Bradford Abbas in Dorset is fast becoming an “isolated” village, according to its residents. It follows the Royal Mail’s decision to shut their last remaining post box, following the closure of the village’s library, shop and bus service.
Despite the hamlet losing a post office in 2012, a red George V post box was mounted on the wall of a village store. But it has since been sealed off and painted black because new owners of the Grade II listed building requested Royal Mail to take it out of service, after people looked into their home while sending letters.
Royal Mail has proposed installing a replacement post box in Bradford Abbas but residents say nothing has happened, leaving the 975 people in the tiny village without a postal service.
Bradford Abbas is a small village in Dorset on the River Yeo, about four miles from Sherborne. The name comes from a combination of the words for the ‘Abbot’s broad ford’. The pub, the Rose and Crown, is a picturesque inn located in the heart of the village.
Commenting on being cut off from postal services, local councillor, Robin Legg, told the Daily Mail: “It’s hard to believe that Royal Mail could dispatch a works van to seal the old box knowing that there was no alternative post box ready to receive mail.”
He added: “They removed the box without thinking ‘oh dear, there’s no other box in the village. They seem intent on destroying a centuries-old postal system.”
Villagers still use the postbox to communicate with residents and businesses, with locals saying they feel “abandoned” and “forgotten about”.
Elaine Jacklin, a resident of 13 years, said she often posts letters to her family in Nottinghamshire. Ms Jacklin said: “Bradford Abbas is a traditional English village. Now there is nothing left… We are a forgotten village and people have said they are looking at moving away.
“My family lives up north in Nottinghamshire and I used the post box regularly to send birthday cards. Now I will have to get a taxi to the next village which will cost £30 a time.”
Sandra Hillier, the clerk of Bradford Abbas Parish Council, said there were no ill-feelings towards the new owners of the old post office who had requested the post box be decommissioned.
She said: “Because the post box is in the wall of a domestic property the owner has the right to ask that it be closed. They didn’t want people looking in their living room when they used it.”
The Daily Mail reported the Royal Mail is looking for an acceptable location in the village to place a new post box.
A spokesperson said: “We’re committed to placing a post box in the village and are working towards finding an acceptable location.”
