HARTWELL POST OFFICE AND STORES

General Store

The first shop in Hartwell started in 1936 in the front room of a cottage at 28 Forest Road and the brackets for the old shop sign can still be seen on the outside of this building.

Mrs May Gregory ran this shop for many years with the help of her husband, Jesse. The shop was then sited adjoining the cottage where the bungalow at 30 Forest Road now stands.

Another shop opened in 1950 further along Forest Road and run by Russell Smith with Pat and Vic Gregory taking this over in 1968, together with the Post Office in 1969. The old shop closed in 1984, as it was no longer profitable to run two shops.

Pat and Vic Gregory retired in February 1995 and the new owners are John and Sandy Budden. With the help of several part time assistants and up to five paperboys at the weekend, John and Sandy run the General Store, which remains a focal point of the village.

Post Office

In days gone by, before the restructuring of the Post Office, Hartwell was a Mail Office which meant that the letters arrived early in the morning and were sorted in Hartwell before being delivered by a local person. This position was held for many years by Mrs Lottie Herbert.

The original Post Office was sited in the cottage next to the shop (Jasmine Cottage) and was run for many years by Mrs Ena Shaw. On her retirement, the Post Office became part of the General Stores.

Eventually, the mail was sorted in Northampton and the morning delivery is now done on foot by various postmen who come from Northampton by van. Some stay on each route for longer than others. Sometimes an occasional afternoon delivery is made and parcels are generally delivered separately by van.

There are three mailboxes in Hartwell, one at the bottom of Salcey Avenue, one in Park Road near the junction with Folly Lane and the other outside the Post Office.

Mail is collected three times daily at 10.45am, 2.15pm and 5.00pm with one collection on Sunday at 1.15pm.

The telephone number for Hartwell General Stores is 01604 862205.

 

A Message from John and Sandy

John and Sandy wish to thank all their customers who have supported them and the Village Store and Post Office for the past 10 years. Over this period, there have been numerous changes. We hope they have been beneficial to the village community.

Special thanks to all the staff and paperboys – past and present, who were always helpful and supportive. Many thanks to them all.

Our suppliers, too many to mention, have likewise been co-operative and helpful in our efforts to change and update the business.

The transfer of the Post Office from Sandy to Tim will not take place until January 7th. Sandy has offered to stay in the Post Office until that date covering the busy Christmas period as she feels a loyalty to the many customers who support their local Post Office. Eileen is also continuing to work during this period and she will continue to maintain her work after January 7th with Tim.

The new owners are Dr Radwan, Rena, Barry and Tim. They are maintaining all aspects of the business and staff, hopefully improving and extending your village store.

We wish them every success in the future.

John and Sandy Budden

 

A Message from Barry, Tim and Rena

We would sincerely like to thank Sandy and John for being so helpful throughout the move and we wish them all the very best for the future.

All the shop’s staff and the villagers we have must thus far have been very friendly and supportive towards us. We realise we have a hard act to follow in Sandy and John but we will do our best to maintain the excellent service you have all become used to.

We would kindly ask you to bear with us whilst we get used to the running of the shop and whilst we try to put names to faces.

We are originally from Kettering although we have lived in Market Harborough for the last seven years.

Barry comes from a retail background having previously run both a second hand bookshop and a gift shop.

Tim has spent the last four years working for Northamptonshire Magistrates Court, whilst Rena is a former nurse and hotelier.

We look forward to meeting you all.