The interesting growth and progress of the Post Office in Belfast

It detailed that the Post Office in Belfast dated from about 1700, when the town of some 6,000 inhabitants was a stopping point on the mail coach route between Dublin and Carrickfergus which was then of more importance.

“In Belfast the coach stopped at the Plough Buildings in Cornmarket. The mails were transferred from Cornmarket to the Custom House by handcart; the mail guard in his red coat walking side by side with the porter pushing the cart,” it recalled.

“The guard delivered the mails to the Collector of Customs, or his assistant, who for the time being acted as Postmaster. The Custom House at that date, was situated at the corner of Donegall Quay and Queen's Quay, so after more than 270 years the Post Office has returned to Donegall Quay, its first site. Those expecting letters had to call for them as there was no delivery of letters until nearly fifty years later in 1748.

SUCCESSION

The first Post Office was in High Street, opposite Bridge Street; the first Postmaster was Robert Willis, a grocer who had been a master in the Belfast Latin Classical Grammar School. In 1749 a notice appeared in the News Letter asking the public to call for their letters as the letter carrier, through age and infirmity had to give up the position.

After Robert Willis there followed a succession of traders as Postmasters, “rather like sub- Postmaster's today”.

There was another grocer, an apothecary, a china merchant, and a spirit merchant. James Dickey, who took over in 1830, was the first full-time Postmaster and he saw the first Money Order issued in 1834 from his office at 65 Donegall Street.

In 1857 when the present Custom House was built the Post Office was transferred there, the service was expanding, the first Belfast-Dublin sorting carriage ran in 1865, and the parcel post started in 1883.

A separate building was needed for the growing volume of correspondence so the building, in the style of the mid-Victorian period, officially the Head Office, but popularly “the General” opened its doors in June 1886 when Royal Avenue was constructed from the former Hercules Street - a name in 1976 which was preserved, and familiar to many, in the local hostelry.

The expansion continued and a/few years later an extension again in the Victorian style, was made in Charlemont Street at the rear of the older building; and a development on a still larger scale was embarked upon in 1909, by the placing of a contract for the erection of a big block of buildings in Smithfield and Berry Street.

In 1940 the sorting office was transferred from the Royal Avenue building to the Smithfield block. After use for war time purposes the space thus released was converted into the public office in 1950

COMPLEX

The News Letter concluded the brief history by saying: “It will be appreciated from this story that there was not, nor could there have been, a comprehensive plan for the Royal Avenue complex; it just grew and grew as first Belfast, then Northern Ireland, and lastly the government, and the industrial and commercial interests flourished.

“By 1966, it had outlived its use and plans were made to carry through the very difficult operation of a turn round on the site. The acquisition of a new site on Donegall Quay however enabled progress to be made much more quickly as the difficulties of changing over whilst maintaining services were avoided.”

CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE...

Writing in the News Letter in April 1976 the chairman of the Post Office, Sir William Ryland (1971-77) remarked: “It is a far cry from the day in 1749 when we had to ask our Belfast customers to call for their letters - because our one postman had given up his job. Today there are in this City 1,100 postmen - and many other members of the staff as well - who together handle more than 750,000 letters and 20,000 parcels each day. They are part of a team throughout the United Kingdom which gives, day in and day out, one of the best postal services to be found anywhere. And they do so at charges which compare very favourably with those in other countries.

“Here in Belfast the staff have been doing their job under some appalling difficulties. I am sure everyone applauds the way they have kept services going in recent years, despite the stresses and strains of all the troubles in the Province. But some of us know the added problems they have had in a building, first opened in June 1886. It is old, out of date, too small and without any of the modern aids for handling mail.

“The opening of the new building puts all that right. At a cost of £3m, we now have a building and will have the equipment needed for handling mail in the modern way. Mechanical and electronic equipment that will form part of a vast United Kingdom network of mechanised offices.

“Everything and everyone - buildings, equipment and staff alike — are and will continue to be dedicated to giving the best possible service at the lowest possible cost. An objective from which the Post Office has never wavered despite all the criticism and all the controversy. Despite ail the knocking from people, few of whom take the trouble to come and see for themselves what is going on. From some who, from a seat in the grandstand, see only the things that the team does wrong and ignore the very many more things that go well. A little credit where credit is due how and again would be no more than is justified and would be a great help and encouragement.”

Sir William concluded: “This new Belfast Post Office is part of our plan to see that more goes well and less goes wrong. And that we keep our costs down to the absolute minimum. It provides staff with the facilities to help them do that job. I have no doubt that they will make the best use of them they can, in the interest of service to you, the customer. A concept that is rooted deeply in the traditions of out postal service and is central to all its future plans.”