Close
Western District Post Office, 35–50 Rathbone Place (demolished)
By the Survey of London, on 11 August 2017
This, the second of our postal posts, is a complement to the story of the East London Mail Centre published here on 11 November 2016 with its mention of the narrow-gauge Post Office Underground Railway or ‘Mail Rail’. Since then, in July 2017, a section of Mail Rail has been restored to use and opened to the public at the Postal Museum at Mount Pleasant (see www.postalmuseum.org). This railway was a mail-transport line that connected Whitechapel to Paddington. Tunnels at a shallow depth (averaging around 70ft) and 9ft in diameter were built by John Mowlem and Company in 1914–17, though the tracks were not laid and equipment fitted until 1924–7 for what opened as the world’s first driverless electric railway.
Another aspect of the line’s history relates to a site in south-east Marylebone, the area that is covered in the Survey of London’s forthcoming volumes 51 and 52, set for publication in late 2017. A site immediately above the mail-transport line in the West End, on the west side of Rathbone Place, suffered significant Second World War bomb damage. Despite the railway the Post Office faced growing problems with access and loading at its West End offices (Western Central District Office, New Oxford Street: Western District Office, Wimpole Street; and Western District Parcels Office, Bird Street). This was said after the war to pose ‘the worst postal accommodation problem in the country’.1 It led to a decision to replace the last two depots and their underground stations with a new Western District Office at Rathbone Place. The site was designated for compulsory acquisition to this end in the London County Council’s Development Plan of 1952, and passage of the Post Office Site and Railway Bill in 1954 enabled the purchase of 2.3 acres, in the event voluntary. With Sir William Halcrow & Partners as engineers the railway was expensively diverted from a diagonal south-east to north-west path across the site to take on an east–west line for a station with two platforms square to the intended building. The cut-and-cover underground works were carried out in 1956–9. Elbow room thus gained permitted a facility less like a Tube station than the line’s earlier stops. Designs for the building above were reworked in 1960 by Alan Dumble, a senior architect in the Ministry of Works. Its first, in the event only, eastern phase was largely up by 1963. The new Western District Office was opened on 3 August 1965 by the Postmaster General, Anthony Wedgwood (Tony) Benn.
Former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place, from the north east. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
On the long Rathbone Place frontage the building’s concrete frame was expressed in a 28-bay grid between Portland stone-faced stair towers. The fourth storey was set back leaving the structural frame as openwork. Along the pavement, mural artwork was intended but never made. A plan to extend westwards, also not seen through, meant that the utilitarian rear elevation was left starkly open to view from Newman Street behind a large parking yard. Here art did eventually arrive – the flank wall of 15 Newman Street facing the Post Office yard, and Oxford Street beyond, was the site of Banksy’s ‘One Nation Under CCTV’ mural of 2008.
Vans in the basement of the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
Inside the post office a ramp led to a basement with parking for vans above the railway station. When new this was among the most mechanized post offices in Europe, with chain conveyors in the upper-storey sorting halls and spiral chutes to despatch mail down to the railway. Its opening coincided with the introduction of post codes and the use of electromechanical sorting machines. The fourth floor housed a canteen and other facilities for staff who numbered more than a thousand. A reconfiguration in 1974–6 provided a bar, games room and lounge, and incorporated stained glass and war memorials from antecedent post offices. A small aedicular Ionic War Memorial of c.1920, transferred from the Wimpole Street office, faced Rathbone Place from 1981 to 2013.
