Hello everyone,

I'm an architecture student at Sheffield Uni doing a project based around Fitzalan Square.
I was just wondering if anyone knew the history of the post office, as far as I know, it was build in July of 1910 on the site of the previous Queens Cutlery Works and was used throughout 20th century in the 60/70 I think it was going to be knocked down to facilitate the construction of a bigger more spacious site for the GPO however this didn't go ahead. If any one can elaborate on this it would be really appreciated, what it has been used for since the Post Office moved out or if its just been stood empty..

Other interesting facts and sources about the goings on in Fitzalan square would also be gratefully welcomed.

Regards Dan. (Joby)

one thng ý always remember about the place..........ýt had about 30 red telephone boxes all around ýt.......maybe a slýght exageratýon there but to an 8 year old there seemd to be loads of em

Of course Fitzalan Square was where the largest single loss of life occurred in Sheffield during the 1939 - 1945 war

There are earlier threads on this area in the Forum but the general picture of what happened that night is on

http://www.chrishobbs.com/marples1940.htm

Some old photos of the square as well

It also used to house the main Telephone Exchange until the 1960's.

I remember working in the upstairs where the telephone operators were based (0 pre-STD days). That would be 1968 to early 70's. They were the manual type boards where the operator would insert a cord in order to answer the call.

You could tell a switchboard op when you met her. She would have a biro with a big rubber bulb on the end which they used for dialling. My dad used to nick 'em when he worked there.

http://www.aburke.freeuk.com/sheffield.htm

Good picture here.

Originally posted by jiginc
http://www.aburke.freeuk.com/sheffield.htm

Good picture here.

That link may disapear shortly try the new one here if it does:

Old Sheffield (http://www.moss-net.co.uk/mosborough/sheffield.htm)

Yea this building takes me back a few years ,as when i passed you could spot the telegram boys with there motor bikes and god did i want to be one of those but not just old enough but a kid lived next door to my mother well he was one.

Originally posted by George
[Bwhen i passed you could spot the telegram boys with there motor bikes and god did i want to be one of those. [/B]

You and me both, George.

Do you remember those little three wheeler lorries that used to deliver parcels. Maybe they were railway lorries ?

I was one When was neighbour's lad one

While on the bus yesterday, I was looking at the old building and it's beautiful, I also noticed that it had been sold, so I presume we will have some superb apartments there soon, I would love to have a look round it now.

The telegram boy priory,it would be about middle of the 50s getting on to the 60s,god they used to think they was the bees knees,thinking back now the bikes was only small engines but to me well that was going to be my job i said,heeeeeeeeeee.plus can you lot remember the lift side of the post office took you up to the square but was always broke.

As a kid I always found the steep flight of steps next to the GPO quite scary - I used to image them in a spooky Italian horror film (or something).

Originally posted by Lostrider
You and me both, George.

Do you remember those little three wheeler lorries that used to deliver parcels. Maybe they were railway lorries ? Those lorries were Scammel (Ironhorse) and yes they belonged to British Rail.

Originally posted by George
The telegram boy priory,it would be about middle of the 50s getting on to the 60s,god they used to think they was the bees knees,thinking back now the bikes was only small engines but to me well that was going to be my job i said,heeeeeeeeeee.plus can you lot remember the lift side of the post office took you up to the square but was always broke.
I was early 50s.The bikes were BSA Bantams 125cc. It was a great time.

Originally posted by detectorist
Those lorries were Scammel (Ironhorse) and yes they belonged to British Rail.

The famous rounded cab models of the 50s & 60s were called Scammell Scarabs. Here are the specs for the anoraks amongst us:

Scammell first introduced its "Mechanical Horse" in the UK in 1934. From the late 1920's railway companies had been searching for a vehicle that they could use that would replace the horse drawn carriage.

The London and North Eastern Railway initially approached Napiers and although they created a few designs the project was sold to Scammell Lorries where the Mechanical Horse was designed by O.D North. One of the unique features was that it automatically coupled and uncoupled with trailers.

The Mechanical Horse was a large 3-wheeler with a steel frame with a wooden cab attached to it and came in two sizes with either a 3 ton or 6 ton load capacity. Power came from Scammell's own 1,125cc side valve petrol engine in the 3-ton model and the 2,043cc engine in the 6 ton model.

