Mid 20th century post office at High Street, Brentwood (EHER 80512)

The post office was built in 1939 by the Office of Works; the architect is unknown. It was built on the site of an earlier but smaller post office and seems to have been part of a larger townscape scheme. The post office is built of red brick with stone dressings and has a tiled, pitched roof fronted by a low parapet. It is a two storey building in neo-Georgian style with a basement occupying a corner plot. The main public hall is panelled and some detail such as built-in panelled mail boxes remain. Behind the public hall are a number of offices divided by half glazed screens. The stairs have a cast iron stick balusters and moulded wooden handrail. The sorting office to the rear remains in use. The building was assessed for listing in 2010 but failed to meet the required criteria.

NRHE data transfer: This post office was built in 1939 by the Office of Works; the architect is not known. It was built on the corner of the High Street and St Thomas Road, on the site of an earlier but smaller post office, shown on the OS map of 1896. This building was still in use as a post office in 1920, but the 1939 OS map shows this corner plot empty, and the post office relocated to a building a short distance to the south on St Thomas Road. This was presumably a temporary home until the building of the new post office was complete. It seems to have been designed as part of a larger townscape scheme, with the corner plot opposite developed just before 1939 as an arcade of shops in similar style and materials. Brentwood post office is built of red brick with stone dressings. It is a large, almost square, two storey building with a basement occupying a corner plot. The elevations to the High Street and St Thomas Road are of nine bays and ten bays respectively, the end bays slightly recessed; the bays are separated by reeded pilasters. The tiled roofs are pitched, and fronted by a low parapet. Built in a neo-Georgian style, the facades are regular, the main High Street elevation symmetrical with central entrance with four windows to either side. The entrance has double doors with plain overlight, and white stone surrounds with scrolled pediment carrying a plaque with a crown and the letters GR in relief. The entrance on St Thomas Road is in the fourth bay from the north, and has a plain white stone surround with inscribed plaque above. The windows are all metal with small panes. The main public hall is panelled to what is presumed to be half the height of the walls; a false ceiling has been inserted at the level of the top of the windows. Some detail, such as built-in panelled mail boxes, survives and although the post office counter is modern, the panelling behind remains in place; inserted into the panelling here are a series of small doors. Behind the public hall are a number of offices divided by half glazed screens. The stairs have cast iron stick balusters and moulded wooden handrail. The first floor contains offices set on either side of a corridor; their doors are plain with small windows. The sorting office is a functional space with a ceiling supported by steel trusses. The post office is an imposing building and occupies a prominent position on the corner of the High Street and St Thomas Road, where it makes a considerable contribution to the streetscape and conservation area. However, it is a very plain building without distinctive architectural quality, its form is monolithic and unwieldy, and it does not compare well with other listed examples of a similar date. Although the panelling and detail in the main public hall survives well, the remainder of the interior and the sorting office are plain and functional. The post office on Brentwood High Street is not of special architectural or historical significance and does not meet the criteria for inclusion on the statutory list. <1>