The Postal Museum and Archive
Through the Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA), Royal Mail supports the heritage of the British postal system and its role in shaping the modern world.
The Royal Mail Archive, cared for by the BPMA, is officially designated as being of Outstanding National Importance. The collection includes some of Britain’s most iconic objects, spanning over 500 years of postal history, innovation and service.
In 2017, we supported The Postal Museum's move to new premises at Calthorpe House on London’s Mount Pleasant site, the country’s oldest mail centre.
We worked with BPMA to open up a section of the old subterranean mail railway beneath our Mount Pleasant depot. At its peak, Mail Rail carried 12 million posted items a day, and stretched from Whitechapel to Paddington.
Royal Mail and the Post Office also provide annual support which helps pay day to day costs, such as conservation and management of the archives, educational activities and to help improve access.