The unique thing about the Mechanical Horse was that its single front wheel could turn 360 degrees and so produced a highly manoeuvrable vehicle. The mechanical horse remained largely unchanged until the late 1940's when the tractor section was redesigned creating the Scammell Scarab.

This featured the same successful automatic coupling from the original but now used the Scammell 2,090cc side valve engine in both the 3 ton and 6 ton versions. A diesel version was also introduced with a Perkins engine. The Scarab's cab was more rounded and made from Steel and with the engine being mounted lower than in the Mechanical Horse the Scarab was much more stable.

Production of the Scarab ceased in 1967 and was replaced with the Scammell Townsman that now featured a fibreglass cab.

The Townsman utilized many developments in large vehicles including vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes and although the same automatic coupling feature was used this now used a vacuum operated release mechanism rather than a hand lever found in earlier models.

Despite numerous improvements the Townsman was mainly only sold to British Rail and the Royal Mail and production ended in 1968.

Originally posted by mojoworking
The famous rounded cab models of the 50s & 60s were called Scammell Scarabs. Here are the specs for the anoraks amongst us:



Cheers for that, I managed to find a link to some pictures.

Scammell (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.paulpettitt-photographs.co.uk/goods2005033_small.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.paulpettitt-photographs.co.uk/goodstrains1.htm&h=317&w=250&sz=19&tbnid=jTppu95zr2MJ:&tbnh=113&tbnw=89&hl=en&start=4&prev=/images%3Fq%3DScammell%2Brailway%26svnum%3D10%26hl% 3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2005-17,GGLD:en%26sa%3DN)

Originally posted by Joby
Hello everyone,

I'm an architecture student at Sheffield Uni doing a project based around Fitzalan Square.
I was just wondering if anyone knew the history of the post office, Regards Dan. (Joby)

Hi
i know it was used as the telephone exchange and it was called Vulcan..i still know people who worked there when it was Vulcan. The switchboard operators were sat in rows and the supervisors were sat on high seats like lifeguards so they could keep an eye on everyone..they had big poles that they used to poke the girls in the back with if they weren't working.

Originally posted by Caz1
Hi
i know it was used as the telephone exchange and it was called Vulcan..i still know people who worked there when it was Vulcan. The switchboard operators were sat in rows and the supervisors were sat on high seats like lifeguards so they could keep an eye on everyone..they had big poles that they used to poke the girls in the back with if they weren't working.

Hey Caz. Sorry ! no big poles when I were worked there, yes they sat on high chairs behind you' if you weren't working they'd stand very close to you and devolop this funny cough just to let you know they were there. if you were doing anything wrong they couldn't see what you were from the back so sneaked up close.
Vera

Originally posted by Bushbaby
You could tell a switchboard op when you met her. She would have a biro with a big rubber bulb on the end which they used for dialling. My dad used to nick 'em when he worked there.

Hey There!!
Bushbaby until recently I still had my biro with the dialler on the end we used to carry them all the time cos SOMEONE would nick them (hello).
Mine travelled with me all the way to Australia different pen though now wish I still had it.
Vera.

The telephone exchange was called Sheffield Vulcan and I worked as a telephonist for there for 4 years before transefering to Sheffield Hallam- next door to Telephone house on Wellington St. From a cord exchange to cordless switchboards.

The exchange was on the next to the top floor and we could only go up in the lift...never down ...don't know why but as a 15 yr old I didn't argue with my supervisors. We even had to ask to go to the toilet..seriously! You had to ask if you could
"slip on top" cos the loo's were on the floor above ,only two girls were alowed at a time tho!

The swithboard suites when fully seated held over 250 telephonists.
100,192 and 191 calls were taken there aswell as 999's.

The top floor was the canteen but we prefered to go over the road to the sorting office to see the telegram lads who were based across the road.

In the basements were rooms that basically had been turned into bunkers and had never been changed since ww2 apparently.

Best days of my working life... ruled by supervisors with a rod of iron ..but some of the best mates I have ever come across.
Proud to say I was GPO trained!

C

did anyone know that the posting box on the corner of the building had a shute about 30-40 foot long.