Staircase in the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
Sorting floor in the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
Sorting floor in the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
Sorting floor in the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
Sorting floor in the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
The long disused games room of the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
The games room of the former Western District Post Office, Rathbone Place. Photographed in 2013 by Chris Redgrave for the Survey of London © Historic England
The railway closed in 2003 by which time staff numbers had begun a steep decline justified by decreases in demand for the post. Remaining postal services in what had become the West End Delivery Centre relocated to Mount Pleasant in 2013. This shift had been long in the planning and in 2011 the Royal Mail Group with PLP Architecture had proposed redevelopment of the whole site as ‘Newman Place’, offices, shops and housing with a diagonal pedestrian throughway. Later that year Royal Mail sold the site to Great Portland Estates, retaining an interest through a profit-sharing agreement. A new scheme was prepared and granted planning permission in 2013. This enlarged project, designed by Make Architects (Graham Longman, lead architect), has led to Rathbone Square, two L-plan blocks enclosing a central open garden or courtyard landscaped by Gustafson Porter and rising six to eight storeys for offices to the south-east, 162 dwellings to the north-west, with shops, restaurants and bars. The post office was demolished in 2014 and the new buildings have gone up since. The dormant Mail Rail line has been retained.
1 – British Postal Museum and Archive, POST 20/23, GPO report, January 1954
21 Responses to “Western District Post Office, 35–50 Rathbone Place (demolished)”
- 1
-
2
Kevin Williams Badge W534 wrote on 11 January 2018:
I was a Postman here from 1977 to 1989 , was a great place to work , good mates and the AI were mostly good blokes . Remember the Bar , Games room , TV room and quite room for reading / sleeping , loads of overtime until later 80s . I only left due to dropping wages and a local job. Still in contact with a few of the blokes , now cabbies and on the trains etc . Sad to see it now but that’s progress , I think nearly 2000 worked there ?
-
3
Peter Southgate wrote on 24 July 2018:
I was a postman at WDO Rathbone Place joining 13 February 1989. I remember watching Black Adder Goes Forth on my evening break. Our break ended at 20:20 but Back Adder didn’t end till 20:30. At 20:20 the supervisors used to send us back to work. But this time watching Black Adder Goes Forth it was so emotional where the lads are preparing to Go Over The Top even the stony faced managers were almost shedding a tear and watching it with us.
I was on the night shift in my first year and even though we had a bar in the canteen we still went to the pub over the road. Can’t remember the name but it might of been the Marquis Of Grantham, but I may be wrong. At that time it was last orders at 22;30, but if you were a postman there was stopy back until 23:55 which gave you 5 minutes to get upstairs and sign on.
I worked there for my first year before transferring to HARTLEPOOL Delivery Office. I now have almost completed 30 happy years for Royal Mail.
- 4
-
5
S b Suchley wrote on 12 June 2019:
I worked at WDO 1978/85 great place to work with good mates .
But When the union lost its power it was just a matter of time for the end to come -
6
Watton wrote on 20 January 2020:
I have a Westminster chiming mantel clock
Presented to J.J.Williams W.D.O. on his retirement 1928 -
7
Mike Forey wrote on 15 February 2020:
Worked at WDO from 1980 to 1989 best days ever. Great bunch of blokes.
-
8
K Nagra wrote on 18 June 2020:
I worked at W.D.O. 1 Wimpole street W 1 between 1965 and 1968/69. Best memories ever. Great bunch of mates to work with. Lots of over time to do.
There was a Pub in the canteen on the top floor. AIs were nice. They ignore us taking extra break time. Left to join the life insurance field. - 9
-
10
Charlie Smith wrote on 13 February 2021:
Hello all
I worked out of rathbone place in the 1960,s after first working delivering telegrams from wimpole st and then mount st. -
11
Paul wrote on 6 April 2021:
I worked at WDO for 10 years from 1985-1995 before transferring to Paddington under the restructuring programme. Many great memories especially of the first few years when all the line managers were old school and before they were replaced by the clueless newer breed. That’s when things went downhill rapidly. Loved working in the West End and am sad it’s no longer in existence.
-
12
Ray Hamilton wrote on 8 September 2021:
I started has a Postman in August 1968 at the Western District Office Rathbone Place ( WDO ) working early lates and nights until 1971
From June 1971 I took test and become a Postman High Grade ( P H G ) in the WDO till 1979
Enjoy my time time in WDO and made a lot of friends unfortunately lost touch with many now
From 1979 – 1980 transfer to WCDO New Oxford Street has a AI not great office to work in has the WDO
From 1980 – 2011 transfer to Milton Keynes
My best time with Royal Mail was with working in WDO
Sad to see WDO state gone but that progress for you -
13
Gráinne wrote on 31 December 2021:
I think this is where my late father worked as a postman
Here &/or Wimpole street . -
14
Larry wrote on 15 June 2022:
Work there in 66 as a YP, young postman, formerly called telegram boy. Hard wok but good fun. Bus conductors let us ride for free! Stopped our biked due to accidents with cross strap getting caught in taxi door handles. They scrapped, them, the our bikes, so we walked or jumped buses! Whole W1 area!
