The Old Post Office

The Old Post Office, Stanton Lacy

A timber-framed farmhouse, probably dating from the later 17th century, standing at a T-junction near the 18th-century Manor House and facing towards the village's Saxon church.

The building is constructed from an oak timber frame with a local silt or mudstone plinth and lower chimney stacks. Nineteenth-century brick was used to rebuild the upper sections of the chimneys and to infill framing at the right-hand end. The plan is rectangular and single room deep, with a modern rear extension.

The main structure comprises a single range of one-and-a-half storeys, aligned parallel to the road. A massive central chimney stack is positioned at the rear centre, and a corner stack stands at the rear-left corner, probably inserted early in the building's history. Much of the original heavy, square framing survives to the front elevation, the left gable, and the wall between the rear-left corner and central stack. The right-hand bay was either added or substantially rebuilt in the early to mid-19th century, with low, lightly timber-framed gables to front and rear; its rear wall was replaced in the mid-20th century and its gable wall renewed in 2008. Some heavy chamfered purlins, angle braces, and common rafters from the original build survive in the roof structure, though many roof timbers have been replaced in the 19th century and later.

Internally, the ground floor is divided into five bays of irregular width, numbered left to right. Bay 1 contains a corner fireplace, and a 19th-century stud wall separates it from bay 2, the staircase hall, which contains a mid-19th-century dog-leg staircase with decorative spindles. Bay 3, the main room, retains its original heavy chamfered spine and cross beams with chamfered joists dividing the ceiling into quarters. Its rear wall is largely occupied by the base of the central chimney stack, much rebuilt in brick during the 19th and 20th centuries. Bays 4 and 5 have studding that has been replaced with breeze block. Beneath bays 1 and 2 lies an original stone-walled cellar with a timber-framed partition between the two sections. A cupboard door retains large iron hinges, probably from the 17th century, though the door itself dates to the 19th century.

Upstairs, the original late 17th-century trusses survive between bays 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 4 and 5, with heavy tie beams, angle bracing, queen struts, and jowls visible at the tops of the main posts. The division between bays 2 and 3 was substantially altered when the staircase was replaced in the mid-19th century. A large window was inserted into the north gable end in the 18th or 19th century, positioned alongside the corner fireplace.

The building has undergone modifications in the mid-19th century, mid-20th century, and underwent substantial refurbishment and extension in 2008. A large rear extension of no special architectural interest was added during the 2008 works.

The property's history is limited to its documented use as the village post office at some point in its past. Stanton Lacy has remained an entirely rural farming community throughout its history. The substantial nature of the timber frame indicates this was a farmhouse rather than a cottage, and it was likely built for and occupied by one of the village farmers during the 17th century, a period when rural society in Shropshire was becoming increasingly stratified, with successful farmers acquiring larger farms and better houses while labourers and cottagers struggled with impoverished conditions and poor accommodation.