Since the first parcel was sent, UK postage rates have always been of interest. Back in 1837, Britain was faced with high and inconsistently priced postage stamps causing an unnecessary inconvenience to many people. This problem was solved by Sir Rowland Hill when he came up with the idea of a pre-paid self-adhesive postage stamp which went on to be the world’s first adhesive postage stamp.
Named ‘The Penny Black’; the stamp was officially issued in Great Britain on the 1st of May 1840 and was used from the 6th of May onwards. The design featured Queen Victoria and marked a significant change in the UK’s postal service.
Throughout the years, UK postage stamp prices have varied for many different reasons such as the war and general price increases. This infographic features a timeline of the changes in UK postage stamp prices, as well as a brief insight into the history of the UK postage stamp, and a closer look at their design changes throughout the years.
