Henry Bishop, also spelt Bishopp and Bisshopp, from Henfield

Henfield

Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. The parish has a land area of . In the 2001 census 5,012...

 in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 was a Postmaster General of England and inventor of the first postmark

Postmark

thumb|USS TexasA postmark is a postal marking made on a letter, package, postcard or the like indicating the date and time that the item was delivered into the care of the postal service...

 used on mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

.

Postmaster General

Before the creation of the position of Postmaster General control of the post was in the hands of "Master of the King's Post". In 1660, at The Restoration, Henry Bishop paid £21,500 per year to farm the Post Office for a term of seven years. This was more than double the previous payment. Bishop's letters patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 gave him the monopoly to carry letters within the kingdom. His appointment was to start on June 25, 1660, but was delayed until 29 September when the Act of Parliament

Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom

An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....

 reconstituted the General Post Office

General Post Office

General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...

. Bishop claimed no less than £500 in compensation for the loss of income because several independent posts had been started between London and the country but were not suppressed until the act was passed; they infringed on his monopoly to carry letters.

Bishop was the first officially appointed Postmaster General to Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 but within a year of taking office he was accused of abuses. In reply, he mentions the improvements he instigated including the stamping of letters, on August 2, 1661. He served in the position until April 1663 at which time he gave up the remainder of his lease to Daniel O'Neill

Daniel O'Neill (royalist)

Daniel O'Neill was an Irish army officer, politician and courtier.-Early life:O'Neill was the eldest son of Con MacNiall O'Neill, lord of Clandeboye and his wife, Ellis...

.

Bishop mark

Henry Bishop introduced the world's first known postmark that takes his name in 1661. The "Bishop Mark" was designed to show the date on which a letter was received by the post and to ensure that the dispatch of letters would not be delayed. These were the world's first handstruck postage stamps

Bishop announced,

The postmarks were usually on the back of the letter and are known initially used in the Chief Office in London but were introduced later in Dublin, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

The original London Bishop Mark, first used 19 April 1661 consisted of a small circle of 13 mm diameter, bisected horizontally, with the month (in serif

Serif

In typography, serifs are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. A typeface with serifs is called a serif typeface . A typeface without serifs is called sans serif or sans-serif, from the French sans, meaning “without”...

ed lettering) abbreviated to two letters, in the upper half and the day of the month in the lower half. Similar marks were used later in Scotland and Ireland, as well as the North American colonies.

In 1673, a new mark was brought into use which had a diameter of between 13 and 14 mm. The type used from this point was sans-serif

Sans-serif

In typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without"....

 and this continued in use until 1713. In 1713, larger handstamps were introduced which ranged in size from 14 to 20 mm. The layout of these was also changed, with the month appearing at the base. This type remained in use until 1787, when it was replaced by the double circle type.