1708 5,011 6 5
Charges of the General Letter (or General Post) Office, viz:
Salaries etc.:
Sir Robert Cotton and Sir Thomas Frankland, Postmasters General to 17 Sept. 1708 and thereafter Sir Thomas Frankland bt. and John Evelyn 1,881 10 0
Edward Harley, auditor 260 0 0
George Searle, accomptant 300 0 0
Stephen Lilley, Receiver General 300 0 0
In the Inland Office, detailed 2,150 0 0
In the Foreign Office, detailed 3,237 2 8
The Postmasters, detailed 8,233 3 9
16,361 16 5
Annuities and Pensions etc.:
the late Prince George of Denmark to Midsummer 1708 12,500 0 0
the Duke of Marlborough 5,000 0 0
the Duke of Leeds 3,500 0 0
the Duke of 'Sconburgh' 5,000 0 0
the Duchess of Cleveland (at 4,700l. a year) 5,100 0 0
Lawrence, Earl of Rochester 4,000 0 0
the Duke of Queensberry 3,000 0 0
William, Earl of Rochford (half year) 500 0 0
William, Lord Cowper, lord Chancellor 4,000 0 0
the Earl of Seafield (three quarters) 750 0 0
Guy Palmes (ditto) 750 0 0
William Brocket (half year) 200 0 0
Maud Johnson 300 0 0
Rebecca Chadwick, late widow of Dr. Titus Oates 300 0 0
Charles Osbourn 200 0 0
the Professors of Edinburgh University (one and a half years) 315 0 0
ditto of Glasgow University 210 0 0
45,625 0 0
Court Post 366 0 0
Charge of Expresses 2,118 7 11
Packet boats etc. (including the prime cost of two packetboats):
Capt. Richard Grey for charges at Harwich 8,324 19 6
Zachariah Rogers: charges of the Lisbon packet boats 14,076 16 2
Edmund Dummer for the new packet boat, the Mercury, for Lisbon, and sundry tradesmen for tackle for the same 2,719 5 9
Samuel Trefusis for building wharves at Flushing 611 17 4
Captain John Dorrell for the Diligence packet boat for Lisbon (prime cost) and sundry tradesmen for tackle 2,459 9 6
John Mackie of Dover for the Ostend packet boats and Capt. John Haselwood for the Dover packet boats 2,518 1 11
Edmund Dummer for hire of the West India packet boats (contract) 12,000 0 0
redemption of packet boats taken by the French (detailed) 898 1 9
43,608 11 11
Incident Charges, detailed 2,739 14 6
Allowances of various natures:
William Brown, agent at Lisbon, for John Quart de Costa and John de Costa, etc. 737 5 4
John Six of Amsterdam for his moiety of 'Franck' letters from Hamburg and the Northern Crowns 1,205 13 11
James Rodham, Postmaster of Berwick, for several journeys to Edinburgh and other charges to prosecute the several Post renters at Edinburgh 64 10 5
disbursed to Thomas Chapman, Postmaster of St. Albans, in consideration of his poverty on condition of his giving security for payment of moneys coming to his hands from Mids. 1707 129 5 0
2,136 14 8
Charges of the Irish Office:
Isaac Manley, Deputy Postmaster General, Dublin:
salaries 3,180 6 0
letters of State and Members of Parliament 2,037 2 9
country letters charged to Dublin and not paid there, being sent forward to the several postmasters 1,971 7 5
insolvent letters and letters from Dublin through the Kingdom 707 16 1
sundry mails lost in packet boats taken by the enemy 75 8 9
stationery wares and incidents 873 2 2
exchange of money remitted at several rates 423 3 8
ship letters paid for by Postmasters 25 2 4
charges of Expresses 35 8 11
9,328 18 1
Charges of the Scotch Office:
George Maine, Deputy Postmaster General of North Britain:
salaries 1,025 7 6
letters of State and Members of Parliament 706 17 11
Country letters charged to Edinburgh and not paid there being sent to the several Postmasters 680 1 10
insolvent letters returned to London and from the Country 54 6 6
charge of Expresses 72 4 0
exchange of 658l. 12s. 8d. remitted to London, at 1 per cent. 6 1 7
incidents (stationery, rent etc.) 77 4 4
George Main for coming to London on Post Office business 40 0 0
ship letters paid for by Postmasters 28 10 2
2,690 13 10
money paid into the Exchequer (five payments in March 7 Anne) 5,805 16 11
(total for the General Post Office 130,781l. 14s. 3d.)
payments and allowances on accompt of the Penny Post Office:
salaries and wages 2,167 2 10
rents of the Penny Post Offices 117 10 0
incident charges 372 5 4
several letter receivers for their tenths on 991,284 letters 413 0 8
Daniel Darnellii, this Accomptant, for 1,300 letters returned as the addressees could not be found by the Country Messengers 5 8 4
taxes of the Officers of the Penny Post 110 0 0
total for the Penny Post Office 3,185 7 2
total payments and allowances 170,647 17 3
and so remains 69,341 12 1½
against which depending in super:
arrears due at Lady day 1685, detailed 2,125 6 0
arrears from several postmasters at Lady day 1709 (detailed) 63,958 10 1
arrears on accompt of the Penny Post (do.) 1,936 1 11½
arrears due from several other persons 671 14 1
advances to tradesmen for work done 650 0 0
total supers 69,341 12 1½
and so this Accomptant is Even and Quit.
Declared 16 Nov. 1711.
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