A GUESTHOUSE owner could not believe her eyes when a letter was delivered to her address... some 89 years after it was first sent.

Jane Barrett was left baffled when the item, dated November 1919, dropped through the letterbox at Basil Towers in Weymouth.

She is hoping someone will recognise the name of the addressee – Percy Bateman – and shed some light on the mystery.

Mrs Barrett, 56, said: “When I first looked at it I wondered why I’d been sent this tiny envelope. Then I looked closer and spotted the date, 1919.

“I couldn’t believe it, I’ve never known anything like it. Who knows where it’s been all these years?”

The letter was addressed to Mr Bateman at 22 Abbotsbury Road, where Mrs Barrett’s guesthouse Basil Towers is now situated.

An RSVP from someone called Betty was inside, thanking Mr Bateman for his invitation and saying she would be delighted to join him on December 26.

The package was dated November 29, 1919, and also included a compliments card bearing the names of Mr and Mrs Percival Bateman, along with a Grace Emmie Stewart.

Mrs Barrett, who runs Basil Towers with husband Peter, said it arrived in a plastic bag from Royal Mail. A note on the carrier apologised for any delay and any damage caused to the item while it was in the firm’s care.

Mrs Barrett said: “I wonder if whoever Betty was ever made it to Mr Bateman’s house for Boxing Day that year? He may never have got her RSVP.

“Perhaps this letter got lost somewhere over the years and was finally found and delivered, who knows? It’s a mystery.”

Mrs Barrett added: “I’d like to know if there’s anyone still around here with this name who might be related to Mr Bateman.

“If not, maybe there’s someone who at least recognises the name and can shine some light on it.

“I really would like to hand it back to someone who knows who it was meant for.”

A Royal Mail spokesman admitted the delivery was a mystery but said there was no way the letter could have been in the firm’s system all this time.

She said the item must have somehow been put back into the company’s postal system recently.

“We carry out regular checks of machinery, mail bags and post boxes to make sure items are not held up in the system,” she added.

“The letter could have been a collector’s item which was being sent in another envelope and somehow came free of the outer packaging.”