Post Office counter services

Archive class POST 22 covers all aspects of counter services work. Post Office Counter Services are an important element of postal operations. For this reason, material can also be found in other POST classes through The Royal Mail Archive and in the Museum collection.

The first post office was established in October 1635 in Bishopgate Street. It was opened by Thomas Witherings. In 1854 the first post offices owned and run by Royal Mail opened. These were known as crown offices while those run by agents were known as sub-offices. In 1986 Royal Mail was reorganised into Royal Mail Letters, Royal Mail Parcels, and Post Office Counters. In 1987 Post Office Counters Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail. In 2001 Post Office Counters Ltd. was renamed Post Office Ltd.

POST 22 covers all aspects of counter services work including the management of sub-offices, staffing issues, counter mechanisation, postal services at the Festival of Britain 1951, computerisation, and agreements between the Post Office and the Treasury. These records date from 1929 to c.1990.

If you have worked or work on Post Office Counters, why not tell us about your experiences or read what others have written on our wiki? Alternatively, if you know anything about any of these documents, tell us more about them.

Here are four examples of records relating to Post Office counter services in our collection:

Guide to handling counter transactions, c.1970, finding number POST 22/106

This manual was aimed at newly appointed counter staff. It gave details of how to carry out their main duties. It is a good reflection of the range of transactions carried out by counter services. This page shows how to deal with deposits of gift tokens and postal orders in the Savings Bank.

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Photograph of King Edward Building Money Order Counter, 1938; finding number POST 118/775

This photograph shows the Money Order Office Counter in 1938.The King Edward Building was the London Headquarters of the Post Office from 1910 to 1996. 

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Photograph of Post Office Counter facilities at the Festival of Britain, 1951; finding number POST 22/60

This photograph shows the approach to the Post Office at the Festival of Britain with a row of stamp-vending machines and a post box. The Post Office was specially built for the Festival of Britain for use by the public.

It offered the full range of counter services and included stamp-vending machines and writing desks for postcards to be mailed from the site.

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First issue of The Sub-Postmaster, September 1899, finding number POST 115/600

The Sub-Postmaster was the journal for the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters. This first issue depicts the subpostmaster, keeping the Post Office upright and true.

It reflected the dissatisfaction of many subpostmasters with the demands placed on them by the Post Office.

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