Northumberland postmistress retires after running service from a room in her home for 49 years

Gillian has decided to call it a day after running West Bolton Post Office from her home since November 1974.

That was the year that Gillian married Neville and she moved to the family’s farm in Bolton, which also included a Post Office in part of their home.

Gillian and Neville had three children and she found that operating the Post Office from her home was a great way to work part-time and to care for her son and two daughters.

She said: “Working from home, allowed me to juggle my job and looking after my children. This is a lovely, small, village and people are so nice, I have never had any problems.

“The best thing about being a postmistress is the people that you meet. There were some real characters.

"When my husband passed away eight years ago, I thought about retiring then, but I enjoyed meeting people who came into the Post Office, but many of my regular customers who I had known for many years, have now sadly died or moved away, so it now seems the right time to retire.”

Gillian, along with her son Christopher, still run the family farm and it is a busy time for lambing, so Gillian will be helping with that. Then she is looking forward to having more time to get out and about and to meet with friends and family.

She was presented with a framed long-service letter of appreciation, flowers and £300 worth of gift vouchers for her long service.

Post Office area manager, Neil Barnard, said: “I want to thank Gillian for her long and loyal service to this rural community for nearly five decades. I hope that Gillian enjoys her well-earned retirement.”

The area where the Post Office has operated will be absorbed into Gillian’s home.

There are nearby Post Offices in Glanton (two miles), Powburn (three miles and Alnwick (seven miles).

Post Office has 11,500 branches across the UK. A partnership with over 30 banks, building societies and credit unions means that 99% of UK bank customers can access their accounts at their Post Office.