Until 1635 the postal system was reserved for the use of the King and his Court. In 1635 Charles I introduced the public mail service with carriers, either on foot or horseback, carrying the post.
In 1660 the General Post Office was officially established in England by Charles II. The General Post Office created a network of post offices throughout the country. The postal service was known as the Royal Mail after the original postal system for the King.
In 1665 the Magistrates and Town Council of the Royal Burgh of Irvine after considering the benefits of having a weekly postal service, paid Alexander Wintun a salary of £40 per year, and he could charge 2 shillings for each letter from Irvine townsfolk and 4 shillings from others. He was supplied with a badge with the Royal Burgh of Irvine arms. Each week he travelled to Edinburgh on the Tuesday and returned to Irvine on the Saturday.
On 06 May 1840 the Treasury issued the first postage stamps, the ‘Penny Black’ for letters weighing up to half an ounce, and the ‘Two Penny Blue’ for letters up to one ounce.
In 1905 the Post Office was in Bridgegate, with a sub post office in Harbour Street and nine collecting boxes within the Town. There were three deliveries daily at 7am, 2pm and 6.20pm with a Sunday delivery at 8.20am. Letters cost one penny up to 4 ounces in weight. The National Telephone Company’s exchange was on the top floor of the post office.
In 1910 the new Post Office on the High Street opened and in 1912 the telephone service was taken over by the General Post Office. 1967 saw the introduction of subscriber trunk dialling.
In the 1970s as Irvine became a New Town and the demand on the main post office in Bridgegate grew, new sub-post offices were created throughout the housing schemes. In 1915 the Sunday delivery of letters was suspended. In 1928 the General Post Office erected a telephone box in Bank Street and in 1938 they set up an automatic telephone exchange.