Postmaster General of the United Kingdom
| Postmaster General of the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
 Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government General Post Office | |
 | |
| Style | Postmaster General |
| Appointer | Monarch of the United Kingdom on advice of their Prime Minister |
| Precursor | Master of the King's Post |
| Formation | 1517 |
| First holder | Brian Tuke as Master of the King’s Post |
| Final holder | John Stonehouse |
| Abolished | 1969 |
| Succession | overseen by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills |
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom was a Cabinet-level ministerial position in HM Government. Aside from maintaining the postal system, the Telegraph Act of 1868 established the Postmaster General's right to exclusively maintain electric telegraphs. This would subsequently extend to telecommunications and broadcasting.
The office was abolished in 1969 by the Post Office Act 1969. A replacement public authority governed by a chairman was established under the name of the "Post Office (that part subsumed by Royal Mail)". The position of "Postmaster General" was, with reduced powers, replaced with "Minister of Posts and Telecommunications"; since which most such regulation instead has been delegated to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport however the present-day Royal Mail Group was overseen by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills prior to flotation.
Contents
1 History
2 Masters of the King's Post
3 Postmaster under the Commonwealth
4 Postmasters General of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom
4.1 Two Postmasters General
4.2 A single Postmaster
4.3 Postmaster-General, 1931–1969
5 See also
6 References
History
In England, the monarch's letters to his subjects are known to have been carried by relays of couriers as long ago as the 15th century. The earliest mention of Master of the Posts is in the King's Book of Payments where a payment of £100 was authorised for Brian Tuke as master of the posts in February 1512.[1] Belatedly, in 1517, he was officially appointed to the office of Governor of the King's Posts, a precursor to the office of Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, by Henry VIII.[2] In 1609 it was decreed that letters could only be carried and delivered by persons authorised by the Postmaster General.[3]
In 1657 an Act entitled 'Postage of England, Scotland and Ireland Settled' set up a system for the British Isles and enacted the position of Postmaster General. The Act also reasserted the postal monopoly for letter delivery and for post horses. After the Restoration in 1660, a further Act (12 Car II, c.35) confirmed this and the post of Postmaster-General, the previous Cromwellian Act being void.
The former site of the General Letter Office in London
1660 saw the establishment of the General Letter Office, which would later become the General Post Office (GPO).[3] A similar position evolved in the Kingdom of Scotland prior to the 1707 Act of Union.
The office was abolished in 1969 by the Post Office Act 1969.[3] A new public authority governed by a chairman was established under the name of the Post Office (however, the part later subsumed by Royal Mail). The position of Postmaster General was initially replaced with Minister of Posts and Telecommunications with less direct involvement; since this most regulatory functions formerly conducted by the Postmaster General generally fall within the remit of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, although the present-day Royal Mail Group is overseen by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Masters of the King's Post
| Years | Master of the King's Post |
|---|---|
| 1517–1545 | Brian Tuke |
| 1545–1566 | John Mason |
| 1566–1590 | Thomas Randolph |
| 1590–1607 | Sir John Stanhope |
| 1607–1635 | Charles Stanhope |
| 1637–1642 | Philip Burlamachi |
| 1642–1649 | Edmund Prideaux |
Postmaster under the Commonwealth
| Years | Postmaster under the Commonwealth |
|---|---|
| 1649–1653 | Edmund Prideaux |
| 1653–1655 | John Manley[4] |
| 1655–1660 | John Thurloe |
Postmasters General of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom
The earliest Postmasters had responsibility for England and Wales. In 1707, on the Union with Scotland, the responsibility of the office was extended to cover the whole of the new Kingdom of Great Britain as well as Ireland, but with some powers held by a Post Office Manager for Scotland. By the Post Office (Revenues) Act 1710, with effect from 1711, the services were united, but with a Deputy Postmaster for Scotland. From 1784, there were also Postmasters General of Ireland, but from 1831, the Postmasters based at Westminster became responsible for the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.[5] In 1922, the Irish Free State became independent, and in 1923 it established its own arrangements under a Postmaster General of the Irish Free State. In 1924 the title became Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.
