Finsbury Pavement
During a visit to a stamp society, I came across a registered envelope that caught my attention. This envelope was stamped on September 28, 1900, with a stamp from a post office with a strange name: 89 Finsbury Pavement BOEC. Where was I to look for that post office?
The envelope gave me no lead, as there was no sender. But the letters EC were familiar: Eastern Central, a postcode for a postal district in London. And indeed, the name Finsbury Pavement appeared in the Islington borough. I took a look around using Street View and saw that the address 89 no longer existed. All new buildings, banks, and large shops. Not so strange, as this part of the city had been severely affected by the German bombings during the Battle of Britain. It has not been precisely recorded, but a heavy bomb fell on or near the post office during a nighttime bombing raid between October 7, 1940, and June 6, 1941, destroying a large number of buildings and resulting in deaths and injuries.
Photos of the nearby Fore Street taken on January 3, 1941, show the destruction.
Returning to the envelope. It was issued in 1898 and was specifically intended for registered mail. The registered mail rate was already printed on the flap: Registration two pence, with an image of Queen Victoria. It was the smallest envelope size, 133 mm by 83 mm. Four other sizes existed, the largest of which was 292 mm by 152 mm. The envelope had been sent to Vlissingen, and therefore an additional 2 pence had to be added. The stamps were cancelled with a special stamp for registered mail, which included the word "Registered".
The sending office name was therefore Finsbury Pavement. Following that were the letters BO. These letters were the abbreviation for Branch Office. The addition of BO occurred much more frequently, such as in the stamps of Lombard Street, also found in London.
The back of the envelope provided further information regarding compensation should the envelope not reach the addressee. The two pence was sufficient for compensation of up to £5.
The postal service worked very quickly back then, because the very next day the envelope was stamped at the Vlissingen post office with the large circular stamp indicating 12-6 in the morning.
But where does the name Finsbury Pavement come from? The term 'pavement' has several meanings, such as sidewalk, road surface, pavement, and footpath. It was likely a paved road leading to a country house named Finsbury. This country house has long since ceased to exist. It was situated on the access road to London, just before Moorgate, a city gate in the wall surrounding London. The name Moorgate still exists today, but as a metro station and the extension of Finsbury Pavement towards the city centre. Finsbury Pavement is now part of a major road, the A501, which transitions into the A40 to the west. A nice piece of postal stationery that fits into my collection of 'strange post office names'. 
Congratulations! What a lovely message.
Very nice, see also:
http://www.triple-sonline.com/Images/a33968itExt.JPG
You should have become a detective, Cees!
Willem, that is precisely the fun part of our hobby. Uncovering a piece of history hidden in such a postal item. That adds an extra dimension to the item (at least for me), more enjoyable than filling a pre-printed album. Although acquiring that one stamp I was still missing can also bring some satisfaction. But that fun is over quickly, and then I dive back into my postal collection….
Compliments on this beautiful piece full of information.
There is much more of interest to say about 89 Finsbury Pavement, but since my previous relevant contribution was censored for no reason, it apparently makes no sense at all to respond here on this blog. A real shame.
'@Stampertje,
We checked our spam folder and your message indeed ended up there.
Most of the spam we encounter daily starts with 'nice article' followed by a link. That explains it. The comment has been restored.
Okay, thanks. In that case, just a brief bit of extra information:
At 89 Finsbury Pavement, a descendant of the Smee furniture-making family was established under the name WA & S Smee for the 25–30 years before the post office opened. High-quality furniture; it still fetches high prices at antique auctions, and there is even a piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many pieces of furniture bear a nameplate with the address, see:
http://img5.sellersourcebook.com/users/39568/034_1392038776.jpg
WA Smee died on April 29, 1886, at his office at this address. This likely led to the end of the company fairly quickly, the departure of his descendants to the US, and paved the way for the establishment of the post office.
That various incidents occurred at the post office from time to time in the years that followed is evident from the proceedings of the Central Criminal Court, such as an interesting case involving the theft of a wallet containing, among other things, 30 stamps:
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/images.jsp?doc=190505020019
The text above states that the post office was destroyed during a bombing raid in WWII. Interestingly, a very impressive eyewitness account suggests that this may have happened as early as (or also) in WWI, specifically in June 1916 (which is truly remarkable). See (on page 103):
books.google.com/books?isbn=0906782988
Very nice and useful extra information that I will definitely save!
Thank you for the data.
Here is another photo of Finsbury Pavement, taken in 1896, when the post office must already have existed:
http://www.antiquemapsandprints.com/scansr1/P-7-003749a.jpg
The photo was taken facing number 68. I do not know if the post office is visible in the photo. Prints of this photo are readily available on eBay, some of them with accompanying text:
“Finsbury Pavement […] The above view was taken nearly opposite West Street, which leads east into Finsbury Circus and Short Street, which runs west into Moorfields, just opposite Moorgate Street Station […]”
…photo taken by George Newnes…
Fun background information on Stamper!