Sir Rowland Hill and Postal Reform

Injustice and inconvenience may be suffered by a great many until one man, or a group of reformers, suddenly see the problem clearly and conceive the solution. One may cite Fry and Howard’s penal reform, Wilberforce and Clarkson’s abolition of slavery. In the same context comes Rowland Hill, whose insight and energy fathered postal reform and the creation of pre-paid mail.

To understand the problem, one must view the situation before 1840 when Hill’s efforts culminated in the establishment of the Penny Post. The cost of correspondence was crippling to many people, a burden increased by the fact that letters were paid for on receipt. During the preceding hundred years the tax on mail had been steadily increased until many of the poorer members of the population were forced to refuse a letter they longed to read because they could not afford the fee.