The Old Post Office building, Baldock Street acts as a focal point at the The Cross in Royston. It is a large 2-storey building with a hipped roof and a symmetrical façade following the Classical Style.
The Post Office was constructed in 1930’s in the side garden to Upton House originally occupied by the early 13th Century Medieval Hospital of St John and James of Jerusalem. Possibly it was a hospital not only for the sick but for poor wayfarers. Part of the possible cemetery associated with this hospital was located in 1959 on Briary Lane. The skeletons of 3 adults and 1 child, were discovered, along with evidence for coffins and other artefacts of medieval date.
When the building was completed in 1935 the second floor housed the local telephone exchange and the construction included a ‘hop up’ to allow the police officer on patrol to check on the money in the safe. This can still be seen today at the front of the building to the left of what was the main door.
The Old Post Office became a pub in the late 1990s and has changed its name many times. It is now known as The Jolly Postie Pub.
