One Penny “Mulready” Letter Sheet

Rolleston on Dove has been donated a valuable and interesting piece of local postal history, for the village archive, by Mr Christopher Rolleston Riding, a philatelist. This is a one penny “Mulready” letter sheet, dated 15th May 1840 and addressed to Mr Atkinson, Gardiner(sic), Rolleston Hall, Burton on Trent.

Mr Riding

Mr Riding collected this item 20 years ago because of its association with his name. Since, as he says “I am not getting any younger” and his collecting interests lie in other areas, he would prefer to donate it where it would be appreciated.
Mr Riding also writes –

“My association with Rolleston village commenced in the 1960’s when my (then) wife and I decided to look at the church there because of our interest in anything to do with the Rolleston family. We happened to meet the vicar, a Revd. Knight, and he was very helpful to us, particularly when we explained the relevance of our visit. Some time later a letter came from him asking us to present the prizes at the annual Garden Fete on 17th July 1967, which we did.”

St Mary’s still has a copy of the programme announcing Mr Riding’s presence.

What is a “Mulready”?

Rolleston philatelist, Dr John Mawer writes -

“The system of postal rates in Great Britain up to 1840 was a complicated business depending upon the number of sheets used, the weight and the distance that it had to travel. As a result sending a letter could become expensive so it was largely confined to business and to the better off. In some instances it was the recipient who had to pay the charges on arrival, so the sender was not always popular and letters were often refused.

The Post Office entrusted Rowland Hill to come up with a fairer and cheaper system that would be acceptable to all. It was his Postal Reforms that led to the introduction of a Uniform Penny Postage and ultimately to the issue of the famous Penny Black adhesive stamp on the 6th May 1840. However, Hill’s personal preference for a method of pre-payment for letters was for the sale of “stamped covers”, the first postal stationery, the price of which would include the postage.

Various people were invited to submit designs for the new stationery and it was that of Sir William Mulready that was accepted. This was to be produced in the form of letter sheets and envelopes in black for the penny rate and a blue 2d rate for heavier items. Hill chose Mulready’s design because he believed it to depict the benefits that Uniform Penny Postage would bring. It was officially released at the same time as the adhesive stamps. However, there was much controversy and they did not prove popular with the general public. They were much ridiculed and this gave rise to many privately produced caricatures which are much sought after today. Mulreadys were withdrawn within a year and replaced with a series of more substantial plain envelopes bearing embossed designs for the postage paid

The letter sheet addressed to Rolleston Hall is of interest to postal historians because of its early May date, only nine days after its introduction. Its contents are of more interest to local historians and it probably contained another sheet folded inside when first posted. A similar Mulready cover from the same correspondence is known to exist, but this does not identify Mr Atkinson as the Gardener and it, too, has lost its original contents.” 

The Letter Sheet

This is a fragile document, similar in weight to the traditional air mail envelope.

On the reverse of the address the letter reads –

List of Mr Batemans Plants
continued 

Helis macrostachya
Zygopetalum cornutum
Pleurothallis circumplena
Acropera Loddiggii

Mr Atkinson must prepare a moist stove, if he can for the above – with the exception of Epidendrum Skinneri: and if he takes care of them until the summer Sir Oswald will build a proper house for them

Helis micrantha

The letter has also been used as an aide memoire with faint pencillings of other plant names around the edge.

What are the plants?

Nomenclature changes make absolute identification difficult but they appear to be a collection of orchids, from South American countries, that had arrived in this country within the previous ten years

Who was Mr Atkinson?

We know little about Atkinson. His name appears in the 1841 Census and again in the 1851 Census where he is listed as a gardener in Sir Oswald Mosley’s household, aged 42 and born in Liverpool. This is not surprising, throughout the 19th century the gardens at Rolleston Hall were staffed by migrant journeyman gardeners using and gaining horticultural experience in these important gardens.

Who was Mr Bateman?

In 1840 Sir Oswald Mosley was about to become a Vice-President of what is now the Royal Horticultural Society, with the Duke of Devonshire as President. Sir Oswald was meeting the leading horticulturalists and plant hunters of the mid-Victorian era.
We cannot prove who Mr Bateman was, but it is very likely that he was James Bateman, living at Knypersley, who soon was to build the famous Biddulph Grange gardens in North Staffordshire, recently restored by the National Trust.

We are most appreciative of the generosity of Mr Riding for this item of historical ephemera which is much more than a local postal address.

(Article first appeared in Rollestonian - Autumn 2004)