Emmerdale’s iconic Esholt post office is sold

The picturesque post office in the village of Esholt near Bradford, known to millions of viewers as the post office in long-running ITV soap Emmerdale, has been sold to a local buyer.

The business, which was marketed by specialist commercial property agent Ernest Wilson, part of Eddisons, was listed for £30,000 and generated national interest for its association with the Yorkshire soap.

Esholt became synonymous with Emmerdale after the production relocated from its original filming base in Arncliffe in Littondale. The village remained the home of the show until 1998, when filming moved to a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate. During that period the post office featured in hundreds of scenes and became one of the soap’s most recognisable landmarks.

Now local woman and regular Emmerdale viewer Helen Myers is the new post mistress and owner of the business and has begun the process of returning the post office to the heart of the community, providing essential groceries as well as the Emmerdale souvenirs that were previously the mainstay of the shop.

“The post office and shop had the potential to be a much more valuable asset to the village. I was made redundant from my previous job and when it came up for sale I thought it was a great opportunity to do something different that would also really make a difference for local people and for Esholt,” said Helen.

“I’ve watched Emmerdale for years so it’s quite special to be running this post office. There’s certainly been a lot to learn in taking on the post mistress role but it has been fantastic so far and I’m looking forward to seeing how we can develop the business further to become a true community hub.”

Stuart Moorhouse, a director at Ernest Wilson, said: “We are really pleased to have secured a new owner for Esholt post office. Helen has great plans to provide an outstanding service to the village and the building is of course something of a star in its own right, thanks to its role in Emmerdale for so many years.

“The business has been in the same family for three generations so this is a new chapter. It has been a pleasure supporting the owners with the sale and we wish Helen every success.”

Ernest Wilson, now part of property consultancy Eddisons, was founded in 1956 and specialises in buying and selling hundreds of small businesses every year, from fish and chip shops to convenience stores and hotels.