IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0813 POST 35 Series
Held at: British Postal Museum and Archive: The Royal Mail Archive
Title: Post Office: Minutes between the Secretary and Postmaster General: Volumes
Date(s): 1792-1969
Level of description: Series
Extent: 1721 volumes
Name of creator(s):
No further information available
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
This POST class consists of volumes containing a précis of, or reference to, every minute submitted to the Postmaster General from the Secretary relating to all aspects of Post Office administration. There are also separate bound indices to the minutes arranged by different subjects. POST 35/1-6 consists of volumes of minutes from the Postmaster General to the Secretary relating to all aspects of Post Office administration.
Much of the actual paperwork referred to in these volumes can be found in the accompanying class POST 30 (England and Wales Minute Papers). For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.
The class is divided into four Sub-Series. The date range for almost all of the records in the class is 1792-1921. However, there are three volumes in Sub-Series 3 'Indices to minutes between the Secretary and the Postmaster General' that contain records that cover the period up to 1969 (see POST 35/1699-1701).
The material is arranged in date order within series. All pieces consist of one volume unless otherwise stated.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Please see scope and content.
Conditions governing access:
Public Record
Conditions governing reproduction:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Finding aids:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Please contact the Archive for further information.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of copies:
Some items in this series are available on microfilm for viewing in the Search Room.
Related material:
GENERAL GUIDE TO REPORTS AND MINUTES:
POST 35 is one of several POST classes that contain reports and minutes that have been generated at Headquarters level, usually for the purpose of bringing a variety of Post Office matters to the attention of the Postmaster General. Records can relate to people, places or subjects. The various POST classes that hold these records cover the years 1790-1973. The reason there are numerous classes for such records is that organisational changes have occurred within the Post Office through the decades and different and sometimes overlapping systems have been put in place for such record keeping. For a fuller understanding of central records and how the POST classes that they can be found in relate to each other, readers are advised to consult the 'Guide to Reports and Minutes', which includes a timeline that illustrates what periods and subjects are covered by the various POST classes and how they relate to each other. This can be viewed in the BPMA search room or online. For now, here are two pointers.
1. As a rule of thumb, there are two POST classes for each run of records. One class contains the full paperwork for each case ('papers') and the other class is likely to contain an index or series of précis to this material ('volumes'). This means that the indexes of a 'volume' class will often list the material in the corresponding 'papers' class by subject, name, or place.
2. There are a number of POST classes that address issues such as Packet Service minutes, Scottish minutes, Irish minutes and miscellaneous matters. However, the principal classes likely to address central issues of general importance for England and Wales are:
1790 - 1840: POST 40 (POST 42 volumes)
1840 - 1921: POST 30 (POST 35 volumes)
1921 - 1955: POST 33 (POST 38 volumes)
(1941 - 1948): POST 102 (overlaps with POST 33)
1955 - 1973: POST 122 (also POST 35 volumes)
POST CLASSES SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO POST 35:
POST 30 (England and Wales Minute Papers) contains many of the actual papers that POST 35 refers to.
POST 42 and POST 40 (Postmaster Generals Reports) are two parallel classes that cover the early period 1792-1841. Until about 1837 these classes held reports of more central importance than the more peripheral early records of POST 30 and POST 35.
After 1841 when POST 42 and POST 40 (Postmaster Generals Reports) stop, the sort of information that had been recorded in these classes was amalgamated with the England and Wales Minutes 'volumes' and 'papers' in POST 35 and POST 30 respectively, which therefore became the principal classes for general minutes of the Postmaster General until 1921.
For Scottish minutes 1842-1921 see POST 37 (Scottish Minute Volumes) and POST 32 (Scottish Minute Papers).
For Irish Minutes 1831-1921 see POST 36 (Irish Minute Volumes) and POST 31 (Irish Minute Papers).
For other oversees and Packet Service records 1811-1921 see POST 34 (Packet Service Minute Volumes) and POST 29 (Packet Service Minute Papers).
In 1921, a significant change occurred to the way all reports and minutes were recorded. Before this time, reports and minutes for England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and the Packet Service had been recorded separately. From 1921, they were all (including POST 35 and POST 30) amalgamated into POST 38 (Postmaster General's Minute Volumes) and POST 33 (Postmaster General's Minute Papers).
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Archivist's note: Entry checked by Barbara Ball
Date(s) of descriptions: Entry checked June 2011