A runaway postmaster, a robbery at gunpoint and several changes in location, Upchurch post office has experienced all of these over the years.
Post offices were only found in towns and cities during the 1840s and 1850s. A carrier on a horse and cart took a bag of mail from village residents to the nearest main post office, which for Upchurch was situated in Sittingbourne. The carrier returned with a new bag of mail and an appointed village postman delivered the letters to residents’ homes.
Post boxes were in use nationwide in 1857, a telegraph service became available in 1870, postal orders appeared from 1881 and a parcel post in 1883.
Kelly’s Directory for Upchurch dated 1867 records that a post box was located in the church wall with collections at 4-40 pm on workdays and at 10-15 am on Sundays, but a post office had not yet been created in the village. Until the end of the 19th century, Upchurch residents most likely used Rainham Post Office, already in existence. However, Kelly’s Directory for 1878 records that a money order office and a savings bank became available in the shop, more recently known as Terrys. Grocer, draper and baker Horatio West managed the shop during the 1870s and the 1880s. He also received post from Sittingbourne Post Office and letters were probably collected by residents from the shop or delivered to their homes. The nearest telegraph office was located at Newington railway station during this period.
Evidence of the first Upchurch post office is recorded in the National Census for Upchurch dated 1901 which records Tom Wraight as the sub-postmaster. He also worked as a grocer, draper and baker and the post office became established in his shop (Terrys in recent times) at some point between 1891 and 1901.
Tom Wraight took over the shop around 1890, and he also worked as a baker in the Old Bakery in Forge Lane. In his free time, he served as a churchwarden, and he became well-known in the village as a singer, a violinist and a very good billiards player. His wife organised village social events during the 1890s.
Ernest Cozens became sub-postmaster in 1904 when the post office temporarily transferred to the Old Bakery in Forge Lane. He soon left and became sub-postmaster for Rainham in 1905. Tom Wraight took over again in Upchurch, but due to failing health, he retired in 1911, and Edward Crowhurst succeeded him in 1912.
Post offices were only found in towns and cities during the 1840s and 1850s. A carrier on a horse and cart took a bag of mail from village residents to the nearest main post office, which for Upchurch was situated in Sittingbourne. The carrier returned with a new bag of mail and an appointed village postman delivered the letters to residents’ homes.
Post boxes were in use nationwide in 1857, a telegraph service became available in 1870, postal orders appeared from 1881 and a parcel post in 1883.
Kelly’s Directory for Upchurch dated 1867 records that a post box was located in the church wall with collections at 4-40 pm on workdays and at 10-15 am on Sundays, but a post office had not yet been created in the village. Until the end of the 19th century, Upchurch residents most likely used Rainham Post Office, already in existence. However, Kelly’s Directory for 1878 records that a money order office and a savings bank became available in the shop, more recently known as Terrys. Grocer, draper and baker Horatio West managed the shop during the 1870s and the 1880s. He also received post from Sittingbourne Post Office and letters were probably collected by residents from the shop or delivered to their homes. The nearest telegraph office was located at Newington railway station during this period.
Evidence of the first Upchurch post office is recorded in the National Census for Upchurch dated 1901 which records Tom Wraight as the sub-postmaster. He also worked as a grocer, draper and baker and the post office became established in his shop (Terrys in recent times) at some point between 1891 and 1901.
Tom Wraight took over the shop around 1890, and he also worked as a baker in the Old Bakery in Forge Lane. In his free time, he served as a churchwarden, and he became well-known in the village as a singer, a violinist and a very good billiards player. His wife organised village social events during the 1890s.
Ernest Cozens became sub-postmaster in 1904 when the post office temporarily transferred to the Old Bakery in Forge Lane. He soon left and became sub-postmaster for Rainham in 1905. Tom Wraight took over again in Upchurch, but due to failing health, he retired in 1911, and Edward Crowhurst succeeded him in 1912.
Upchurch Post Office has operated from five separate locations within the village centre.
Emma Wraight at the Post Office door in 1910.
Click photos to enlarge.
Harry Legge worked as sub-postmaster in the post office in 1916, and he remained there for eight years until he disappeared with £336 of post office takings in 1924. He also embezzled money out of Lower Halstow Working Men’s Club, where he served as treasurer. After a nationwide search, the police arrested him in Hull and brought him back to Sittingbourne where he attended the Petty Sessions, and he was then referred to Kent Assizes in Maidstone. After being found guilty of theft, fraud and in possession of a revolver, he served sixteen months in Manchester prison, but he never returned to Upchurch although his wife periodically returned in later life to visit her relative Harry Witherden in Poot Lane.
Len Hubbard took over as sub-postmaster in 1927. He was soon followed by William Neame. The Neame family initially lived at the Old Bakery in Forge Lane where William worked as a baker, but he then became sub-postmaster, and the family moved to the Upchurch Stores in The Street (now a big white private house). The building became the new location for the post office until 1952.
William Neame’s son Teddy worked as sub-postmaster in the Upchurch Stores from 1948, then from 1952 Cliff Wanstall took over, and he became the new village sub-postmaster in the new Post Office and General Store based in the present-day Snaffles building. A red letter box and a stamp machine were placed just outside and Cliff’s sister occupied the flat above the shop.
Cliff Wanstall worked in the post office, assisted by his wife Fay until 1982. Services he offered included premium bonds in 1956, National Savings Certificates in 1969 and assistance for customers filling in official forms. He sold many items in the shop, such as toys and wool. He also sold fireworks in the weeks leading up to November 5th.
When Cliff Wanstall retired in 1982, Derek Edwards from Lower Halstow took over. When he finished a big change occurred in 1984 when the post office was transferred to the newsagent’s owned by Fred Clemons, and Geraldine Rowlands who came from Upchurch became the first sub-postmistress to take the position. She finished in 1995 because she only wanted to work part-time, but the job became full time. Bernard Clemons officially became sub-postmaster, but Ann Adams who had assisted Geraldine did the job. Julia Kemp succeeded Ann Adams in 2001 and remained until 2011.
Julie Brissenden from Rainham came to work at the newsagent’s in 2001 and worked in the post office from 2014. Nothing much has changed in the post office since her arrival but changes have occurred in the layout of the newsagent’s.
A serious incident took place in November 2013 when the then newsagent Prafel Jadeja was confronted by a hooded robber who forced him to hand over money from the till at gunpoint. When the robber left Prafel called the police, but although filmed on CCTV the robber was never caught.
The newsagent’s, now known as Costcutters where the post office is located, is owned by Hitesh Savjad but is managed by Pritesh Patel whose wife Reshmika is officially the sub-postmistress but she is assisted by Julie Brissenden.
The post office has existed as a familiar location in the village for more than a century, and it continues to provide valuable services for residents.
David Wood
About David
David was born and raised at Ham Green and still lives there today. He writes from personal experience about Upchurch village life and the changes that have taken place over the years.
David's book, Memories of Upchurch, is a very readable and detailed historical study of the village and is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk price £12 + postage and packing.