-
15
Tom Orchard wrote on 7 June 2023:
I worked at WDO as a temporary PEC during the summer of 1986. I also spent a lot of time across the road at 248 Tottenham Court Road. Have mixed memories of the place because I had compulsory overtime which exhausted me and all of my fellow PEC’s were over 40 so I had little in common with them. However I remember the wonderful Maggie and Harry in the Numbers Duty as well as Peter Walker across the road at 248 TCR who was a gent on a BMW motorbike. The office seemed a happy place which is a shame since I didn’t fit in there.
-
16
Joseph Finch wrote on 24 September 2023:
HAPPY MEMORIES. .I WAS A TELEGRAM BOY. ..AT RATHBONE PLACE 1968. 1970. .INTERNAL. ..WENT AROUND THE WHOLE BUILDING WITH A ICE CREAM BASKET ROUND ME NECK. .SWOPING .IN AND OUT TRAYS. .LEARNT ALL MY TABLE TENNIS SKILLS IN THAT GAMES ROOM. .PUCKER PLACE TO WORK AT 16. …
-
17
Cuthbert wrote on 29 September 2023:
Worked in Royal Mail Processing from 1983 to 2008 started as a postman and finished up as the Early Shift Manager what a journey enjoyed the years a great place to work couldn’t work with a greater bunch of people Miss it.
-
18
Joseph Finch wrote on 15 November 2023:
HI ALL I STARTED AS TELEGRAM BOY WIMPOLE ST 1969 TO 1971…MAGICAL JOB HAVE MANY MEMORIES. ..CAN’T REMEMBER THE LADS NAMES. …MR FOXWELL BOSS. .ALSO AI SAM PAINTER LOVELY BLOCKS JOB TO EDUCATE YOU FOR LIFE …JUST RETIRED AFTER DOING 35 YEAR AS A POSTMAN. .SKEGNESS. ..
-
19
dan o wrote on 14 December 2023:
worked at WCDO from 83-86 ish a great job then! loved the “rotate duties” for working class unskilled unqualified people you could do lot worse!!! enjoyed the strikes used to hop back on the slow train to chingford!
left to go travelling the USA before it got “to late” -
20
Dave Woolley wrote on 2 February 2024:
Started as a Telegram boy at Wimpole street in 1978, great times. Bob Keys , Sam Painter and Boz were the Managers. Like a boys club it was. Then at 18 went Postman at Rathbone Place.
Bar, games room, champion on the DEFENDER game machine. Loads of overtime, booked in for 8 hours, worked 2, great. Got the sack twice and appealed at 248 T.C Road. Bloody great laugh and got paid for it. 248 said I had the worst record they had seen in 30 years. Nevermind. -
21
Lynn wrote on 27 May 2024:
Worked at WDO from 1982 to 1984 as I transferred to the Royal Mail trains did 28 years in total finishing up as a late shift manager at gatwick mail.centre then took evr loved my days at rathbone place actually went up to London last Saturday to see it is flats now sad to see this happy days at WDO fish finger Fred ped was an awsome job indeed
I was a postman at Rathbone Place from 1969 to 1971 when the Post Office strike called by Union chief Tom Jackson forced me to find another job in order to keep paying the mortgage. Before being a postman, I was a telegram messenger working out of the old Wimpole Street Post Office, where a senior Assistant Inspector (“AI”) Mr. Foxwell was the guv’nor. He was a good and decent man, very near retirement age. I have been in all the rooms shown on this website, and I especially enjoyed the snooker tables, both playing and watching. It actually breaks my heart a little bit to know that this Post Office is now gone.