| Years | Postmaster-General |
|---|---|
| 1660–1663 | Henry Bishop |
| 1663–1664 | Daniel O'Neill |
| 1664–1667 | Katherine O'Neill, Countess of Chesterfield |
| 1667–1685 | Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington |
| 1686–1689 | Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester |
| 1689–1691 | John Wildman |
Two Postmasters General
From 1691 to 1823 there were two Postmasters General, to divide the patronage between the Whigs and Tories.
| Year | 1st Postmaster-General | 1st Party | 2nd Postmaster-General | 2nd Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1691 | Sir Thomas Frankland | Sir Robert Cotton | Tory | |||
| 1708 | Sir John Evelyn | |||||
| 1715 | James Craggs the Elder | Charles Cornwallis, 4th Baron Cornwallis | Whig | |||
| 1720 | Galfridus Walpole | Edward Carteret | ||||
| 1725 | Edward Harrison | |||||
| 1733 | Thomas Coke, 1st Baron Lovel (Earl of Leicester from 1744) | |||||
| 1739 | Sir John Eyles, Bt | |||||
| 1745 | Everard Fawkener | |||||
| 1759 | Robert Hampden, 4th Baron Trevor | William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough | ||||
| 1762 | John Perceval, 2nd Earl of Egmont | |||||
| 1763 | Thomas Villiers, 1st Baron Hyde | |||||
| 1765 | Thomas Robinson, 1st Baron Grantham | William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough | ||||
| 1766 | Wills Hill, 2nd Viscount Hillsborough | Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer | ||||
| 1768 | John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich | |||||
| 1771 | Henry Carteret (from 1784 Baron Carteret) | |||||
| 1782 | The Viscount Barrington | |||||
| 1782 | Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville[6] | |||||
| 1783 | Thomas Foley, 2nd Baron Foley[6] | |||||
| 1784 | Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville[6] | |||||
| 1786 | Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon | |||||
| 1787 | Thomas de Grey, 2nd Baron Walsingham | |||||
| 1789 | John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland | Tory | ||||
| 1790 | Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield | |||||
| 1794 | George Townshend, 1st Earl of Leicester | |||||
| 1798 | William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland | |||||
| 1799 | George Leveson-Gower, Baron Gower | |||||
| 1801 | Lord Charles Spencer | |||||
| 1804 | James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose | |||||
| 1806 | John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort | Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire | ||||
| 1807 | Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester | Whig | John Montagu, 5th Earl of Sandwich | Tory | ||
| 1814 | Richard Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty | |||||
| 1816 | James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury | |||||
A single Postmaster
In 1823 the idea of a Whig and a Tory sharing the post was abolished.[6]
| Years | Postmaster General |
|---|---|
| 1823 | Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester continuing in office alone |
| 1826–1827 | Lord Frederick Montagu |
| 1827–1830 | William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester |
| 1830–1834 | Charles Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox |
| 1834 | Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham |
| 1834–1835 | William Wellesley-Pole, 1st Baron Maryborough |
| 1835 | Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham |
| 1835–1841 | Thomas William Anson, 1st Earl of Lichfield |
| 1841–1845 | William Lowther, Viscount Lowther |
| 1845–1846 | Edward Granville Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans |
| 1846–1852 | Ulick John de Burgh, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde |
| 1852 | Charles Philip Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke |
| 1853–1855 | Charles John Canning, 2nd Viscount Canning |
