The Old Post Office, Harleston, subject of Channel 4 property show Remarkable Renovations

A former post office in Harleston hit the small screen last week as the subject of a Channel 4 property show.

On Wednesday, July 20, millions of viewers across the country watched as Remarkable Renovations presenter George Clarke paid a visit to The Old Post Office, a luxury guest house in Old Market Place.

Since purchasing the old Georgian building in 2018, owner Claire Myers-Lamptey has transformed it into a plush bed and breakfast, while making sure it stayed true to its roots.

The hit show – currently into its second series – follows budding property developers as they attempt to take on ambitious renovations.

In the fourth episode, which aired during the prime-time 9pm slot, the post office is used as an example of an ‘outstanding property’ for contestants to aspire to.

“To be recognised by industry leaders is really quite humbling and to have the support of the local resident is so important and a nice feeling,” said Ms Myers-Lamptey, who lives on the middle floor of the building.

“Somebody working on the show knew me, and they knew I had bought this property, so they mentioned it to the team.

“At the time, they wanted to film the whole thing here, but because it was my first project, I thought I would be on screen crying all the time,” she joked.

“George was happy to chat about different things – you can never tell with celebrities if they are the same on screen as off screen, but he was lovely.

“He was really pleased that I hadn’t stripped the property bare, which is quite a common thing in London,” added Ms Myers-Lamptey, who is from the capital.

Built in the 1790s as Gurney’s Bank, the grand three-storey building enjoyed a second life as Harleston’s post office, before closing in the late-1960s and spending much of the next half-century becoming increasingly run-down.

When Ms Myers-Lamptey bought the building, it had been derelict for nearly 10 years.

As her first foray into property development, she transformed it into one of the most sought-after getaway spots in town, even turning the bank’s vault into a Middle Eastern hammam spa.

“I was looking for a property in a market town no more than two hours drive from London and that was how I discovered it,” she said. “I thought it was a bit of a hidden gem.

“It was primarily a building project at first, and then I thought ‘what if I turned it into a business?’”

While adding a number of impressive features to the building, Mrs Myers-Lamptey made sure it still retained the same feel it had some 230 years ago.

“Not only did we repair it, but we restored it, like for like,” she said.

“Everyone has been completely blown away by what’s happened to it. A lot of my guests who come here remember when it used to be a post office.

“To have the support of the residents in Harleston has been so important, too, and a really nice feeling.”