Just reading “The Mail of Mann” – the story of postal services in the Isle of Man written by Robert Kelly. A fascinating read if you like that sort of thing which I presumably do.
On September 3rd 1837 the Post Office in the UK despatched a surveyor to the island to assess what might be done to improve its postal communications. The transmission of data packets (ie letters) was very much adhoc, asynchronous if you like. In particular the service to outlying rural parts of the island was pretty hit and miss.
Unfortunately for those rural dwellers, which in particular included the Lord Bishop whose residence as you probably know is on the far side of the island between Kirk Michael and Ballaugh, the surveyor decided that it would be too expensive to set up a regular service to anywhere other than the main towns which would in any case cover most of the people sending and receiving mail.
The rural areas were left to people to sort out themselves. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?