Our Post OfficeIt was an eventful year, 1839 – the first Grand National was run, the first photograph <strong>of</strong> the moonwas taken by Daguerre, and George Cadbury, famous for his chocolate products, was born. And,says <strong>Allan</strong> Brown, we acquired our first Post Office.The Post Office archives in London were ableto provide the date <strong>of</strong> our first Post Office, butcan’t say where it was located. An 1865 map(right) shows a post <strong>of</strong>fice in what appears tobe the shop now run by Nikki Taylor: possiblythat was the site <strong>of</strong> the original one.Two hundred years earlier a national postalservice was created. A King’s (or Queen’s) posthad been around for several centuries beforethis, but had only been for the monarch andmembers <strong>of</strong> the royal court. The new servicewas available to all, and Cromwell’s Postal Act<strong>of</strong> 1657 covering England, Scotland andIreland, established the General Post Office.Wales didn’t get a mention since it had been“subdued” and was considered part <strong>of</strong>England. Unusually the Act included Scotland,despite us having our own elected government– a case <strong>of</strong> “better together” perhaps?Mail was delivered by a rider on horsebackbetween “posts” in towns along the postalroutes. These towns were spaced a horse rideapart, where the rider (called a post boy)could rest and change his horse beforeembarking on the next link in the journey.Carrying mail on horseback was superseded atthe end <strong>of</strong> the 17th century by the mail coach,drawn by six horses, and carrying mail andpassengers. The journey from London toEdinburgh took around three to five days.Other slower coach services were availabletoo, but some years later Alice Morse Earleexplains in her book Stage-coach and TavernDays that travelling was not much fun:“While England had, in the first half <strong>of</strong> theeighteenth century, coaches in enough numberthat country folk knew what they looked like,Scotland was barren not only <strong>of</strong> coaches but <strong>of</strong>carriages. In 1720 there were no chariots orchaises north <strong>of</strong> the Tay. Not till 1749 was there acoach between Edinburgh and Glasgow; thisjourney <strong>of</strong> forty-six miles could, by the end <strong>of</strong> thecentury, be done in twelve hours. In 1754 therewas once a month a coach from Edinburgh toLondon; it took twelve to sixteen days toaccomplish this journey, and was so perilous thattravellers made their wills before setting out.”The “Penny Black”, the first postage stamp<strong>Bridge</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Allan</strong> <strong>Times</strong> <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2013</strong>And if that wasn’t bad enough, this iswhat she said about stops along theway:“Scotch inns were as bad as the roads;mean hovels with dirty rooms, dirty food,dirty attendants. Servants without shoesor stockings, greasy tables with nocloths, butter thick with cows’ hairs, noknives and forks, a single drinking-cupfor all at the table, filthy smells andsights, were universal; and this whenEnglish inns were the pleasantest placeson earth.”Another problem was the alarminglevel <strong>of</strong> highway robbery, despite themail coach having an armed guard,and it being a hanging <strong>of</strong>fence.Rather than tackle the problem moreforcefully, the Post Office’s advice at the timewas to cut banknotes in half and send them onseparate journeys. This was apparently thereason behind the number on a banknoteappearing twice.By the time <strong>of</strong> our first Post Office in 1839,improved roads and security resulted in amuch more reliable service. Deliveries <strong>of</strong>national mail were still by coach, althoughrailways were to take this over by around1850. Letters had to be paid for on delivery,but the ever-resourceful public had developedsimple codes – for instance a son writing homemight write the address in capitals, meaningall was well and the letter could be refused,with anything else indicating the letter wasimportant and should be accepted. With aletter from London to Edinburgh costing 1s 2din 1812 (nearly £1 today) and more for theEdinburgh – Stirling – <strong>Bridge</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Allan</strong> journey, itwas a costly business to receive several lettersa week.In 1840 Rowland Hill’s penny postage wasintroduced, making the sender responsible forthe cost <strong>of</strong> postage, using the world’s firstpostage stamp. the Penny Black. One penny fora universal service was a bargain, given thatthe cheapest letter in 1839 was 4 pence. Thegovernment were so worried about losses onthe new service that initially the price was setat 4 pence, but the public outcry forced themto quickly revert to the promised one penny.The low prices brought a significant increase inletters carried over the next years, as Hill hadcorrectly predicted.By 1866, a Miss Helen Dawson was listed as ourPostmistress, while Miss Margaret Dawson wasin a similar role in Dunblane – perhaps theywere related. Helen was still here in 1874,when a telegraph service was introduced.In 1882, a James Braid had taken over, bywhich time the post <strong>of</strong>fice was located inOur first Post Office? Perhaps, but this map is from 1865Union Place (now called Union Street).And atsome point over the next 10 years, the PostOffice moved back to Henderson Street. Thehours worked were long by today’s standard -7am to 9pm on week days.In July 1902 a new post <strong>of</strong>fice was proposed inFountain Road, with McLuckie and Walker <strong>of</strong>Stirling being the architects for buildings“every way worthy <strong>of</strong> <strong>Bridge</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Allan</strong>”.On 1 November 1902 the builder, James Donald<strong>of</strong> Stirling, and the joiner, James Henderson <strong>of</strong><strong>Bridge</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Allan</strong> were appointed. The estimate<strong>of</strong> costs was £2,000. On 30 May 1903 the<strong>Bridge</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Allan</strong> <strong>Times</strong> reported that on theprevious Wednesday evening “Mr Roberts,postmaster, with his entire staff removed tothe new premises in Fountain Road. Forseveral years the old premises in HendersonStreet had been far too small … particularlywas the inconvenience and unsuitableness feltat ‘Xmas and New Year time … It is worthy <strong>of</strong>note that the transference <strong>of</strong> business tookplace on Wednesday evening at 8 o’clock, andat 9 o’clock the first telegram wasdespatched, so that the public suffered noinconvenience whatever.”This happy report was spoilt a little by theending: “It is a pity the tradesmen have notbeen able to finish <strong>of</strong>f completely: there aresome details <strong>of</strong> work which will take sometime yet…”Although the Post Office is no longer directlyrun by the government, the telegraph serviceabandoned in 1982 and Royal Mail nowprivatised, the building still stands, completewith its iconic “Postal and Telegraph Office”.Here’s to the next 175 years.The story <strong>of</strong> the Post Office is coveredextensively and with some interestinganecdotes in Duncan Campbell-Smith’s“Masters <strong>of</strong> the Post”, available from ourlibrary.5