The General Post Office (GPO) was officially established in England in 1660 by Charles II. The General Post Office created a network of post offices where senders could submit items but the ordinary man or woman wouldn’t have had much to do with it as it was expensive and in private hands. All post was transferred from the post office of origination to distribution points called sorting stations, and from there the post was then sent on for delivery to the receiver of the post. Initially it was the recipient of the post who paid the fee, and he had the right to refuse to accept the item if he did not wish to pay. The charge was based on the distance the item had been carried so the GPO had to keep a separate account for each item. In 1840 the Uniform Penny Post was introduced, which incorporated the two key innovations of a uniform postal rate, which cut administrative costs and letters could be delivered anywhere in Britain, whether near or far, for a penny to a named receiver (now the post master/mistress) for distribution. Postal business boomed.

Early mention of Fritton Post Office:                                                                              POST OFFICE. —Clement Waters Lawn, receiver. Letters arrive from Yarmouth at 8 a.m.; dispatched at 4.45 p.m. Somerleyton is the nearest money order & telegraph office