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Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
11
While
the
general
post
dates
from
the
Stuarts,
the
establishment
of
a
regular
riding
post
in
England
owes
its
origin
to
Edward
IV.
The
English
post
seems
from
the
first
to
have
been
fully
commensurate
with
the
demands
for
its
service,
its
growth
depending
on
the
gradual
advance
which
the
country
made
in
other
measures
of
social
progress.
Four
or
five
centuries
ago,
few
private
persons
could
either
read
or
write.
On
the
other
hand,
the
business
of
the
State
demanded
correspondence.
The
king
had
his
barons
to
summon,
or
his
sheriffs
to
instruct,
and
letters
of
writ
were
issued
accordingly,
a
few
Government
messengers
supplying
all
the
wants
of
the
time.
Now
and
then
the
nobles
would
require
to
address
each
other,
and
sometimes
to
correspond
with
their
dependents,
but,
as
a
general
rule,
neither
the
serf
nor
his
master
had
the
power,
even
if
they
had
the
will,
to
engage
much
in
writing.
As
time
wore
on,
and
we
come
nearer
the
age
of
the
Tudors,
the
desire
for
learning
spread,
though
still
the
few
who
engaged
in
literary
or
scientific
pursuits
were
either
attached
to
the
Court
or
to
the
monastic
establishments.
Even
when
the
Tudor
dynasty
came
in,
trade
with
foreign
countries,
and
remote
districts
in
our
own
country,
was
almost
equally
unknown.
Each
district
dwelt
alone,
supplied
its
own
wants,
and
evinced
very
little
desire
for
any
closer
communication.
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