General Postal Directories and Guides

John Copeland's extensive listing provides links to all relevant documents that have been found while searching and are available free on the internet – directories, annual works, guides to places, and some local topographical and historical works.

Specific copies of some important guides are held on the GBPS site.

In 1794 cartographer John Cary was commissioned by the Postmaster General to survey England's roads, resulting in successive editions of Cary's New Itinerary, or An Accurate Delineation of the Great Roads which give the mileages of the main roads and are thus very helpful for working out pre-1840 mileage-based rates.

The 1802 volume was used by Alan Robertson in working out his list of mileages.

The volumes by Army officer and cartographer Daniel Paterson also list roads and distances, with a table of postage rates to places from London, and may or may not have involved some plagiarism from Cary!