St David’s Hall, Cardiff

Apr 20, 2019

Penny post's earliest advocate


When Samuel Roberts of Llanbrynmair (near Machynlleth) had retired to live with his brothers in Conwy, the Government gave him £50 in recognition of his social and postal reforms. As a young man in the 1820s, he had advocated a system of penny post ...

in which a small, uniform fee would cover the delivery of a letter to any address in the Britain. The idea was later put into practice with the launch of the Penny Black stamp in 1840, the first self-adhesive postage stamp in the world. The Roberts brothers, famous in Wales as "Y tri brawd" (the three brothers), led eventful lives which included losing out heavily during the American Civil War when their Tennessee farm was used and plundered by the military without payment. For more on their story, use your mobile to scan the HistoryPoints QR codes on the gatepost of Brynmair, their former home in the Morfa area of Conwy. Or click here