IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Post Office Road, BOURNEMOUTH, BH1 1AW

Taken from virtually the same spot as Image Floodlit just as prominently are the shopfronts of Old Christchurch Road, bottom.

Looking down the bottom section of Richmond Hill, we see the northern corner of Bristol & West House, abutting Post Office Road (left). The building is named after its original occupants, the Bristol & West Building Society, which has long since been taken over by another society – I believe the Portman (now themselves subsumed by the Nationwide) whose headquarters were just up the hill behind us at Image The view from here shows how the first floor becomes the ground floor at this end, thanks to the steepness of the site. See Image for the view of the building from the bottom of the hill.

The art deco building to the left of picture is Image

After occupying several locations, in 1896 the main post office in Bournemouth moved to these purpose-built premises in Beckford Place, which was renamed Post Office Road in around 1900. In March 2008 it is due to be relocated to within WH Smith.

On Post Office Road; still bearing the royal coat of arms above its entrance. The ground floor is now part of a pizza chain, with the upper floors apparently vacant.

Located in Post Office Road (formerly Beckford Place), opened in 1896 and closed in 2008. The building now houses a Pizza Express restaurant. The blue plaque that was in place on this building is now missing. Image

Looking up Richmond Hill from The Square, with on our right-hand side this imposing but perhaps under-appreciated art-deco façade of Bristol & West House, which is named after the building society, long gone and taken over, which used to occupy it. The building overcomes the rather steep gradient of the site, with the shops on the ground floor at different levels and the first floor becoming the ground floor nearer the top. For a view from the top end, see Image

This modern, plastic postbox stands on the first floor of WH Smith's, which has housed the main post office since March 2008. It is emptied finally at 5:15pm on weekdays and 12:30pm on Saturdays. There is another downstairs: see Image On the right, we see the post office counters – the office is closed because today is Sunday.

A view of Image, from the top floor of the Richmond Gardens multi-storey car park.

A probable victim of Bournemouth's vibrant or notorious (take your pick) night-time economy, the outline of the missing plaque can still be clearly seen on the wall of the former Post Office building in Post Office Road. It read: "Bournemouth Post Office. Opened 1896. Bournemouth's first Post Office opened in 1839 at the Tregonwell Arms. After several relocations the office transferred to "Beckford Place" (re-named "Post Office Road" c.1900). This centenary plaque was unveiled by the Mayor of Bournemouth Councillor Mrs Jean Moore." Image Image