In Britain, the expectation of a daily postal delivery might be considered a long-standing tradition – at least since 1635 when Charles 1st introduced a public mail service. You can read more about the history of the post on this link www.postalmuseum.org. However, this was not a tradition for the inhabitants of Hoar Oak Cottage who could not expect a postal delivery until Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Concession list of 1897 which ordered a daily postal service to every household in Britain. This was formalised in the ‘Postal Official Circular’ of 1897 page 157 {Cite: PostOfficeMuseum-Archive} which gives instructions on these changes coming into force on ‘Jubilee Day.’ How exciting this must have been for the inhabitants of the many lonely cottages scattered around the British countryside including the Johnstone family who were then living at Hoar Oak Cottage. Sarah Johnstone came from Wales and must have longed for letters from her parents and siblings. Her husband Shepherd James Johnstone came from Scotland, and he too must have looked forward to receiving a letter from home. But sadly, history shows that this ‘concession’ was not to be. At least not until 1902 when, on July 24th, the North Devon Journal {Cite: British Newspaper Archive} posted this short piece reporting on the outcome of local MP’s representation to the Postmaster-General to grant a daily delivery to the remote cottages out on Exmoor and served by Lynton Post Office.
Despite Mr Soare’s sterling efforts this newspaper report shows that the cottages at Badgeworthy and Tom’s Hill were still considered too far away to get a delivery of post. Deliveries out on to Exmoor at that time were by horse and the 3 mile ride to Hoar Oak must have been considered quite far enough to deliver a postal service. Badgeworthy and Toms Hill cottages were nearer to 5 miles away, over very rough terrain, and so the occupants were left to pick up their post from Lynton. Or perhaps their post was dropped at Hoar Oak Cottage and the inhabitants of the three cottages made their own ‘last mile’ delivery arrangements. By 1902, Queen Victoria, alas, was dead so the interpretation of her ‘jubilee concessions’ must have been left to others who had hard decisions to make. Elsewhere in the British Postal Museum Archive are records of the local North Devon posties demanding an increase in salary – and who can blame them.
Some years ago, the then archivist at the Exmoor Society set out to try and discover more about the old postal routes on Exmoor. Their project didn’t include Hoar Oak Cottage, but the report makes for an interesting read including this lovely image shared below from that report. Read more on: https://www.exmoorsociety.com/assets/uploads/riding-an-old-postal-route.pdf
