Blantyre Post Office

Turner’s Building which in the 1950s, a good part of the building was torn down, and a new Post Office built. You can see that new Post Office was where the boy is standing on the right. If you keep looking along to the right of the picture at the roof line, where it makes a high point, and a flag pole sits on top, this is the Masonic Hall and directly across the road is John Street.

Dating from 1960, this was the main Post Office in Blantyre at the corner of Logan Street and Glasgow Road, in what used to be Turner’s Building.

A map surveyed in 1859 shows the post office of the time on Station Road, just within the confines of the Mill Village where most of the population of Blantyre resided. The post office was eventually moved to the Clydeview Shopping Centre.

Opened in 1980 as part of Blantyre’s redevelopment, the shopping centre is busy and apparently thriving, although not very easy on the eye. The Post Office has now moved to the Old Co-op Building adjacent to Station Road.

The Turner Buildings ran from the Post Office along Glasgow Road until it reached Craig Street.

Turner’s Building, this was a row of three-story tenements with the bottom house going all the way back to the back side of the building. The 2nd and 3rd floors were reached by a freestanding staircase to the back. All toilets were outside on the Landings.

The building included J. C. Sweet on the corner which was demolished and replaced by the Post Office, a General Store, Dr. Stewart’s surgery, Scobie’s Sweet shop, Co-op Chemist, Ladies Hairdressers, & Dr Gordon’s Surgery and then Craig Street.

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Jane Paterson: I used to go to the back door in the morning and pick up the mail in an old fashioned leather satchel the cross the road to Littles for the rolls. I was the Office Junior in Blantyre Engineering in Forrest St. Down past the Vics Club in 1974 then promoted to the Buying Dept. I was trained on the old fashioned plugboard (switchboard) ahh lovely memories…

Boski Bell: A can mind going in one door and comin oot the bottom ae Logan St, even when it was mobbed,,,, coz there was always at least 4/5 fast workers on at 1 time. MINTED !!!

Thomas Barrett: When I was a boy till they knocked it down it was known as the new post office.

Maryon Allan: I always called it the old post office coz it wis only there a cpl of years after I was born till they moved it to the pet shop.

Mattie Taggart: We used to get our family allowance out of it on a Monday nothing for the first one and 7 shillings and 6 pence for the second one about 35 pence, so that is what you got. I don’t think you could do much with that.

Mary McGuigan: All the queues before 9, my dad used to be there at half 8 why I don’t know lol x.

Mary Wood: My sister Helen worked there..

Christina Frame: I remember seeing this being built!

Maureen Mccaffery: Year I was born, am I that old? God yes !!

Sadie Dolan: Loved running in one door and out the other lol great memories !!! Used to go for my mams family Allowance.

Margaret Bell: Me tae Sadie. They were the days. Not a care in the world. Post office, then Little’s the bakers for the rolls. xx Brilliant, remember the queue on a Mon morning lol. xx

Christine Brown: They used to come to the back door for their giros so they would be first in. I worked there as a cleaner, we also had a zephyr zodiac car lol.

Carolyn Patterson: used to queue up every week with my mum to collect the family allowance… lol great memories.

Nancy McFadden: Loved how cool the tiles were in the summer, and buying stamps to save for my summer holidays.

Annie Murdoch Anderson Black: Remember the telephone boxes in there and my Uncle John’s Zephyr Car, thank you so much for sharing all these memories that we have in Blantyre.

Alan Burnett: God a blast fae the past.

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