Fascinating glimpse into history of Post Office in Largs

Largs and District Historical Society have acquired a day-to-day journal containing correspondence in relation to the post office dating back to the first half of the 20th century.

The information contains a detailed insight into the management of the Royal Mail in Largs from 1904 until 1947. The first record of a post office operating in the town goes back to 1799.

The journal contains handwritten copies, with some original documents, of the vast quantity of memoranda, circulars and other correspondence that passed between the main post offices of Greenock, and latterly Ardrossan, and the sub-office of Largs.

In addition to the postal service, Largs Post Office was also responsible for the local telephone exchange.

Numerous memoranda refer to the staffing of the exchange, including telephonists’ wages, holiday arrangements etc, to provide a snapshot of a period of time from a bygone era.

Of particular interest are details from during the World War One period, with a marked increase in the volume of instructions issued to the post office, which did of course perform a vital role as a focal point for many aspects of the war effort. 

Amongst the many wartime duties falling on the shoulders of the Largs sub-postmaster, one of the more unusual was an instruction to keep a list of motor car owners in the district who had volunteered to transport recruits for Lord Kitchener’s Second Army from outlying districts to the nearest regimental outpost.

The Post Office used to be at the corner of Tron Place and Bellmans Close on Main Street, where the Ayrshire Hospice charity shop is now situated, before moving to Aitken Street, and then in the early 2000s, moving back to  Main Street but across the road. It later moved to its current location in Gallowgate Square in 2017 which has a cafe – Tea in the Square.

This information was contained within a newsletter provided by the Largs and District Historical Society which contains further details of the post office’s intriguing past.

If anyone is interested in joining the society and receiving its quarterly newsletters, annual subscription is only £15 and is available by contacting the museum via their website https://www.largsmuseum.org/.