Twopenny Post — introduction
The Twopenny Post came into being as a result of an Act of 5th April 1801. This stated that the charge on all letters carried in the district of what was previously called the Penny Post, whether a local letter or one passing to or from the General Post, would now be 2d.(two pence). It was not however actually designated until the Act of 1805 which mentioned in part... "Previously the Penny Post, now known as the Twopenny Post...." There are many different postal markings associated with the TWOPENNY Post, for example date stamps — paid and unpaid; from the Chief Office and Westminster Office and Country Sorting Offices; stamps applied to letters transferred to the General Post ; Receiving House name stamps ; Charge marks and miscellaneous stamps used for other specific purposes.
With the reorganisation of the postal system, in London in 1794, prepayment of postage was no longer compulsory, and as a result unpaid date stamps came into use. They were first used for the Penny Post, and they continued in use until the end of 1822. The progress of this letter of 25th March 1814, is shown by the postmarks.
click here for details	First the Receiving House stamp was applied when the letter was handed in.This is a good example of the Lombard Street Office, which was at this time the Chief Office for the London TWOPENNY POST. Then the date stamp for unpaid mail was applied, showing the date and time the letter was sorted for delivery. This example is identifiable as the Chief Office stamp by its oval shape. Finally, the charge mark '2' was applied on the front of the letter so that the letter carrier and the addressee would know the amount of postage to be paid. It was 2d as it was for delivery within the town area.
click here for details	This letter to W. A. Roberts Esq No. 8 Craven Street, Strand, dated 4th June 1804, bears the three usual marks found on letters of this period an undated 'Receiving House' stamp a dated Principal Office stamp, and a charge mark in this case '2'.
This was the first type of unpaid stamp to be issued to the Receiving Houses, although it did not then contain the word UNPAID. Stamps with 'unpaid' in the middle were introduced from 1803, but not all Receiving Houses had them at once. Chancery Lane Receiving House was in all the Town lists from 1793 to 1839. It was under the Westminster Principal Office, where this letter received the date stamp, and the 2d Charge mark. The date stamp was in use from 1801-1822
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