Muir of Ord Post office
Attribution: unknown or not recorded
First or Second Post office Building
According to Lady Mackenzie of Ord, when she arrived in the village in 1825, there were only two thatched cottages. It is unclear of their exact location, although she did say one was on the site of the Tarradale Hotel. The second housed the post, which was more of a domestic residence.
John Mackenzie
By 1878 there is evidence that a Mr John MacKenzie, was the postmaster and had been a wool draper and general merchant in the village since the 1851 census.
The birth of his two eldest children in 1842 and 1844 could even suggest he was in business in the village then as their births are recorded as being in the Parish of Urray.
John was recorded as being 44 years of age and his second wife, Ann Henderson was only 27. They had up to four children, with John having two from his first marriage.
However, the eldest and youngest sons shared the same name which would indicate that the elder Thomas had died between the censuses of 1851 and 1861.
John’s second youngest child, Duncan died in 1878 at Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, West Africa at the age of 24. That same year Ann died too.
John died two years later in 1880 at the Tarradale Post Office.
William Ross
The next Postmaster was William Ross.
William Ross was native toDornoch and took over as postmaster in 1880, following the death of John MacKenzie. At that time he was 28 years of age and his occupation on the 1881 census has him recorded as a Grocer and Postmaster (Civil Service).
On the 1881 census, his sister Isabella was living with him as his housemaid and her birth was registered as Rogart.
Previously, on the 1871 census, there can be found a William Ross, aged 19 as a Farm servant at Barnyards. Although there is nothing to say whether this could be the same person, the period between the records would provide ample time for the 19 year old to secure a post in a shop to gain experience required for running a business. This is purely conjecture though.
William married Elsie Sinclair in December 1886. Elsie was originally from Nairn and on her marriage certificate it states she was a Domestic Servant (Nurse) which could explain how the couple’s paths crossed. The couple quickly started a family and by the 1891 census, they had two sons, David and John Thomas.
William became heavily involved in public life and sat on the School Board for many years before becoming Chairman.
He also sat on the Parish Council and was a local Justice of the Peace for the county.
“He had many friends, and his geniality and obliging disposition earned him universal respect” (Ross-shire Journal, 1st November 1907).
William died in 1907 at the age of 54 and his wife continued in the shop. By the 1911 census she is recorded as living on ‘Private Means’ whilst her son, John Thomas was recorded as a Grocer and his sister, Margaret as a Grocer’s Bookkeeper.
The eldest son, David was working for a bank and wasn’t living at home with the family.
A third son, William had been born in 1903.
Elspeth was however recorded as being sub postmistress in 1912 when she presented a gold brooch to one of her employees, Miss Mary M. Bisset, who was leaving her employ.
Elsie Ross
Elspeth/Elsie continued to live at the property until 1920 whilst also owning a property at Ardersier. Elspeth had left Muir of Ord by the 1921 census to live with her son David in Inverness.
The sub postmaster at this time was now recorded as John Thomas Ross, Elspeth’s son who was now living at Seaforth Cottage although he was recorded as living at ‘Ruapuna 1’ by the 1915 Valuation Roll.
Elspeth died at Perth in 1930 and is buried at Urray.
Valuation rolls suggest that John remained as Sub post master until at least 1925 and had moved to live at MacEwen Drive in Inverness by 1930, around the time that the new post office building had been built.
The building transferred to being used by the Commercial Bank of Scotland which then became the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Controversy over Postmaster
There appears to have been some controversy over the Post office which is evident in a newspaper ‘letter to the editor’ from an anonymous villager suggesting the Post Office building had been taken over by another merchant.
There is also evidence of a bankruptcy order in 1882, where a Lachlan Mackintosh had started trading in the village in 1880.
Lachlan purchased property around 1881 and he expected the Post office was included in the purchase.
Sometime in the following twelve months the Post Office was removed from his business.
The letter to the editor, suggests it was another merchant, who had been in the village for many years who had possibly brought about the removal of the Post Office.
Mr Mackintosh had indeed bought the property; with the belief he would become the Postmaster which had already been appointed to Mr William Ross.
Letters to the Editor
The letter to the editor refers to Mr Ross as being “a man of business habits, who possesses the confidence of the entire community, and as the present Post Office occupies the most central and only suitable house, and the site it has occupied for the last thirty years.”
A second letter, published in the same issue of the Inverness Advertiser also suggested that Mr Mackintosh had been slightly naïve in his aspirations and made a poor business choice.
Mr Mackintosh admitted to having eighteen years’ experience of working as a Draper, however, the second letter states he had been working for a Draper in Beauly, prior to starting business in Muir of Ord.
Post Office house & Joiners shop
The cottages next to the post office were built around 1925 by established Carpenter/Funeral undertaker, Roderick MacKenzie. The joiners building was up for sale or lease in 1927.
Included was a second lot of a dwelling house and post office which was occupied by a George MacLean, sub postmaster, indicating that the small cottages we know today was actually the dwelling house and post office described in the 1927 advert, as by 1928 there was another advert of a dwelling house for sale which was described as being ‘New’, there was no mention of Roderick Mackenzie as being the owner in this advert.
The Post office was also described as a separate business premises.
Roderick Mackenzie
Roderick Mackenzie appears to have been in Muir of Ord since around 1905. The valuation rolls have a Roderick Mackenzie, cartwright (tradesperson skilled in the making and repairing of carts or wagons), living at Mackintosh buildings and having a workshop belonging to the Forbes family. By 1915 a Mr Roderick Mackenzie, carpenter, now owned a workshop and was still a tenant in the Mackintosh building.
The Business premises, consisting of a contactor’s yard and substantial stone and lime workshop and wooden stores, owned by Roderick MacKenzie was again up for sale in 1929.
There were suggestions of what the workshop could be used for:
“The premises are large and commodious, and can be used either as a contractor’s yard or a motor engineering business and garage or can be converted into dwelling houses.”
The workshop building was still vacant on the 1930 valuation roll and by the 1935 valuation roll the buildings had become a workshop and 2 dwelling houses and were now owned by George MacLean the sub post-master.
Joseph Mann, a carpenter, leased the workshop and Lorry driver, James Pirie and a Mrs Rebecca Campbell, widow, leased the two dwelling houses.
Locals can recall the cottages and workshop were used as a Joiners and tailors in the years after this.
Post Office House and Post Office
Built in 1927, the dwelling house was fitted with electric lighting. It had four rooms, Kitchen and all conveniences, including hot and cold water. The business premises attached were known as the Post Office.
George MacLean came to Muir of Ord as the sub-post master in the early 1920’s and most probably lived at both the Post office Cottages and this property, if not the old post Office at Muir Bank, as we know it today.