Lymington post office used to be at 54 High Street. It was housed in a pretty unremarkable 1960’s building which probably had some amazing views from the roof. The house that was originally there certainly had some great views. And before then, the meadow of primroses was a view unto itself. Or so it is written.
The building before the post office was called Home Mead (or Holme Mead, Holme’s Mead or Damerosehay) and was described as “…a very charming freehold property comprising a fine old well-designed family mansion, occupying a central and unique situation close to the Parish Church and the Post Office.” That description came from a pamphlet description, from when Home Mead was up for auction.
At around the same time, 1905, the post office moved across the road to next door. This may have been a pre-emptive strike. The Lymington post office has moved around the high street ever since it was first established.
Home Mead was, originally, owned by the Lord of the Manor. He sold it, in 1365, to the town, which then made money off the rental returns. The town’s worthies established the Lymington Corporation, which was a sort of early form of a town council.
Rental returns on the house as well as market tolls, quay charges, a couple of annual fairs, other rentals, etc, was the only source of money for the Lymington Corporation. That was until 1835, when it was sold. This was because of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 which saw a better local structure created.
At the turn of the 20th century, there was a great house standing on the site. It came in very handy when the First World War happened. It was turned into a hospital for wounded men. A lot of New Zealanders spent time there, convalescing, preparing to go back to the trenches. Or go home if lucky.
After the war, the house fell into disrepair. A once glorious mansion went to wrack and ruin. It had a use as a furniture store for a while but, eventually, it was demolished and the less than glamorous post office was built.
In 2019, the post office relocated (again) back across the road, and down an alley. The building is now used as a sorting office, pretty much like what happened in Farnham.
This is what it looks like today.
Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to find an image of its former glory. Though not for want of searching. I’m thinking it looked a lot better.