Apparetly they used the lower ground floor for the delivery office for areas sheff 1-4 and 14 up until 5 years ago when they transfered across the road. The exteria of the building is a listed building so they can't pull it down. however they can change the inside.

there are 2 ex posties here telling me this.

Originally posted by mojoworking
As a kid I always found the steep flight of steps next to the GPO quite scary - I used to image them in a spooky Italian horror film (or something).

We used to as well when we were scuttling down them to catch the last bus after dancing at Alfred Golds on a Friday night....Big trouble if the whistle went before we got to the bottom in time. They were gone..whoosh, bang on eleven...then we had to get thinking as to how we were going to explain being in late.
All those phone boxes outside the GPO, but we didn't have a phone at home to call to tell them.

;)

Originally posted by peppermint
did anyone know that the posting box on the corner of the building had a shute about 30-40 foot long.

Apparetly they used the lower ground floor for the delivery office for areas sheff 1-4 and 14 up until 5 years ago when they transfered across the road. The exteria of the building is a listed building so they can't pull it down. however they can change the inside.

there are 2 ex posties here telling me this.

oh no this origional post has started something, memories of a postman LOL they havn't stopped, anyone would think they hadnt seen each other for years. They are swopping stories.
believe it or not its only a week max since they have seen each other.
:help:

Originally posted by rbbt
The telephone exchange was called Sheffield Vulcan and I worked as a telephonist for there for 4 years before transefering to Sheffield Hallam- next door to Telephone house on Wellington St. From a cord exchange to cordless switchboards.

C

Hi
i too worked at Sheffield Hallam from the age of 17. i started in 1979 but we were still having to ask for slips then. Also we the newbies didn't mix with established operators. It was very strict but the best training ever..it still stands me in good stead today. i loved it and hated it in equal measures.

I Do Remember That It Was A Landmark Meeting Place, Everyone Knew Where The Post Office Was

I was in the Post Office Home guard (WR 18 we used to go training on a Sunday morning and occasionally in an evening, I wonder if there are anymore still around

I was one of the last persons to work in the building (July 2004). It had hardly changed from its beginnings. I worked in 'The Attic' overlooking the old Odeon cinema (now Mecca Bingo), and it was a regular thing to get locked in the lift with its criss cross expandable door.

My Grandfather was a telegram boy in the early 1900's and became a GPO engineer after WW1 until his death in 1950. My Mum was a switchboard operator at the GPO building from the late 1940's until she married in 1954

I was in the Post Office Home guard (WR 18 we used to go training on a Sunday morning and occasionally in an evening, I wonder if there are anymore still around
I think my Grandfather was in the GPO homeguard during WW2 - his name was Joe Fox - do you remember him ?

Joby, one thing I think you should include in your project (and I wish the council would actually do!) is to de-island the square. In the current weather, the square itself is quite a nice place to sit for 10 mins and have a sandwich, however because buses thunder past it on all sides, it's hard to get to. I think the taxi rank should be moved to a semi-pedestrianised area on the other side of the square with no buses allowed in either direction along that side - integrating the square with the paved area in front of the Post Office/Superdrug etc. Then the crossing with the intensely irritating "If you're a dumbass, remember to look for cars" voice-thing should be moved uphill slightly. That way the square could be utilised as the main pedestrian thoroughfare, imo dramatically improving the feel of the area.
Think there may be some issues with the turning radius of the buses and how they'd negotiate the left turn coming from the interchange and rounding the corner with the motorcyle gear shop on, but nothing a sensibly controlled junction couldn't be built to accomodate. The council would, I'm sure, relish the opportunity to buy more traffic lights.

You and me both, George.

Do you remember those little three wheeler lorries that used to deliver parcels. Maybe they were railway lorries ?

These were Scammel "Mechanical Horses" - see http://www.3wheelers.com/scammell.html

The Post Office didn't use them as far as I can recall. They were built for the railways as they were very manouvreable and could get round in the tight spaces inside goods sheds and stations.:)

Reviewing later posts, I stand corrected. Can't ever remember seeing any PO ones, though.

