Rowland Hill

Rowland Hill (1795-1879)

Edward Onslow Ford, R. A. (1852-1901)

1881, unveiled 1882

Bronze larger-than-lifesize figure on a Peterhead granite base

This statue of Rowland Hill, who introduced the Penny Post on 10 January 1840, and changed English attitudes toward writing letters, stands outside the old Post Office headquarters on King Edward Street, London EC1. The figure has been much praised for its "subtler handling of the material," and its "more variegated treatment of mass in general and in detail, to give a livelier effect of reflected light and texture" (Read 292).

Photograph and text 2006 by Jacqueline Banerjee.

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Related Material

  • The Penny Post
  • The Perkins D cylinder Printing Press used to print the first stamps
  • Letters from the Past (Postal history and a Collection of Victorian and earlier letters)