Perlethorpe Post Office.

 

Perlethorpe Post Office also served as the only shop in Perlethorpe, and was situated in Meadow Cottage, the other side of the River Meden, on the road leading out of the village. In 1940 Mrs Dawson ran the post office. By 1995 she was succeeded by Mrs Blanshard. Mrs Blanshard had been the infants’ teacher at Perlethorpe School between 1910-1919, but retired to look after her husband who had been demobilized from his injuries in World War 1.

Mrs Blanshard would collect the letters from Perlethorpe Village's only post box on the wall to the right of the door. She would then use sealing wax to secure them inside a large brown post sack, this procedure being a veritable treat for the children who would stand transfixed at the sight and smells of her ritual. My sister and I were regular customers at the post office, spending our pocket money on both note books and sweets. The dull brown note books were threepence, whilst the glossy red ones accounted for the full sixpence, and nothing left over for “sweetie cigarettes”.

Children's sweets would be weighed out from the large glass bottles behind the counter, whilst a "Fry's Five Boys" advert on the wall above, heralded the post war arrival of pre-packaged confectioneries. "Sugar Pigs" (literally a large block of sugar shaped like a pig) were very popular, as were the new Lucky Bags which concealed a secret toy. In this way the children of the 50's would keep the dental profession in business for decades to come!

Perlethorpe Post Office closed down in May 1999, when the final postmistress to work there, Sue Rose, resigned. It remains a residential property. The old letter box is still in the wall, unused, and replaced by one next to the farmyard arch.