There’s just been a very useful new addition to our High Street – something that’s actually been missing for the past three and a half years. Thanks to Ruddington’s Postmaster Soham Patel, the Post Office now has an external post box again!
Anyone who was in the village before February 2016 will remember there was, in fact, a rather magnificent red pillar-box here which got moved to make way for an exterior cashpoint. The new hole-in-the-wall was kindly installed by the Patels to compensate for the loss of TWO former High Street cashpoints due to the closure of both our banks.
Unfortunately the plan to simply move the pillar-box to the other side of the Post Office door proved to be flawed – after electrical cables were discovered under the pavement. A frantic search to find a suitable new site led to another traditional pillar-box (not our original) being installed by the bench near the Co-op on Church Street around a month later. However, this has meant villagers and visitors being unable to post any items on High Street outside shop hours – until now!
Soham told RUDDINGTON.info: “We are happy to help the community – to provide convenience where possible.”
The inscription “G VI R” on the post box suggests it is from the George VI era – originally installed some time between 1936 and 1952. (He was the monarch known as “Bertie” who was the subject of the 2010 blockbuster film “The King’s Speech” starring Colin Firth.) But Soham thinks it might just be a copy.*
Our new High Street post box was installed late on Saturday afternoon (14th September) and is already available to use. Collection times are listed as 4pm Monday to Friday and noon on Saturday.
(*If you’re a historian, with any further knowledge about this style of post box, and think you know whether this one is an original or just a modern copy, please do contact us >>HERE<< or comment via our social media. Thanks!)
