Channel Islands Specialists’ Society

Founded 1950

Luc Content

Letter Forwarding Agent J Bonamy and Co

A New Discovery by Luc Content

Luc Content has sent us a scan of his recent find of a letter from Lorient via St Malo to Guernsey from Pierre Frédérick Dobrée in Lorient (a port on the south Brittany coast, via Saint-Malo, to his Father, Thomas Dobrée, a trader on Guernsey, via the forwarding agent La Duré in St Malo. According to the tariff of 1759, the letter was correctly charged 7 sols (Lorient to Rennes 33 lieus; Rennes to St Malo 16 lieus = 49 lieus and therefore charged correctly for a letter travelling 40 to 60 lieus).

The reverse also shows another “7” charge mark, after the word Postage which was presumably added on Guernsey.

Of interest to the history of forwarding agents on or dealing with the Channel Islands is that the addressee was Mons Thomas Dobrée, Negt (Merchant, broker, or agent). In his book Letter Forwarding Agents of Great Britain handling Channel Islands letters 1673 – 1855 (2011), David Gurney writes:

“This cover therefore puts “one” date to Thomas Dobrée’s period of trading in Guernsey as 1775, and is at least a start to dating his activities”.

A search by David Winnie using AI has revealed the following information:

The Dobrée connection

Thomas Dobrée(1719–1785) was one of the most important Guernsey merchants of the period. His family’s network spanned:

  • St Malo
  • Nantes
  • Lisbon
  • London
  • The West Indies

The Dobrée correspondence is known to survive in various archives, and letters to him often show:

  • early forwarding marks
  • merchant-to-merchant routing instructions
  • pre-adhesive postal arrangements before the British Post Office had any formal control over Channel Islands inbound mail.

A 1775 letter to Dobrée from St Malo would fit perfectly into his commercial activities — especially in the grain, wine, and general provisioning trades.

Having looked at other covers in my collection (Ed), I also find covers addressed to another Thomas Dobrée in Nantes in 1776 (two letters), and 1793, 1813, 1819, 1820 and 1831 (ex-Valparaiso, Chile). Presumably this is the original Thomas’ grandson.          

I have noted covers addressed to PJ Dobrée dated 1776 (two covers) and 1793.

The two lines after the word Gurnesey read Recommandée à Monser La Duré à St Malo. The term Recommandée probably does not equate to registration as such but rather to the term “entrusted to”.

The forwarding agent in St Malo, La Duré, is another most interesting name. While not widely documented in standard postal literature, the name does appear in:

  • St Malo merchant directories of the mid–late 18th century
  • shipping manifests where La Duré (sometimes LaDuré or LaDuré) appears as a commissionaire or négociant
  • forwarding endorsements on a handful of surviving letters from St Malo to Jersey and Guernsey in the 1760s–1780s

Forwarding agents in St Malo typically:

  • arranged carriage on small coastal vessels
  • paid port fees and handled customs formalities
  • ensured letters were placed aboard a ship with a reliable skipper
  • sometimes acted as bankers or brokers for Channel Islands merchants

Harry Dobrée; based in Guernsey (1794 -1815)

William Dobrée; based in London

Samuel Bonamy Dobrée came from a long line of merchants descended from a Huguenot refugee family from Vire, Normandy, who fled the Religious Wars of the 1550s, and was based for many years in Guernsey. Jean Dobrée, who died in 1800, had been a Jurat, a lay magistrate on the Channel Islands, serving in the Royal Court of Guernsey. He had commanded the Corps of Militia Artillery.

Harry Dobrée (1771-1851) had lived at the family home Beau Séjour, also known as Beauregard. In 1812, Harry managed a fund to send money to Guernsey prisoners in France during the war with Britain. He was also a Jurat and a Colonel in the Militia. Dobrée descendants did return to France in the Eighteenth Century, and Nantes has a large museum founded by the legacy of Thomas Dobrée (1810-1895) and named after him. ( Thank you to The Huguenot Society for this information).

Samuel’s Father, Peter Bonmay Dobrée, was the son of Peter Dobrée (1722-1808) and Rachel née Bonamy (1722-1798). Peter Bonamy (1760-1843) left Guernsey and married Elizabeth Costeker (1766-1855) in Ashford, Kent, on 25 November 1786. Samuel was born in London on 6 August 1792 and was baptised soon after on 4 September at St Magnus the Martyr, in the City of London. His siblings include Elizabeth Harriett (1787-1833), Peter Henry (1789-1818), James Bonamy (1790-1868), Sophia (1794-1870), John Horne (1801-1879) and Amelia Sarah (1808-1895).

The 1841 census shows Samuel 45, warehouseman. He is listed with his family: Peter Dobrée 80, warehouseman, Elizabeth 70, James 50 and John 40, both also warehousemen, Amelia 30, of independent means, one porter and three female servants. They were living at Grace Church Street, St Leonard, East Cheap, Middlesex.

