Sir Francis Freeling, 1st Baronet FSA (25 August 1764 – 10 July 1836), was Secretary of the General Post Office. He was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, on 25 August 1764.

Career

Freeling started work in the Bristol Post Office. In 1785 he was promoted, to a post in London, to develop the service. In 1797, he rose to the office of joint Secretary to the Post Office and in 1798, sole Secretary. He initiated many reforms to the Post Office, including the introduction of local

penny post The Penny Post is any one of several postal systems in which normal letters could be sent for one penny. Five such schemes existed in the United Kingdom while the United States initiated at least three such simple fixed rate postal arrangements. U ...

s in large towns, the reorganization of London's postal service and the use of steam trains and steamships to replace horse-drawn vehicles and wind-powered ships. On 11 March 1828, a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

was conferred upon him, of the General Post Office in the City of London and of

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and Hutchings in the

County of Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, for his public service.

Personal life

Freeling collected a large library. He was elected a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soci ...

in 1801, and was one of the original members of the

Roxburghe Club The Roxburghe Club is a bibliophilic and publishing society based in the United Kingdom. Origins The spur to the Club's foundation was the sale of the enormous library of the Duke of Roxburghe (who had died in 1804), which took place over 46 day ...

, founded in 1812. Freeling was married three times and had many children. On his death on 10 July 1836, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest surviving son, Sir George Henry Freeling (22 September 1789 – 30 November 1841). The eldest daughter, Charlotte, married

James Heywood Markland James Heywood Markland (1788–1864) was an English solicitor and antiquary. Life Born at Ardwick Green, Manchester, 7 December 1788, he was the fourth and youngest son of Robert Markland, a textile manufacturer there; his mother was Elizabeth, d ...

References

* 1764 births 1836 deaths Civil servants from Bristol Postal history Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery {{UK-baronet-stub