PreviousTintagel Old Post Office
As you walk through the main street of Tintagel, your eyes will be struck by this old house with its ramshackle slate roof. One of the first properties ever acquired by the National Trust, The Tintagel Old Post Office is an absolute delight, an attraction not to be missed on your visit to Tintagel.The building is actually a rare survivor of a typical 14th century long house in Cornwall. Although it was probably originally built as a yeoman's house, the building has borrowed its name from the services it rendered to the Tintagel community in the Victorian age. Spurred on by the legend of King Arthur and poets such as Tennyson and Swinburne, the Victorians descended on Tintagel in droves. As a result most of Tintagel's old structures were pulled down and replaced with tourist accommodation. At about the same time, the introduction of the penny stamp led to an influx of mail and Tintagel acquired its own Post Office for the first time. One room was rented from the owner to serve this purpose between 1844 and 1892. It was then sold for redevelopment but escaped destruction through the endeavours of a local artist, Catherine Jones. She eventually passed it on to the National Trust in 1903 for a nominal sum.
Viewed from the exterior, the Tintagel Old Post Office resembles a building you might expect to see in a children's story book. Built of local stone, the Tintagel Old Post Office is a low structure seeming to hug the ground on which it lies. Its age is immediately apparent with its grey slate roof lying in tiles of uneven waves topped by picturesquely tiered chimney stacks.
Charming as the Old Post Office appears from the outside, the interior is equally as pleasing. Acquired unfurnished by the National Trust, the Old Post Office has now been replenished with various oak furniture, once typically found in such cottages in Cornwall. As you enter from the street, you'll pass a rare Victorian Pillar Box and enter the Hall with its open roof and lintel topped fireplace. Bowing your head to accommodate the low door frames, your tour will take you through the Hall, the Parlour, two Bedrooms, the Garden and of course the Old Tintagel Post Office. The bedrooms lie on separate wings of the building and you'll find yourself climbing either a ladder or an embedded staircase to explore their interiors. As well as pieces of 17th century embroidery, you'll see Windsor chairs, period furniture and a Spagnoletti receiver and undulator.
Location
Address: Tintagel Old Post Office, Fore Street
Postcode: PL34 ODB
Town/city or near: Tintagel
County: Cornwall
Admission
Adults: £2.60
Children: £1.30
Opening Times
Tintagel Old Post Office is open every day from 11am to 5pm from 23rd March to 30th September and till 4pm in October.
National Trust
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