Post Office GPO Seal, Image by StuE, Found by Allsopp.
Found in the Staffs area.
Standard General Post Office square bag seal with BHAM on one side and OLDBURY on the other.
In 1911 the post office replaced wax seals used in smaller post office regions with lead ones for sealing letter and parcel sacks (lead seals were used in the the larger post offices probably since Charles I opened up his royal mail to the public in 1635). In 1916 they made the seals thinner reducing the amount of lead by 19% thus saving £1,770 per annum. The Post Office Controller of Stores supplied the lead to the seal manufacturers directly. These manufacturers at the time were, Dunham White & Co Ltd., J.N.Lyons Ltd., The Lead Seal Manufacturing Co. and Walkens, Parker & Co. Ltd. (This information was gathered from The British Postal Museum & Archive, Freeling House, Pheonix Place, London.) Here are records of contracts for lead seals to from Acme Lead Seal Co. and The Lead Seal Manufacturing Co.
The use of wax seals by the Post Office prior to 1905 is confirmed by the following quote, "Even in the heating of the wax used in sealing the mail bags electricity is brought into use. The wax is placed in small copper pans which rest on electrical hot plates." HIS MAJESTY'S MAILS, Edward Bennet, p.94 in Britain At Work - a pictorial description of our national industries, pp.89-95, (1905) Publisher: Cassel and Company Limited, London. (Information provided by Darron Barnes)
See Records created and used by the British Post Office, "The Post Office was established in 1635 by Charles I. The head of this new service was variously known as Master of Posts, Comptroller General of the Posts and Postmaster of England. The first Master of the Posts, Sir Brian Tuke, had been knighted by Henry VIII in 1512 but, prior to 1635, this system was restricted to royal letters only and not open to the public.
The Civil War saw the the Post Office contested by both sides. Acts of Parliament were passed during the Interregnum (1656) and later upon the Restoration (1660). These established the General Post Office as a branch of government which was to be headed by the Postmaster General.
The service at this time consisted of a number of main routes from London to the provinces. Postmasters on the routes collected and distributed mail and collected revenue.
During this period the scope of the Post Office's activities was limited and its administrative functions were largely concerned with its finances. The General Post Office was based in the City of London and was organised into three departments; the Inland Office which handled all internal letters, the Foreign Office which handled all overseas mails and the Penny Post Office which dealt with all locally posted mail for London. This building was destroyed by the Great Fire of London, which might explain why only a small number of Post Office records from that period survive. Those that have survived are largely volumes of accounts detailing levels of income and expenditure through the years. From 1667 the role of Postmaster General became a political appointment. Between 1691 and 1823, two Postmasters General were appointed, one being a Whig and the other a Tory. At the same time the post of Secretary to the Post Office was created. Over time this post developed into one which held real influence within the General Post Office; the Secretary's Office becoming the centre of decision making within Headquarters.
The Eighteenth Century saw much development of routes and post towns, although the Post Office continued to be run from London. It was not until 1715 that the Post Office appointed its first regional administrators, known as Surveyors. Surveyors were charged with ensuring that those at lower levels in the organisation were doing their duty and that the revenues were being correctly managed.
The Nineteenth Century was a period of vast expansion for the Post Office. Postal rates were subject to a reform which resulted in the introduction of penny postage and the adhesive postage stamp. Increased adult literacy led to a dramatic increase in the volume of mail. The latter half of the century saw an explosion of new services as the Post Office moved into banking, telecommunications and set up a parcels operation. It also saw the development of a nationwide network of post offices through which these services could be accessed.
By the end of the century, Headquarters buildings had accumulated large volumes of historical material. To meet the challenge of managing this material, in 1896 the Post Office established its own record room."
