After 110 years, Post Office moves to a new home in Kirkgate

Above: a smart new frontage and access ramp mark the move of Silsden Post Office from the opposite side of Kirkgate at No.64 to Twiggs Newsagents at No. 39. The layout of the newsagents has been cleverly adapted to accommodate the post office.

Above: newsagent Martin Twigg is the new postmaster. He is pictured with his wife, Adele, who is helping run the business. Having been approached by the post office, Martin agreed to refurbish the newsagents to retain the service for the town following the end of the Cathey era as postmasters at No. 64. There has been a newsagents at 39 Kirkgate for more than 100 years. Martin acquired the shop from Martin Lampkin in 1994. The history of the newsagents and photos over the years were featured in my blog of November 2013.

Above: Rosemary Wallbank serves a customer at the post office counter at Twiggs. Rosemary was one of the team at the post office at No 64 Kirkgate where Andrew Cathey had been in charge since 1990 until his recent retirement. The Cathey family had run the post office since 1955. It had been the hub of the community at No 64 since 1907, as reported in my blog of November 2012. The service, one of the oldest in Yorkshire, opened at Twigg's on June 9th 2017. The shop continues to stock all lines as normal, including stationery, gifts and toys.