The location.

The location of the Old Post Office in Belper is a  bit of a nightmare for a prospective Estate Agent.

  • It is located about one metre from the edge of a busy A-Road, and you can't park close to your front door.
  • There's a town football club with noisy supporters to the rear of the property.
  • One of the local busy night spots is just across the road.
  • On school days there is a chaotic "mum's run" with cars parked all over.
  • There's a popular pub a couple of doors away.
  • A large factory is about 50 metres away.
  • The lounge windows are large plate glass shop windows looking out on to the public path at the edge of the road.
  • Every ten years or so the River Derwent floods the garden to knee deep. There were signs the cellar often flooded.
  • The roof sags, but repairs will need expensive hand cut Welsh slate.
  • The building is constructed from stone and the Grade II listing prevents significant  modernisation. It is expensive to heat.
When we discovered it about three years ago it had been "on the market" for 309 days. It had dirty windows, poor external paintwork, interesting interior decor and was freezing cold inside. Its central heating probably came from the ark and needed replacing. To add to the attractiveness the previous owner had left motor cycles and oily machine parts in the room we now call the lounge. The walls showed signs of damp.  The windows were covered in dirty heavy net curtains and there was no sound/heat insulation on the single pane windows. We removed three skip loads of ivy from the garden walls.

You know what? We love the place!  It is spacious, has big cellars, a great garden and we don't notice the noise. We have great views over the Chevin hillside from our bedrooms at the back. Much of the architecture is similar to that used in the North Mill. Sometimes you just have see the glint of treasure hidden under grime! We are gradually uncovering it history. It was built in 1805 which is the same year that Admiral Nelson was killed on his flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar.

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