The New Post Office

[Guest]

I was just looking at Kelly's Directory for 1946 (the oldest to hand at the moment) and noted that at that time, 'The Post House' pub on Cumberland Street was in fact known as 'The New Post Office' Public House. The proprietor was one Samuel Robert Beattie.

I have read that the name 'The Poste House' is very modern (last 30 years or so). It turns out not to be the case. The names amount essentially to the same one, although clearly the modern version has an eye to its local heritage. Still, the name for the pub was older than I expected, so then I wondered when this new Post Office was constructed.

The Post Office in question was the General Post Office, and it stood at No. 1 Victoria Street, adjacent to Cumberland Street. As far as I can tell, the two buildings stood opposite each other. The Post Office was built between 1894 and 1899 by architect Henry Tanner. It is likely that the pub was renamed to commemmorate the opening of the grand new Post Office, which was probably in 1900, a centenary year. It shouldn't be too difficult to find out if this was the case. The pub itself is of course older than this. The building dates from about 1820.

The 'New Post House', aka 'The Poste House' cannot, in fact, be referred to in a contemporary document of 1888, because the Post Office for which it was named did not at that time exist - its too early by at least 11 years. I know that the date of the name has always been a problem for the diary, but there it is, absolute proof. Older than I thought, but no, not old enough! I think arguing for an alternative 'Poste House' in London is special pleading. That being the case, I think the whole diary thing starts to look rather like a House of Cards. Bye Bye, Diary....

Oh, I also saw a couple of local Maybricks in there, wonder if they were any relation?

[caz]

Hi Crystal,

You could have asked before going to all this trouble.

It is already well known that the Cumberland St pub is not a former post house and had no known postal connections until 1894, when it was renamed the 'New Post Office Hotel', not surprisingly in honour of the new Victoria St post office being built just round the corner.

Do you know the other reason why it was so named? Well get comfy and I shall tell you. The main post office, from at least as far back as 1800, had been situated at the junction of School Lane and Post Office Place, and remained there until 1839, 55 years before it was on the move again, this time to Victoria St.

Its adjacent pub - where people could kill two birds with one stone and have a swift half before or after seeing the familiar 'Poste Restante' sign and getting all their postal requisites - stayed on alone after 1839, and was still called simply the 'Post Office Tavern' in 1888, despite having lost its post office half a century earlier. When the tiny Cumberland St drinking hole became the 'New Post Office Hotel', its grandfather, the tavern, was accordingly renamed the 'Old Post Office Hotel'. There are local people in modern day Liverpool - one a publican himself, another a local hostelry enthusiast in his seventies - who think of this one, first and foremost, as the town's "post house", before remembering that little pretender which, according to the brewery who should know, was apparently trying to pinch the name, with not much success, as far back as the 1930s.

Not special pleading, just giving a fuller picture of how a term like post house originates and evolves.

Love,

Caz
X

[Ben]

I think arguing for an alternative 'Poste House' in London is special pleading.

I'd tend to agree, Crystal.

It's an anachronism, plain and simple. The hoaxer simply failed to do his research properly and "goofed". The fact that we have a "Poste House" in Maybrick terriroty - exactly the same spelling as the one referred to by the diarist - should preclude any speculation that he must have been referring to a different establishment.

All the best,
Ben