The last time I was in Fitzallan Square PO building was about 18 months ago. We used to use the rooms on the next to top floor for meetings as there was not anywhere suitable in Pond Street RM offices. You could get in at the Pond St. side and climb the stairs, it was creepy. The whole building was in a poor state and everywhere smelled musty.

There was talk that the building was going to converted to flats. I don't think anything has happened about this yet, though.

If you remember the ' marble columns ' in the old post office, these came from the black marble mine at 'Ashford in the Water ' just down the road from thornbridge hall the old teacher training college, the ' marble ' is not marble but a coloured limestone that polishes up just like marble and has the same effect.

Yes the corner post box was a long chute that went down to the floor below and the mail collected in a large wooden sided tray like thing, the snooker room was looking out onto flat street directly across from the steps up to the subway under arundel gate, not only was the post delivered from the CDO ( city delivery office) all the inward mail for delivery in sheffield was sorted and despatched to all the local delivery offices from there.

did anyone know that the posting box on the corner of the building had a shute about 30-40 foot long.

Apparetly they used the lower ground floor for the delivery office for areas sheff 1-4 and 14 up until 5 years ago when they transfered across the road. The exteria of the building is a listed building so they can't pull it down. however they can change the inside.

there are 2 ex posties here telling me this.


The chute was no more than perhaps 15 feet long and led to the upper ground floor by the side of the lift. The lower ground floor housed the city delivery office, but was at ground level from the Pond Street side The entire building is like a rabbit warren inside.

The chute was no more than perhaps 15 feet long and led to the upper ground floor by the side of the lift. The lower ground floor housed the city delivery office, but was at ground level from the Pond Street side The entire building is like a rabbit warren inside.


hi are you nigel that used to deliver in ecclesfield

hi are you nigel that used to deliver in ecclesfield


I might be if you tell me who you might be. But then again..................

I might be, if you tell me who you might be. But then again.....................

I might be, if you tell me who you might be. But then again.....................

i am the post woman that lived on the common in the late 70s

i am the post woman that lived on the common in the late 70s


Hi. 397 The Common to be precise. Known by some as 'The Doll's House'.Am I right?

Hi. 397 The Common to be precise. Known by some as 'The Doll's House'.Am I right?
spot on

live at high green now still married kids all grown up almost all flown the nest but none of them will give me any grand kids yet

spot on

live at high green now still married kids all grown up almost all flown the nest but none of them will give me any grand kids yet


Nice to hear from you Sue.. Take care - Nigel

Does anyone know what the old Post Office in Fitzalan Square is going to be now that the extension building has been demolished? Tried looking online but can't seem to find anything about it.

It also used to house the main Telephone Exchange until the 1960's.

I worked for the GPO Telephones in in 1968 and it was still the main exchange, west street was the second I will agree that Eldon House took over the main control 69 to 70.

The telephone exchange was called Sheffield Vulcan and I worked as a telephonist for there for 4 years before transefering to Sheffield Hallam- next door to Telephone house on Wellington St. From a cord exchange to cordless switchboards.

The exchange was on the next to the top floor and we could only go up in the lift...never down ...don't know why but as a 15 yr old I didn't argue with my supervisors. We even had to ask to go to the toilet..seriously! You had to ask if you could
"slip on top" cos the loo's were on the floor above ,only two girls were alowed at a time tho!

The swithboard suites when fully seated held over 250 telephonists.
100,192 and 191 calls were taken there aswell as 999's.

The top floor was the canteen but we prefered to go over the road to the sorting office to see the telegram lads who were based across the road.

In the basements were rooms that basically had been turned into bunkers and had never been changed since ww2 apparently.

Best days of my working life... ruled by supervisors with a rod of iron ..but some of the best mates I have ever come across.
Proud to say I was GPO trained!

C

The one thing as a young Apprentice Telephone Engineer was going down to the basement area you describe ans seing the duplicate telephone system down there. Later the Telex division was located there.
I remember the old drop down switchboards with their cords, we used as young lads have to replace the cords and the plugs, Tip, Ring and Sleave still are inprinted in my mind.

I will suport your comment I am also proud to say I was GPO Trained, you dont get that today.

Those lorries were Scammel (Ironhorse) and yes they belonged to British Rail.

And before that to the LNER, LMS, GWR, SR and any other pre-war mainline railway company.