SHOW MENUPostmark Development in the Provinces: 19th century Weston-super-Mare
Introduction
Before 1805 the tiny fishing village of Weston‑super‑Mare with some 30 houses had no official post. In 1817 it became a 5th Clause Post under Bristol. It is not known whether any marks were used during the period before 1826 when Weston became part of the Bristol Penny Post. According to the Select Committee list of 1838 Weston was listed as a Penny Post town with some 2000 inhabitants and given the numeral 871 in 1844. Before this Weston became one of the first seaside resorts worldwide to get a railway connection in 1841, and by the turn of the century had become a prosperous and busy Victorian town.
The presentation is not completely in chronological order.
Main literature sources:
Alcock & Holland: The Postmarks of Great Britain & Ireland (1940)
Ian M. Worn: Bristol 5th Clause & Penny Posts 1793‑1840 (1980)
John Parmenter: Barred Numeral Cancellations of England & Wales, Vol Five (1987) & 2021 Update on the GBPS Website
Stanley Cohen: Collecting British Squared Circle Postmarks (1987)
The Somerset & Dorset Postal History Group: Postmarks of Weston‑super‑Mare and report on a display by Cyril Dribble on Postal History and Postmarks of Weston‑super‑Mare in Journals 3‑1, 3‑2, 3‑3 (date unknown)
https://www.stampsoftheworld.co.uk/wiki/Weston‑super‑Mare (GB) (James Heal aka Jim Weston)
Correspondence with Stanley Cohen, John Parmenter & David Rockoff
