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Home / Culture and Heritage / Mildenhall & District Museum / High Street, Mildenhall / Post Office/Taylor's Electrical 2007
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Post Office/Taylor's Electrical 2007

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This was the Mildenhall Post Office built in 1911 by Mr R Clarke. Ben Barlow was appointed sub postmaster in 1933 after his marriage to Kathleen.In 1939 a new house and shop was built in North Terrace which is now flats ( 2007). (Previous to the flat conversion it was Sandy's saddlery and before that A G Coe and Son's bedding shop.) It was a general store before that and for many generations of school children on their way to and from St Mary's Primary School nearby it was the place to buy sweets.)
In 1939 when the post office was in the High Street it was run then by Benjamin Barlow with Ada Lock as his assistant. Mr and Mrs Barlow had to pay Ada out of their wages and maintain the building. It had gas lighting at first and then electricity,it had open fires in the living rooms upstairs with buckets of coal being carried up. Water was pumped twice a day from a well in the yard until mains water arrived about 1939. There were 3 flush toilets- very unusual for that date and the outside one was used by visitors to the Market every Friday. There were 2 regular postmen- Harry Bailey from Icklingham and Elijah Rutterford. Mail came by mail van from Bury St. Edmunds at 6 a.m.daily and was sorted and delivered mornings and afternoons. The postmaster and staff stamped the incoming mail and bundled and bagged it. Telegrams were received by telephone and delivered by hand at a cost of 3d for local and 1 shilling (5p) for outlying villages. In 1952 the Barlows gave up the post office and started a grocery business. John and David Palmer trading as Ecclestones in Mill Street moved the post office there. A new owner followed them and in 2003 it was moved to within the Co-op supermarket in the precinct.
In 1950s this building in the High Street was a cafe run by Rex Morley specialising in milk shakes and ice creams. It was owned by his mother Ethel. After that it was a bakery run by Mr Morley's son. In the 1970s it was the Keymarket supermarket. After that Stanwood sold electrical goods there, and then Thorn Electrical owned it. Rumbelows sold electrical goods after them and in 2002 it became a bargain centre selling general goods. It remained empty for some time before Taylors took over selling electrical goods to this day.

Added:
14th Sep 2007

Subjects:
Citizenship, English, Geography, History

Key Stages:
Foundation, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, Key Stage 4+

Keywords:
Mildenhall-Post Office- High Street-milk shakes-electrical goods-

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