Marsh Gibbon Post Office

The Speaker, The Rt Hon John Bercow, MP for Buckingham “cut the ribbon” to officially re-open Marsh Gibbon Post Office at The Plough Inn, Church Street, Marsh Gibbon.

When the previous branch at Station Road, Marsh Gibbon, closed temporarily in July 2017, The Plough offered to take on the Post Office to restore the vital service to the rural village. The freehold for the Plough is held by Ewelme Charitable Trust which agreed to this addition to the business as having a Post Office is such an important facility for Marsh Gibbon.

Now Marsh Gibbon Post Office, which is on the Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire border, is open longer hours than before. It is open Tuesday to Sunday: 12 noon until 11pm. This has increased opening hours by 28 hours and 30 minutes a week than the previous hours.

John Bercow MP, said: “The Plough Inn already played such a central part of village life in Marsh Gibbon that it was ideally placed to take on the Post Office. I really want to thank The Plough for re-opening Marsh Gibbon Post Office. This is great news for the village and the Post Office is open significantly longer than before.

“The wide range of services that a Post Office can offer and the banking services that a Post Office can offer on behalf of the majority of banks, means that people now don’t need to leave the village for these crucial services.” 

The Plough is run by a small partnership, called ABCS comprising of Adam Robinson, Chris Mills, Stella Robinson and Peter Robinson. They took over the pub and restaurant in 2015.

Stella Robinson, who is now Postmaster, said: “The Plough Inn was already a central hub, used by many community groups and a Post Office is an essential service for a community, so we offered to take on Marsh Gibbon Post Office, so that the village could have a branch again. The community is absolutely delighted and we are really pleased to be able to offer the service with easy access.”  

The Plough is a hub for the village and is used by many community groups for meetings and events including Oxford Response group, Over 55s teas, The Old Folks Fund, The Friendship Club, two Aunt Sally teams, Beer Festival Committee, Village Club Day, Young Farmers, Marsh Gibbon Silver Band, Marsh Gibbon Football Club, Marsh Gibbon Cricket Club, an annual pig roast, the Harvest Festival Auction, and so on. There are also live music and open mic nights.

Marsh Gibbon Parish Council’ Cllr Adrian Lambourne, said: “It was sad news for the village when Marsh Gibbon Post Office closed. Now we are overjoyed to have this essential service open again and with benefit of much longer opening hours. We really do appreciate The Plough Inn taking on the branch and everything that it does to improve village life in Marsh Gibbon.”

Sarah Lambert Regional Network Change Manager, said: “We are delighted to have restored a Post Office service to Marsh Gibbon. This will make it easier for customers to get their cash, send and collect their mail and do their banking because we know how important these services are to local residents. We are confident that this vibrant new-style Post Office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs.”

Marsh Gibbon Post Office is one of our new local style branches where Post Office services are delivered from an open-plan till alongside the retail counter in the café area of The Plough, which also has a separate large main bar and a function room.

The Plough is a Grade II listed building whose original, and main, parts are believed to have been built around 1470. The Parliamentarian (Roundhead) troops stayed briefly at Marsh Gibbon in the Civil War while travelling between Hillesden and Boarstall. Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed at Ailric’s old house.  It is claimed that someone tried to assassinate Oliver Cromwell while he was standing in front of the Plough Inn but missed and hit the door of the Plough instead. Certainly the mark of a musket ball can be seen in the front door of the Plough to this day.