Royal Mail (original) (raw)
Royal Mail is the national postal service in the United Kingdom.
Royal Mail Group plc is a public limited company wholly owned by the British Government and has over 200,000 employees.
In 1969 it was converted from a government department to a nationalised industry. The office of Postmaster General was abolished.
In 1981 the British Telecommunications Act split the Post Office Corporation into two nationalised entities - the Post Office and British Telecom. British Telecom was later privatised.
In 2000 Royal Mail renamed itself to Consignia to much ridicule. The British Government set up a postal regulator Postcomm and offered licences to private companies to deliver mail. In 2002 Consignia changed its name back to Royal Mail.
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| 1 Timeline [2 External Link](#External Link) [3 See Also](#See Also) |
Timeline
- 1516: Royal Mail established by Henry VIII under Master of the Posts.
- July 31, 1635: Royal Mail service first made available to the public by Charles I. Postage was paid by the recipient.
- 1654: Oliver Cromwell grants UK monopoly to "Office of Postage".
- 1657: Fixed postal rates introduced.
- 1660: General Post Office (GPO) officially established by Charles II.
- 1661: First use of date stamp. First Postmaster General appointed.
- 1784: First mail coach (between Bristol and London).
- 1793: First uniformed delivery staff.
- 1830: First mail train (on Manchester & Liverpool Railway).
- 1840: First adhesive stamp (the Penny Black).
- 1853: First post boxes erected in mainland Britain.
- 1854: Rowland Hill becomes Secretary to the Post Office.
- 1858: Ten London postal districts established.
- 1870: Post Office begins telegraph service.
- 1880: First use of bicycles to deliver mail.
- 1881: Postal order introduced.
- 1883: Parcel post begins.
- 1894: First picture postcards.
- 1912: Post Office opens national telephone service.
- 1917: London postal districts divided into numbered zones.
- 1919: First international air mail service.
- 1927: The London Post Office Underground Railway is opened.
- 1968: Two-class postal system introduced. National Giro bank opens.
- 1969: Post Office changes from government department to nationalised industry.
- 1974: Postcodes extended over all UK.
- 1981: Telecommunications services transferred to British Telecom.
- 1986: Royal Mail separated into letters, parcels and post office businesses.
- 1990: Girobank sold to the Alliance and Leicester Building Society.
- 2003: The London Post Office Underground Railway is closed.