South Cerney Old and New
The Post Office
Return to Index

Postmaster

Mr Arthur Johnson became postmaster about 1898, succeeding his father, Mr John Johnson, who was himself born in the village.  Before that Mr Arthur Johnson had been apprenticed to Fielding and Platt at Gloucester as an engineer, and had subsequently travelled abroad, including Ohio in the USA.  When his father fell ill, he returned home, and on his father’s death took over the office.

Mr Johnson died in 1933, and was succeeded by his widow, Mrs Johnson.  Miss Grace Johnson, the present postmistress is their daughter.

The Mails

In Mr John Johnson’s time the mails were brought on foot from Cirencester by Mr Shipway, a Cirencester man.  He also delivered and collected letters in the village before walking back, all in the morning.

Later, and lasting at least until the 1920s, they came in a trailer behind a bicycle, and were delivered by the postman using a cycle with a big tray in front to carry the bag.  This Cirencester postman also cleared the boxes and took the mails back.  For about two years during this first World War, and due to manpower shortage, Mr Johnson and his family cleared the letter boxes at Dry Leaze, the Vicarage wall, The Horse & Groom, Siddington turn (beyond the aerodrome towards Cirencester) and towards Preston, and tool the mails into Cirencester.  Mrs Johnson remembers, it seemed always to be wet as a result of clearing the boxes every day.

Later, again as the quantity of mail increased, it was sent out from Cirencester by train to the station, where some of the Johnson family collected it about 6 am off the train, bought it to the office, sorted it, and delivered to part of the village, while a postman from Cirencester delivered to the rest.  Outgoing mail was taken back to Cirencester by this man on his bicycle.

The second delivery was instituted about 1930.

About 1935 the mail ceased to come by train and was brought by motor van.  About this time, too, sorting began to be done in Cirencester instead of at the South Cerney office.

Postmarking of outgoing letters at the office with the South Cerney postmark ceased about 1960.

The Telegraph

Until the telegraph reached the village in 1925, and telegrams began to be telephoned, the post office had a telegraph instrument.  This was an ABC instrument, on which a letter key was depressed and a handle turned after each letter; this indicated the same letter on the instrument at the Cirencester end.  (Note: the earliest such machine was separately introduced by Sir Charles Wheatstone, 1802-75, and Sir William Cooke, 1802-75, the latter’s machine appearing in 1840. The post office type was probable the later Siemens pattern.)

The Telephone

There were no telephones in South Cerney until the manual exchange was introduced with eight initial subscribers on 29 June 1925.  It was placed at the Post Office.

The original subscribers were:

The automatic exchange (situated on the east side of The Old George Inn) began to operate on 28^th April 1953.