24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Museum Details
The British Postal Museum & Archive
Image: Promotional image for GPO film Night Mail
The British Postal Museum & Archive
Freeling House
Phoenix Place
London
WC1X 0DL
England
Collection details
Archives
Aviation
Costume and Textiles
Design
Film and Media
Industry
Land Transport
Literature
Music
Photography
Science and Technology
Social History
Toys and Hobbies
Trade and Commerce
Facilities
Guided tours: yes
Library: yes
Study area: yes
Wheelchair access: yes
Visual disability facilities: yes
Hearing disability facilities: yes
The Royal Mail Archive is open for the public to use and enjoy. We also have a small exhibition area at The Royal Mail Archive to show highlights from our philatelic collections. You can visit the exhibition for free whenever the archive is open.
Contact details
Enquiries /Event booking (Tel)
:
020 7239 2570
General information (Fax)
:
020 7239 2576
E-mail
:
info@postalheritage.org.uk
Website
:
www.postalheritage.org.uk
Open
The Royal Mail Archive is open from 1000-1700 Mon-Fri, and from 1000-1900 Thurs. We are also open on selected Saturdays 1000-1700 (PLEASE CALL OR SEE WEBSITE FOR DATES). No appointment needed for most archive material. The philatelic collection may be viewed by appointment - please call for details.
Closed
Sundays, Bank Holidays and Christmas week. Annual stocktake closure period (PLEASE CALL OR SEE WEBSITE FOR DATES).
Admission charges
Free entry to the Search Room and exhibition area. Please bring ID.
Description
The British Postal Museum & Archive cares for the visual, written and physical records of over 400 years of postal development. We are responsible for managing The Royal Mail Archive on behalf of Royal Mail Group plc. and own the former National Postal Museum object collections, a donation from Royal Mail Group plc.
Collections description
We are a combined Museum and Archive...an internationally important resource for social - and postal - history.
The Royal Mail Archive is open to the public 5-6 days a week. It contains records of The Post Office and Royal Mail from the seventeenth century to the present day.
The British Postal Museum Store houses objects ranging from the desk of Rowland Hill (founder of the Penny Post), to Mobile Post Office vehicles and an astounding assortment of letter boxes. The store is open to the public on various dates throughout the summer (PLEASE CALL OR SEE WEBSITE FOR DATES).
Key artists and exhibits
Penny Black
;
Great Britain Stamps
;
Phillips Philatelic Collection
;
Letterboxes
;
Postal vehicles
;
Postal uniforms
;
Sorting machines
;
Hand stamps
;
Posters
;
Artwork
;
Photographs
;
Documentary films
;
Family History sources
Articles
Museum Exhibitions And Events Mark 90th Anniversary Of Armistice
New Digitised Archive Shows Penny Black Changed The World
Moving the Mail At Coventry Transport Museum
Brunel 200 Secures £500,000 Funding For South West Projects
Shakespeare To Africa - Library & Archive Collections Get Designated
It's A Post Revolution At The British Postal Museum & Archive
New Project Puts Penny Blacks And Prototype Stamps Online
Available resources
Messages Through Time
Resource or activity pack; Teachers' pack or notes
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.