{"id":15175,"date":"2021-01-26T12:49:05","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T12:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=15175"},"modified":"2026-07-13T11:59:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:59:45","slug":"post-offices-postmasters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marthamnorfolk.co.uk\/?page_id=15175","title":{"rendered":"Post Offices & Postmasters of Martham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Post Offices & Postmasters<\/strong> of Martham<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Post Office 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is a significant difference between post office buildings and the historic  delivery of postal services in Martham. Although nationally postal services date back to the 17th<\/sup> century the service really only took off for the public after the introduction of the penny post in 1837 which became established just under three years later with the well-known penny black. In turn this led to the introduction of Post Office pillar boxes in 1852.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that Martham had Post Office services is recorded in business directories<\/a><\/em> from 1845 onwards but there are no similar indications that the services were provided from a named Post Office building until about 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, staying with the services element in Martham the 1845 White\u2019s Directory<\/a><\/em> tells us that the following service was provided \u201cAt George Linford\u2019s letters daily to Hemsby, Winterton etc.\u201d It appears that you took your letters to his premises and from there they were taken to Hemsby and\/or Winterton by carrier. I don\u2019t know where his premises were because it is not made clear but there was a George Linford living at Black Street<\/a><\/em> in 1841<\/a><\/em> listed as being a grocer and draper. We will come to see that postal services were provided by shopkeepers as part of their work in those early days and there was no specific Post Office building until decades later.  There is no entry in the 1841 census<\/a><\/em> naming a Post Office as such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1846, John Lee Hunt was appointed as postmaster at Martham and the Post Office Directory<\/a><\/em> of that year says \u201cJohn Lee Hunt, receiving house. Letters arrive from Great Yarmouth every morning (excluding Sunday) at 10.45am and are despatched 15 minutes before 3pm in the afternoon.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, John was not a full-time postmaster. In fact, he had always been a school master and he lived with his wife Frances at the Old School House <\/a><\/em>at the Free School <\/a><\/em>(which is now part of Whittaker\u2019s Carpets) throughout his employment as the schoolmaster until he died in 1880.  Several Directories<\/a><\/em> describe the postal services he provided as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n