How a beloved historic building in York became the city’s newest restaurant
MANY people in York regretted the closure of the Lendal Post Office.
In fact, many actively protested against its demise.
In 2018, York Central MP Rachael Maskell led a Campaign to keep it open and called on the public to sign a petition which she would present to Parliament.
However, the venture was unsuccessful and the post office closed in 2019. Its operations were moved to WH Smith’s premises in Coney Street.
Today, after a complete interior renovation, it has opened as the new steakhouse Miller & Carter.
Our photos today take us through the history of the building, built in 1884, and document its transformation from a post office and telephone exchange to one of the city’s most elegant new restaurants.
Lendal in the 1910s and what it looks like today. Images from the York Explore archive and Google Maps
The post office building has been a familiar part of life in Lendal for 140 years.
It was built in 1884 to the designs of the architect Sir Henry Tanner. The building contractor was Wm. Ives and Co. of Shipley.
A map of York from 1853 shows that an earlier post office had been located behind other buildings at the front of Lendal, accessed via a lane off the road.
In 1892, the Post Office opened a telephone exchange in Lendal – a rival to the city’s first telephone exchange, which was housed above a chemist’s shop in Parliament Street. The latter was opened by the National Telephone Company in 1886 – just ten years after Alexander Graham Bell patented his telephone, which enabled people to talk to each other over long distances.
Inside the former post office in Lendal when it was a telephone exchange in the early 1900s. Photo from the York Explore archive
These two major stock exchanges in York operated separately until the 1920s.
The national telephone exchanges were taken over by the post office in 1912.
There was a telephone exchange in York from 1886 to 2003, when BT rationalised its customer services and relocated the York service, based at Stonebow, to Leeds and Doncaster.
Miller and Carter York opens in Lendal – in the former post office building. Image provided
The Post’s long history with Lendal ended in April 2019 with the closure of this branch.
After standing vacant for five years, the building reopened as the Miller & Carter steakhouse restaurant.
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