Penny Post He circulated mail to 17 shops in the city (effectively post offices) and employed 4 uniformed postmen. Their hats read "Penny Post" and were numbered 1,4,8 and 16 to make the business look bigger. On 5 December 1839 the Uniform Fourpenny Post was introduced by the General Post Office but lasted only 36 days until 9 January 1840 when the Uniform Penny Post was introduced. The penny post box was green. In 1835 Rowland Hill published a pamphlet entitled 'Post Office Reform' which led to various reforms and the introduction of the first postage stamp and convinced Parliament to implement
Penny Post General Post Office. In 1765, Parliament authorized the creation of Penny Posts in any town or city of the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. The single postage rate of one penny was charged within the area, calculated by weight. By the beginning of the 19th century there were many of these, identifiable on covers, with markings such as "PP", "Py Post", or "Penny Post" along with the name of the town. The early penny post system in Edinburgh, founded in 1773/4 by Peter Williamson, known as "Indian Peter," usefully combined it with one of the world's first street directories.