Old Post Office (site of)
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Seeing this view of Hollins Lane at its junction with High Street, it is hard to imagine that this was once the site of Hampsthwaite's Post Office! An earlier photograph reveals the shop and post office which stood here until it was demolished in the 1930s to allow the road to be widened to accommodate modern traffic - as described in the accompanying newspaper article from the Harrogate Herald
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It is said that the lady standing on the right of the entrance shown in this picture was Clara Moon. It could be that the older lady on the left is her aunt Sarah Wilson (see the census returns)
Another early photograph gives a good view of the side elevation of the building which probably dated from the middle of the eighteenth century.
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In this picture we see the nameboard of William Wilson and the photo must, therefore, be earlier. Is it a younger version of Clara who we see at the entrance here?
The building can be discerned on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1853 but looks much earlier in construction. If the recessed (but exposed) sash frames are anything to go by, it was probably built between 1725 and 1775.
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We know little about its history but the census returns tell us something of its occupants (as to which please
click here)
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