Postmaster General of the United Kingdom
| Postmaster General of the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Former political post | |
.svg) Arms of Her Majesty's Government General Post Office |
|
| Predecessor | Master of the King's Post |
| Successor | overseen by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills |
| First officeholder | as Master of the Kings Post |
| Last officeholder | John Stonehouse |
| Style | Postmaster General |
| Appointer | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Office began | 1517 |
| Office ended | 1969 |
The Postmaster General of the United Kingdom is a defunct 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 new public authority governed by a chairman was established under the name of the "Post Office". The position of "Postmaster General" was replaced with "Minister of Posts and Telecommunications"; subsequently such functions 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.
Contents |
History [edit]
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. In 1517, Sir Brian Tuke was appointed by King Henry VIII as "Master of the King's Post". In 1609 it was decreed that letters could only be carried and delivered by persons authorised by the Postmaster General.
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.
1660 saw the establishment of the General Letter Office, which would later become the General Post Office (GPO). A similar position evolved in the Kingdom of Scotland prior to the 1707 Act of Union.
Masters of the King's Post [edit]
| Years | Master of the Kings Post |
|---|---|
| 1517–1545 | Brian Tuke |
| 1545–1566 | John Mason |
| 1566–1590 | Thomas Randolph |
| 1590–1607 | John Stanhope |
| 1607–1635 | Charles Stanhope |
| 1637–1642 | Philip Burlamachi |
| 1642–1653 | Edmund Prideaux |
Postmaster under the Commonwealth [edit]
| Years | Postmaster under the Commonwealth |
|---|---|
| 1653-1655 | John Manley[1] |
Former Postmasters General of England and the UK [edit]
| Years | Postmaster-General |
|---|---|
| 1655–1660 | John Thurloe |
| 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 [edit]
From 1691 to 1823 there were two Postmasters General, to divide the patronage between the Whigs and Tories.
A single Postmaster [edit]
In 1823 the idea of a Whig and a Tory sharing the post was abolished.[2]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Manley, John (c.1622-99)". History of Parliament Online. 2012 [last update]. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d Falmouth packet archives accessed 9 June 2008
