The Old Post Office.
I had returned to Ufton Nervet, as it is quite an interesting little village. I was actually looking for the remains of St Michael’s Church, but stumbled across this instead!
Thanks to a road closure, I had to follow a detour. This took me down Shortheath Lane. On the approach to Ufton Nervet, I first spotted the pillar box in the wall.
This caught my attention, as this style is normally what you would expect in the wall of a Post Office. Sure enough, I saw the house was indeed called “The Old Post Office”.
Curiously, the style of the building itself didn’t suggest anything of its past history. However, I stopped to take a photograph – much to the surprise of a lady coming out of the house opposite!
Interestingly, having explained myself, I learnt that the lady lives in the Old Post Office, although not for that long. She did know a little of the history, although not much.
The previous owners had lived in the property for around 15 years, and she was sure they had not had anything to do with the Post Office. However, she thought it may have opened when these houses were built, giving the village the facility for the first time. It was in what is now the garage. Looking on Google Maps, the property was For Sale in August 2011, when the garage door was white. I wonder if it was painted red by the current owners in tribute to the fact that is was the Old Post Office of Ufton Nervet?
See also the Dog and Partridge.
Photograph Details
- Taken: 5 Apr 2017
- Camera: Canon 5D MkIII
- Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm 1:2.8 L II USM
- Focal Length 45mm
- F/5.6
- 1/640 Sec
- ISO 400
The ufton postoffice was only open for a couple of years towards the end of the eighties.
I lived in Ufton Nervet from 1967 to 1984. There was a shop but not a post office about two to the right of this photo which closed in the mid 70’s. This shop and post office opened about 1980 but did not last too long from memory.