His building rose seven storeys, the bottom two completely underground, the top
two picking up the rhythm of Matheson’s design in a simplified way. He also heightened the original
building with a columnar second floor, but preserved its outline by adding a plain pilastered storey
to the pavilions. The public office was also remodelled by Oldrieve. Electric lighting was finally
provided. All departments of the Post Office benefited from the additional space provided.The
additional storeys also restored the balance between the post office and the North British Station Hotel.
By the early 1920s yet again the need for more accommodation had become apparent and in 1927 a scheme was
put forward for the post office to take over the neighbouring Inland Revenue Office, with the Inland Revenue
moving to new accommodation on the site of the old GPO building next to Calton Hill (vacated by the Post Office in 1866).
However, the scheme never went ahead owing to the years of the Great Depression and, although it was revived in
the mid-1930s, the onset of the Second World War led to other priorities.
By 1936 some 6 million letters and 137,000 parcels were handled at the GPO, 2,400,000
telegrams transmitted and 1,300,000 postal orders issued.
In 1963 plans were announced for another major redevelopment of the GPO building.
There has been a rail presence in the centre of Edinburgh since 1842 when
Edinburgh and Glasgow Railways built their original terminal at the haymarket, in a classic
Georgian style. The main building still remains although the original train shed was
disassembled in 1982.
In 1846 the line was extended, amid protests, through Princes Street Gardens between the
Old and New towns, to sit close to the present day Waverley site. The current Waverley
Station was constructed by the North British Railway Company between 1892 and 1899. It
was a condition that the buildings had to remain out of site, below the ground level,
so as not to spoil Edinburgh's classical skyline.
The North British Station Hotel, completed in 1902, was constructed, not just as a
sumptuous hotel, but also as an impressive flagship for the station itself. It had
direct links with Waverley Station and hotel porters in red jackets met guests off
the train and whisked them by lift direct from the station booking hall to a
reception desk in the hotel.
The new hotel initially dwarfed the GPO building across the road, but only for a
few years until an extra floor was added to the GPO during the major 1908/9
enlargement, which also extended the building on a line close to the railway.
The closeness of the Post Office to Waverley Station was a boon for handling bags of
mail to and from the rest of the country, and this reached new heights of efficiency
in 1966 with the development of a conveyor system between the two.
