This old photo shows Glastonbury’s post office in 1897 — the building that today houses Barclays Bank.

  The town’s telephone exchange was behind — the General Post Office ran Britain’s phone system until 1981. The exchange would have been manual, with operators handling jacks and sockets.

  The photo was among those shown by Allen Cotton in an illustrated talk to the Conservation Society on January 31 about the postal history of Glastonbury. It was full of fascinating detail about the sorting systems and prices and postmarks of years gone by.

  Allen, from West Bradley, is writing a book on the subject.

New post office refitted

  Meanwhile, the present post office farther up the High Street, a Grade II listed building (75 years old last year — Newsletter 140) has had an interior refurbishment.

  Sub-postmaster Gerald Cross said a replacement is coming for the characteristic overhanging sign that a carnival vehicle destroyed in November.