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A History of Preston in Hertfordshire
Frederick William Upchurch - early 20thC Preston postman
1811c
1766
When imagining what life was like at Preston in bygone days, it is intriguing to discover new sights
and sounds from yesteryear - such as the clock above the Temple Dinsley stables which regulated
time throughout the village and could be seen from School Lane and the Green (until it burnt down in
1888). In this article, a new sound and a regular sight in the village in the early years of the twentieth
century are described.
Our subject, Frederick William Upchurch, was born in Gosmore, Herts on 18 December 1875 to the
single-woman Mary Ann Upchurch, a seamstress. He was baptised at Hitchin on 11 March 1877.
In 1891, Frederick (15) was working as a an errand boy and living with his mother and grandparents
at 46 Bancroft, Hitchin. He and his mother had moved to 44 Bancroft by 1901 - while his uncle (also
Frederick Upchurch) was trading as a bootmaker at No. 46. ‘Our Frederick’ was described as a ‘town
postman’. His appointment is featured in Post Office records:
Frederick married Emily Watson (who was born at Walsworth, near Hitchin, on 1 January 1880) at
Hitchin in early 1902. The couple had one child, Dorothy Mary Upchurch, who was born in the spring
of 1910.
This small family made their home at 42 Lancaster Road, Hitchin (shown below) - where Frederick
lived until his death on 24 July 1951.
In April 1936, it was announced that Frederick was to receive a medal for his postal services (even if
the details are not quite exact):
Later in 1936, information about Frederick’s work was recorded by the Post Office. His wage in 1901
was between 16/- and 22/- a week. When he retired, aged sixty, his pay was 59/6d a week. Between
1931 and 1935, he had only missed 18 days absence in 1934 due to illness. During his retirement, he
received a Post Office pension of around £380 per annum.
So how did Frederick contribute to the sights and sounds of Preston in the early twentieth century?
The book, Market Town: Hitchin in the 19thC by Anthony Foster provides this insight:
So from about 1901, Frederick trudged through Preston with his bag, delivering post at around 07.15
and returned to the village at approximately 18.30. When he was at the top of Preston Hill, he’d blow
a whistle to alert the folk of Wain Wood that then was the time for them to give him their mail. Sights
and sounds at Preston indeed…