Somerset & Bristol Postal History

The next load of posts will be a miscellaneous set of covers starting with an Advice of Delivery of an Inland Registered Letter from 1965.

This next cover also comes from Avonmouth, sent registered in 1937.

Two postcards from Axbridge to South Africa in 1905 go two different Bristol 'Dulwich' transit marks, a "BRISTOL / 28" in April and a "Bristol / 16" in May, and ....

.... unused postcards showing Axbridge.

The envelope below was written and posted in Banwell in 1851 (I wonder if the positioning of the postage stamp was a message to the recipient?).

Finally a postcard from 1953 with a KGVI stamp with a clear "BARRINGTON / ILMINSTER.SOMERSET" cancel.

Here are a number of Registered items, arranged alphabetically starting with Barrington under Ilminster in 1947. 

Next, alphabetically in my pile of registered items, is Batcombe under Bath in 1939.

Berrow Corner came under Highbridge.  The envelope below is dated 1958.  Berrow Corner post office was replaced by Brent Corner in 1965.

Another registered item for The Rating Officer, Shepton Mallet, this time from Ditcheat in 1940.

Again, a registered letter to the Rating Officer, Shepton Mallet, this time an uprated registered envelope from Emborough under Bath in 1940, rather than a printed envelope.

A few more sheets of Climax rubber cancels, this time from some of the post offices under Ilminster.  The first sheet has examples of two of the three cancels issued to Ashill.

 Next come a couple of sheets of cancels from Barrington.  Barrington has four types of cancel, the first of which is recorded as a proof but not yet recorded in use.

Horton had seven Climax rubber cancels (again, the first was recorded as a proof but hasn't been recorded in use).  The sheet below has examples of the last recorded in use, from 1921.

Ilton has three cancels recorded (again the first was proofed but not yet recorded in use).  Below is an example of the second cancel used, from 1912 - there are two examples below but the second is not dateable - and examples of the third type.

Finally here is an example of the second cancel for Stocklinch, unfortunately not completely dateable as the final digit of the year is not completely readable (0 or maybe 6 perhaps).

An assortment - starting with a couple of philatelic registered covers posted by John Worral of Clover Farm, Shepton Mallet.  The first is from Barrington in September 1973, the second from Horton in November 1975.

The third item is an envelope from Exeter to Chard sent in August 2002 where "SOMERSET" has been misread as Denmark.  The envelope has an interesting marking of "LIVE MAIL" but no indication of where that might have been applied.

Going through these four Bs in chronological order, here is an orange UDC from Butleigh in June 1854 that was proofed in December 1853;

.... a "BISHOPS LYDEARD / TAUNTON.SOMT" double circle double arc cancel from October 1949;

... a "BARRINGTON / ILMINSTER.SOMERSET" double circle double-arc cancel from March 1972;

... and finally "BAYFORD.WINCANTON / SOM." single ring cancels and a registration etiquette from September 1975.

Having reached over 600 posts, the next batch of posts are an alphabetical tour through Somerset, not chosen with any particular theme or purpose, but because I have been writing up new items from a collection that I acquired about 6 months ago.

In my early days of collecting Somerset postal history I wanted a catalogue (coming from collecting stamps that was the obvious way to proceed).  The British County Catalogue covered the early handstamps but it was a little while before I found Ken Smith's post office lists (now available online here).  Together with a copy of "Postal Addresses, 1972" from the GPO I constructed a spreadsheet to log my "capture" of the different post offices.

I have got just over 600 different offices in this spreadsheet, of which I have examples of only about 360 (60%).  This total of 600 is a significant underestimate as I don't currently distinguish between an office that has had multiple different head offices (for example Ashbrittle came under Wellington and under Taunton) - the true total to shoot for is probably close to 1000 just counting the post offices, never mind the different types of cancel that each has had over time.

Anyway, on to my Alphabetical Tour of Recent Acquisitions - which starts with Ashbrittle from 1910 (under Wellington).

... Barrington from 1924 ("Will write again Monday; there is no collection of letters here tomorrow (Sunday)".

... Barrow Gurney, a Climax Rubber cancel from 1907.

... Bason Bridge from 1939

... Bridgetown, a postcard from 1935 and a philatelic registered cover from 1980

... Burlescombe in Devon from 1926

... and finally Burrowbridge (originally Boroughbridge) from 1922.