The former Emmerdale post office in the village of Esholt near Bradford has been sold to a local buyer. The shop, long known to millions of viewers as a familiar setting in the ITV soap, was listed for £30,000 by commercial property agent Ernest Wilson, drawing national interest.
Esholt became linked with Emmerdale after filming moved from Arncliffe in Littondale. The village was the backdrop for the show until 1998, when production switched to a purpose-built set on the Harewood estate. During those years, the post office appeared in many scenes and became one of the soap’s most recognisable spots.
The new owner, local woman and regular Emmerdale viewer Helen Myers, has taken on the role of post mistress. She has started work on bringing the post office back into daily village life with essential groceries and a continued range of Emmerdale souvenirs.
“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,” commented Helen.
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.”
He added: “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, part of property consultancy Eddisons, was founded in 1956 and specialises in buying and selling hundreds of small businesses each year, including fish and chip shops, convenience stores and hotels.
