240 Mill Road

240 Mill Road, Romsey Town Post Office, Cambridge

History of 240 Mill Road

1962

R J Rayner, stationer and post office

Maurice and Mary Rayner, of Glebe Road, retired in 1985.

3 May 1962 – At a public inquiry into the Bradmore Street clearance scheme, it was proposed that land cleared between Petersfield, East Road, Broad Street and the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology should be used for extensions to the Mill Road Post Office Sorting Office. Several residents objected to the compulsory purchase of their homes. (Mike Petty Archive: Cambridge Mill Road Scrapbook 1897–1990, 3 May 1962.)

28 November 1962 – Demolition work associated with the Mill Road Post Office sorting department was recorded in a contemporary photograph, illustrating the redevelopment of the site. (Mike Petty Archive: Cambridge Mill Road Scrapbook 1897–1990, 28 November 1962.)

10 October 1971 – The first automatic mail-sorting machines were delivered to the Mill Road Post Office, marking a significant step in the mechanisation of postal services in Cambridge. (Mike Petty Archive: Cambridge Mill Road Scrapbook 1897–1990, 10 October 1971.)

31 October 1972 – The mechanised sorting office was processing around 25,000 second-class letters each night. The new equipment, valued at approximately £500,000, sorted second-class mail while the Post Office explained that deliberate overnight delays reflected the different service standard for second-class post. (Mike Petty Archive: Cambridge Mill Road Scrapbook 1897–1990, 31 October 1972.)

8 April 1986 – With the Post Office constructing a new sorting office on the Clifton Industrial Estate, proposals emerged to redevelop the Mill Road sorting office site. Thorn-EMI suggested a major six-screen cinema complex, each screen seating around 300 people, together with extensive cycle parking. Other possible uses included housing or student accommodation. The proposal reflected the significance of the large central site once postal operations moved away. Mike Petty Archive: Cambridge Mill Road Scrapbook 1897–1990, 8 April 1986.

23 June 1988 – The Post Office announced the installation of the latest high-speed sorting technology at its new Clifton Road sorting office. Mill Road had served as Cambridge’s Mechanised Letter Office since 1972, but the equipment had become outdated and working conditions for its 650 staff were cramped and noisy. The new machinery was capable of sorting around 16,000 letters per hour. Following the transfer, the Mill Road premises were to be refurbished and retained as Cambridge’s delivery office for incoming mail. Mike Petty Archive: Cambridge Mill Road Scrapbook 1897–1990, 23 June 1988.