While today it is easy enough to send a parcel to Spain or a parcel to Germany through the local post office, a new book has been published that sheds light on the history of the UK postal service.

Written by Julian Stray, assistant curator at the British Postal Museum and Archive, Post Offices gives readers a historical view of the development of one of the country's best-loved public institutions, Hell Mail reports.

Priced at £5.99, the book informs anyone with an interest in parcel delivery of the range of services that have been provided by post offices through the ages, from dog licences and pensions to stamps and postal orders.

"Highlighting the 'heyday of the GPO' during the 1930s, 40s and 50s, the book recalls childhood memories of post office counters selling stamps and sweets, the weekly pension queue and the friendly local post master," the news provider reports.

The Dunmow Broadcast reported recently that a post office in Essex is being transformed into a new art gallery that will display both professional work and children's pictures.