Horse-Drawn Mail
Before 1635 when The Royal Mail was quite literally the 'Royal Mail' (i.e. used only by the King), post boys travelled to their destination by horse. Once the mail was opened up to the public, this continued to be the case. Mail Coaches were introduced in 1784.
From the 1840s onwards, the expansion of the railways meant that horses were used less and less for transporting mail across the country. The post continued, however, to be transported by horse in some areas right up to 1949.
Our collections contain two horse-drawn vehicles and other objects and records relating to the transport of mail by horse.
Examples from our Collection
Here are some items from our collections relating to horse-drawn mail:
Mail coach, c.1800
It is thought that this mail coach would have transported mail between London and Bristol.
Notice from the coaching inn the Bolt-in-Tun, 18th-19th century
List of the Royal Mail coaches from London.
Contract with McNamara and Taylor, 1853
Contract for the conveyance of mail from the GPO to other London areas.
Parcels Post song sheet, 1883
Cover of a Victorian song sheet to a song about the Parcels Post, written by N G Travers.
Drawing of a horse-drawn mail cart, c. 1908
From a volume of drawings and details of horse-drawn mail vans.
Horse-drawn van, c.1935
This horse-drawn Royal Mail van was used in London until 1947. It was later restored.
You may also be interested in...
Moving the Mail
Exploring more than a century of mail delivery methods
Examining the move from horses to horsepower in the vehicles used by the Post Office and Royal Mail.
Royal Mail Coaches
An illustrated history by Frederick Wilkinson
The first history of Royal Mail coaches based almost exclusively on contemporary records.
