Working back from the building of Somerville the grocer and Douglas the butcher in around 1899, the Post Office was the first of the row of shops to be constructed. The plans for the Post Office building are dated May 1895. The building was up and running by the end of 1896. So presumably the Post Office and its associated living quarters stood alone for around 2-4 years before the next shop in line (Douglas the butcher) was added onto the terrace. A photo of the Post Office standing alone would be great to see, as would any image of the row of shops under construction. Has anyone ever seen such pictures?
There are, of course, images post-1899 of the Bremner, Douglas and Somerville plots all complete but with no Bank corner. This is because there was a very long time lag between the three early buildings and the subsequent ones, which didn't go up until the 1920s.
There are, of course, images post-1899 of the Bremner, Douglas and Somerville plots all complete but with no Bank corner. This is because there was a very long time lag between the three early buildings and the subsequent ones, which didn't go up until the 1920s.
The Post Office occupied the corner plot, overlooking the raised wooded area, sometime referred to as Fir Park. The living quarters of the P.O. were named 'Parkview'. The original architect's drawings show that the actual shop occupied only a small section of the ground floor. There was also a kitchen, a parlour and a bedroom on the ground floor. Stretching out behind the main building was a row of outbuildings - a wash house, coal store, W.C. and a further store.
On the first floor originally were two further bedrooms, another parlour, a second kitchen and a drawing room (above the shop entrance, with the large bay window). The attic floor contained three more bedrooms and a bathroom. Margaret Bremner had been a grocer already for many years in a shop at the Bridge House on The Wynd (now Largo Road) prior to her move to the Post Office. She had had a number of her siblings living with her there, perhaps some of them moved with her to the new premises, accounting for the large number of bedrooms. Miss Bremner had a full life and I would like to return to her and her family in a later post.
On the first floor originally were two further bedrooms, another parlour, a second kitchen and a drawing room (above the shop entrance, with the large bay window). The attic floor contained three more bedrooms and a bathroom. Margaret Bremner had been a grocer already for many years in a shop at the Bridge House on The Wynd (now Largo Road) prior to her move to the Post Office. She had had a number of her siblings living with her there, perhaps some of them moved with her to the new premises, accounting for the large number of bedrooms. Miss Bremner had a full life and I would like to return to her and her family in a later post.
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