Episode 2 of 3

Implementation of Uniform Penny Post

When: 10 January 1840
Where: United Kingdom
Part of: Britain issues the Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamp

The uniform penny rate was implemented on 10 January 1840, preceding the printing of stamps.

The uniform fourpenny post rate lowered the cost to fourpence from 5 December 1839, then to the penny rate on 10 January 1840, even before stamps or letter sheets could be printed. This was based on Hill's 1838 proposal and the Post Office (Duties) Act 1840.

Sources

Rowland Hill Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-16
Uniform Penny Post Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-19

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.