| 1855–1858 | George Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll |
| 1858–1859 | Charles Edward Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester |
| 1859–1860 | James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin |
| 1860–1866 | Edward John Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley |
| 1866–1868 | James Graham, 4th Duke of Montrose |
| 1868–1871 | Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington |
| 1871–1873 | William Monsell |
| 1873–1874 | Lyon Playfair |
| 1874–1880 | Lord John Manners |
| 1880–1884 | Henry Fawcett |
| 1884–1885 | George John Shaw-Lefevre |
| 1885–1886 | Lord John Manners |
| 1886 | George Grenfell Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton |
| 1886–1891 | Henry Cecil Raikes |
| 1891–1892 | Sir James Fergusson |
| 1892–1895 | Arnold Morley |
| 1895–1900 | Henry Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk |
| 1900–1902 | Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry |
| 1902–1903 | Austen Chamberlain |
| 1903–1905 | Edward George Villiers Stanley, Lord Stanley |
| 1905–1910 | Sidney Buxton |
| 1910–1914 | Herbert Samuel |
| 1914–1915 | Charles Hobhouse |
| 1915–1916 | Herbert Samuel |
| 1916 | Joseph Pease |
| 1916–1921 | Albert Illingworth |
| 1921–1922 | Frederick Kellaway |
| 1922–1923 | Neville Chamberlain |
| 1923 | Sir William Joynson-Hicks |
| 1923–1924 | Sir Laming Worthington-Evans |
| 1924 | Vernon Hartshorn |
| 1924–1929 | Sir William Mitchell-Thomson |
| 1929–1931 | Hastings Lees-Smith |
| 1931 | Clement Attlee |
| 1931 | Sir William Ormsby-Gore |
Postmaster-General, 1931–1969
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
William Ormsby-Gore |  | 14 August 1931 | Conservative | Ramsay MacDonald | |||
Sir Kingsley Wood |  | 10 November 1931 | Conservative | ||||
George Tryon | 7 June 1935 | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin | ||||
Neville Chamberlain | |||||||
William Morrison |  | 3 April 1940 | Conservative | ||||
Winston Churchill | |||||||
Harry Crookshank |  | 7 November 1943 | Conservative | ||||
The Earl of Listowel |  | 19 October 1945 | Labour | Clement Attlee | |||
Wilfred Paling |  | 17 April 1947 | Labour | ||||
Ness Edwards | | 28 February 1950 | Labour | ||||
The Earl De La Warr | | 5 November 1951 | Conservative | Winston Churchill | |||
Charles Hill | | 7 April 1955 | National Liberal | Anthony Eden | |||
Ernest Marples | 16 January 1957 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan | ||||
Reginald Bevins | | 22 October 1959 | Conservative | ||||
Sir Alec Douglas-Home | |||||||
Tony Benn |  | 19 October 1964 | Labour | Harold Wilson | |||
Edward Short | | 4 July 1966 | Labour | ||||
Roy Mason | | 6 April 1968 | Labour | ||||
John Stonehouse | | 1 July 1968 | Labour | ||||
See also
- Postmaster General (disambiguation)
- Postmasters General of Ireland
- Postmaster General for Scotland
Postmaster and Deputy Postmaster for Canada 1763–1851 – who reported to the Postmaster General of the United Kingdom- Postmaster General of Canada
Postmaster General of Hong Kong – created in 1870 to replace the Royal Mail and under British administration until 1 July 1997
References
^ Brewer, J.S.; Brewer, John Sherren; Brodie, Robert Henry; Gairdner, James (1864). Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII. London: Longman, Green, Longman, & Roberts. p. 1454..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Walker (1938), p. 37
^ abc "Division No. 1 (Postal Services Bill) [15 Jun 2000] – Column 1782". Volume No. 613 – Part No. 104. 15 June 2000. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
^ "Manley, John (c. 1622–99)". History of Parliament Online. 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
^ Chambers's Encyclopaedia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge: Vol. VIII (London: W. & R. Chambers, Ltd., 1901), p. 347
^ abcd Falmouth packet archives Archived 16 December 2012 at Archive.is. Retrieved 9 June 2008
