Fore Street Post Office

Brian Jepson's own hand-lettered label to his photograph is dated 1999 and captions the photograph: 'Fore Street - 40 years ago. Now IE Electric & Post Office'; this dates the view to c.1959. Brian would have had a particular interest in this view as it is the one he would have seen from his own front windows of 'The Cor Visser House'. At the time of the photograph Smyth Bros. Builders Merchants had a remarkable number of individual and linked shops in Fore Street – far more than Martin & Newby. Here we see three linked shops including the building with the two dormer windows.

These buildings once included a public house called the Bull & Dog; today it is Fore Street Post Office. See our map of the historic pubs in Fore Street.

The Post Office Manager, Janet Brooks, kindly sent an update to this page in August 2022, for which we are grateful:-

‘Fore Street Post Office started life at No. 57 Fore Street and from 1892-1943 Kelly's Directory lists the Mapperley family as the owners. There is a brass plaque inside St Clement’s Church saying Mr Mapperley died at the age of 40 in 1899.  His wife and son continued running the business.

Throughout the 1800s up until 1921, No.55 next door was The Bull & Dog Inn. On closing, the front was replaced with large shop windows and the floor lowered to pavement level.  Subsequently a nurseryman used the premises until 1929, followed by a furniture dealer until 1943.

The next entry is from 1947 where the Post Office has now moved to No. 55, run by Mr Healey who was also a printer and stationer. During the 1960s the Post Office moved opposite the bottom end of Grimwade Street [see the monochrome photograph at the bottom of this web-page]. At this time No.55 was used by Smyth Bros while No. 57 was listed as a café. Mr Dodd bought the Healey’s business, retaining the name and basing it in Nos. 49-53 Fore Street with the Post Office returning to No.55 which is where it remains today.  

Sadly, in the early 1970s Nos. 57-65 were demolished.

I looked this information up many years ago when I first bought No. 55. Somewhere (no idea where) I also discovered that in 1858 there was a receiving house where letters were despatched by Charles Read and, in 1888, a mail receiving office with pillar box was at Trodds Corner. No idea where that was situated.’

 Given its role as a main shopping street, home to many businesses (see Ted King's oral history account), Fore Street definitely deserved its own Post Office and it still operates today.

Here's the view in 2014 of the truncated building north of the Post Office, cut off by the Star Lane Gyratory traffic system created in the 1980s. The roof with the dormer windows has been extended left over the next-door shop.

The David Kindred set of photographs, linked on our '61 Photos page, includes the monochrome view shown here of the Post Office at its original site sandwiched between two parts of Meux Maltings. The Grimwade Street junction faces these buildings. The P.O. at this location also appears in the Ipswich Society film (linked on the Audio/Film page, with film stills) showing a postman on GPO bicycle arriving outside the Post Office. Another interesting feature of this photograph is the sign in the window: 'C.H. Healey ... Printer, Stationer'. See details above of the story of the Fore Street Post Office.

See also Fore Street maps showing Listed buildings and Public houses.