Portobello Post Office, Windsor Place

Image: © Ian Dodds Taken: 8 May 2021

Nice to see a post office still located in an original purpose-built building, as opposed to lurking in the corner of a supermarket. This building went up in 1904, as is shown by the rather confusing-looking carving above one of the first floor windows, so it must have replaced an older post office. The 'ER' carving, on the window to the left of the '1904' one, indicates that it was built in the reign of Edward VII. The 'R' in the current queen's 'ER' refers to Regina, Latin for queen. In this case though, it stands for Rex, Latin for king. It being a listed building, like hundreds of others in Portobello, there is a detailed, often incomprehensible, architectural description of it online. It does make clear, though, that it's rather a quirky assymetrical design, and that there used to be a stained glass window in the pediment (the fancy bit above the lintel of a door) - it looks like a plain board has been put in to replace it. The corbel stones (these jut out of a wall in order to support something) are also a bit curious as the row above the ground floor windows look like they are there to support the first floor. However, there is another one on the right hand corner of the building, lower than the tops of the windows.

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