By 1851, Samuel had made his way to Folkestone and was residing with Daniel White and family at Upper Sandgate Road. Samuel B Dobrée, visitor, unmarried, aged 64, Gentleman.

The 1861 census shows Samuel B Dobrée, unmarried, aged 68, fundholder, lodging at a house in Bouverie Square.

The electoral register shows that by 1868 Samuel was living at Bouverie Place and the 1871 census also shows: Number 6 Bouverie Place Folkestone. Samuel B Dobrée 78, private income, born London.

On 20 January 1876, at home, 6 Bouverie Place, Samuel died aged 83. He was buried in Section 17 Plot 327 on 26 January.

Probate is dated 17 February 1876, proved at Canterbury by John Dobrée Norwood (Son of Elizabeth Harriett) of Ashford, Solicitor, the nephew of one of the executors. Effects under £4,000. A cousin of Samuel’s, a former merchant, Bonamy Dobrée (1794-1863) was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England (1857-1859) rising to Governor later in 1859 until 1861. He is listed as a claimant in relation to slavery compensation for estates worked by enslaved people in British Guiana. His Father, also Samuel (1759-1827), brother of Peter Bonmay Dobrée was head of the house of Dobrée and Sons

Rate query on entire letter of 1809 from Guernsey to Poole

I have recently acquired an entire letter sent on June 5, 1809 from Guernsey to Poole. On the front of the cover one sees the handwritten postage entry 1/6d in black ink and when I calculate the postage I get a total of 1/7d. I referred this to Alan Moorcroft who quickly responded with the answer that he suspected the letter did not go via London as we now know it has no London datestamp on the reverse side. Thus it would have travelled from Weymouth to Blandford where there was a cross road to Poole, an inland distance from Weymouth of 40 miles = 6d plus 3d packet to Weymouth = 9d. Assuming it was a double letter the rate of 1/6d is solved.

Alan also writes…..to calculate the postage charge on mail sent prior to 5th December 1839 (Uniform postage) one needs to know the distance the letter was actually carried until 1838 when the rule changed to the shortest distance. This is usually easy if the letter went along the same post road. However, when mail was sent via a cross post road then the calculation has to be from the town the letter was posted to the place the letter was transferred to another post road for it to reach its destination. As this letter bears no London datestamp it is almost 100% certain that it went via a cross post. Mail posted from Weymouth was sent to Shaftsbury to join the Western Road to London. This route passed through Dorchester and Blandford. A cross post operated from Blandford to Poole. Thus one can calculate the route this letter took: Weymouth to Blandford 24 miles and Blandford to Poole 13 miles making a total of 37 miles. This was charged postage in the rate band 30 to 50 miles 1805 – 1812 rates 6d.

Reference. The Western Road in Robertson Great Britain Post Roads, Post Towns page 10 and Paterson’s Roads and principal Cross Roads.

Unusual Postcard with Guernsey M.O.O. cancel

I illustrate above scans of an unusual postcard which I have recently acquired

  1. This postcard was sent from Guernsey at the correct 1d rate and was addressed to a protestant priest in Ferney in France.  The stamp was cancelled with the GUERNSEY M.O.O. datestamp for 6 October 1903.  This datestamp has been recorded in use between 1884 and 1936.  There is an arrival datestamp for 8 October.
  2. The addressee was not found at this address and the card was forwarded to the Bois Cerf Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland (still open today).  There are three Lausanne datestamps. There is an arrival datestamp for 9 October (LAUSANNE/ FACT. LETTER).
  3. A similar datestamp was applied for 10 October.  There were two attempts to find the addressee at this hospital.  However, neither were successful.  There are two manuscript endorsements by the postmen “Inconnu à Bois Cerf” [Unknown at Bois Cerf].
  4. The card was then returned to sender on 10 October.  The card received a label ‘Unbekannt/ Inconnu’ [unknown] at the Lausanne Post Office together with a Lausanne departure datestamp for 10 October – inscribed ‘LAUSANNE/ EXP. LIT’.  This was applied alongside the GB KEVII 1d stamp.
  5. The card was returned to Guernsey via London where a London transit datestamp was applied in red, dated 19 October.  It is probable that the red’EX’ handstamp [= EXAMINED] was applied in London.  The London Post Office would have deleted the French address with red crayon.  On the front of the card, the words ‘P.O. Guernsey’ have been highlighted in a red frame and similarly the name of the sender.  The London Post Office then inserted the final destination “Guernsey” in red on the reverse of the card.
  6. A framed violet four line handstamp was applied.  This was inscribed: ‘Undelivered for reason stated/ to be returned to sender/ at the address shewn on cover/ Returned from R.L.O. [Returned Letter Office] London’.

I cannot record seeing any example of a similar four line ‘Undelivered for Reason Stated…’ handstamp used in Guernsey or Jersey.  I can record a couple of examples with a similar three line handstamp used in the Channel Islands.

I wish to thank Gerald Marriner FRPSL for his help with this article.