Watton Post Office i c 1912

Watton Post Office i c 1912

Watton is a market town in the district of Breckland within the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the crossroads of the A1075 Dereham-Thetford road and the B1108 Brandon-Norwich Road, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Norwich. ~Wikipedia

 

The above photo comes from the History Of Watton Website. As can be seen the current day Post Office is in the same building. Quoting from that site :

Watton Post Office Staff and Postmen circa 1912. Third from left is W. Lyles, 4th A. Bailey, 6th J. Whalebelly. Mrs Stibbon, the Postmistress is in the doorway with her husband on her right. Next but one is postman Brown and next to the elderly man is Tom Drew.

Going back a few years, the 1900 Kelly’s Directory of Norfolk lists William Stoveld as the Postmaster. He has some history with the place being listed in the 1883 Directory too as Stace, William Stoveld, postmaster, bookseller & stationer, etc. And there is a more detailed page here about him.

So that ties the Post Office to that building for a number of years. I also have another Post Office located in Watton too. Here’s the postcard and Google Street View.

Watton Post Office ii c 1915

Watton Post Office ii c 1915

 

This office is not that far from the one above. So far I find nothing in the records, but the webmaster of the Watton site suggests that the Postmaster was a Mr Hazel. Needs more research…