Today, Myrtle Cottage on Drake Street (see map) looks quite different from when it was the Post Office over fifty years ago. The change in appearance occurred at some point between 2007 and 2009. There are some old beams inside the cottage which are reputed to date back to an original dwelling, at which time it would probably have been built as a two roomed, single storey cottage open to the eaves, possibly in the early 18th century. The cottage is not a listed building but it has been classed as a ‘Non-Designated Heritage Asset’.

The Post Office and Telegraph Office operated from the small timber clad extension on the west side of the cottage, which was subsequently incorporated into the private dwelling.

Mrs Price was the postmistress who lived at Myrtle Cottage with her husband Harry and their family. Mrs Price loved the post office and Mr Price loved his vegetable and flower garden, especially the roses. He was skilled in grafting his own roses and his campanula border was greatly admired. 

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Gwyneth Gill (née George) has a clear memory of Myrtle Cottage as the Post Office. She writes, “I have very happy memories of the place and I used to love walking in the garden and smelling the flowers, one rose in particular became my favourite – it was so lovely.  Mr and Mrs Price were very kind, letting me look around and would often send me home with an apple or some other little treat.  As a child, going there was like being taken on an outing to somewhere really nice”.

Many other people have equally fond memories, such as:  The bell ringing as you opened the door, the wooden floors and counter kept spotlessly clean and always the lovely smell of polish.

Both Mr and Mrs Price were remembered as being a very jolly couple and making everyone welcome. Mrs Price was particularly fond of a lengthy chat with her customers when time allowed. One resident remembers her mother saying quite often “I have some Post Office business to attend to”, which actually meant she was just going to pop in for a chat with Mrs Price.

Several locals remember that as children they picked blackberries for extra pocket money.  They took them to the Prices at the Post Office, for onward delivery by train to various markets.  The children were paid for the blackberries according to how much their pickings weighed.

Others remembered that any children interested in stamp collecting were allowed to sift through Mrs Price’s vast collection of used UK stamps.

Mrs Price retired from the Post Office in June 1973 after 31 years service.  She received a certificate of appreciation (image below) from the Post Office in commemoration of her long service:

With particular thanks to Dave Price for giving permission to use his photographs and to Gwyneth Gill for sharing her memories.