Our Organisation

The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) is the public identity of the Postal Heritage Trust. This charitable trust was established in 2004 to manage the public records of The Royal Mail Archive, and to develop access to the museum collections of the former National Postal Museum.

This page tells you more about our history and relationship with Royal Mail Group Limited. The other parts of this section give important information about who we are and what we do.

• BPMA Structure (find out who works for us)
  
• Board of Trustees (meet the Trustees)
  
• Policies & Strategies (how we plan key areas of our work)
• Future Development (progress towards a new home for our collections)
  

Our history

The BPMA is an independent charity but our own history is strongly linked with that of Royal Mail Group.

A short history of Royal Mail Group
In 1635 King Charles I opened the use of his own mail service to the public. The General Post Office was set up in 1657 under Cromwell's rule, then re-established by Charles II in 1660 to run the 'royal mail'. 

Over the following centuries the Post Office grew as an organisation, often taking over existing independent postal services, such as mail coaches and local Penny Posts. Major expansion took place during the Victorian era, spurred by the introduction of uniform penny postage in 1840. This reform was embodied in the Penny Black, the world's first adhesive postage stamp.

The General Post Office remained a government department until 1969, when it became a public corporation. In 1981 telecommunications transferred to British Telecom, and in 1986 there was a division of letter delivery, parcel delivery and counter services, which still exists today.

In 2000 the overall holding company for the three parts of the business was unsuccessfully renamed Consignia. In 2002 the business became known as Royal Mail Group Limited. The government is the sole shareholder.

Royal Mail Group Limited consists of:

• Royal Mail - delivering your letters
• Post Office - providing counter services at more than 14,000 branches across the UK
• Parcelforce Worldwide - express parcel delivery

The origins of the BPMA

The 1838 Public Records Act was the first step in organising government archives, including the civil service department known then as ‘the Post Office’. This represents the beginnings of what is now The Royal Mail Archive. By 1896 a report concerning the maintenance of Post Office records had been produced and the first archivist was appointed.

The photograph on the right shows the old Muniment Room at Post Office Headquarters. The Public Records Acts of 1958 and 1967 reinforced the need for the Post Office to keep, catalogue and make its archive records available. This is still true for Royal Mail Group today.

In 1966 a National Postal Museum was founded, in part due to the Phillips Collection of Victorian philately being gifted to the nation. The museum was opened by the Queen on 19 February 1969, at King Edward Building near St Paul's Cathedral in London. A collection of postal equipment, uniforms, vehicles and much more was developed over the years; far more than could be displayed in the small museum.

In 1998 the King Edward Building was sold, and the NPM closed, although the collections were retained. However, for the first time the management of the museum and archive was brought together as the new Heritage unit of the Post Office (then renamed Consignia, then Royal Mail Group).

As the British postal landscape was clearly changing, Royal Mail Group decided to transfer the work of this Heritage unit to an independent charitable trust, in order to safeguard the future of its past. This 'Postal Heritage Trust' came into being in April 2004, and is publicly known as The British Postal Museum & Archive. Our Charity Registration no. is 1102360, and our Company No. 4896056.

How we are currently funded

We receive annual payment from Royal Mail Group for our management of The Royal Mail Archive. Although the archive is part of the BPMA, because it is public record ultimate responsibility for it lies with Royal Mail Group. The records have been officially Designated as nationally important. We preserve, catalogue and make the archive records available in our Search Room at Freeling House in London.

The former National Postal Museum collections were donated to our charitable trust by Royal Mail Group. These are housed in our Museum Store in Essex, which we open to the public on selected dates throughout the year. Although we make it as accessible and welcoming as possible, the Store is not a carefully designed museum. We do have big plans for future development. 

In additional to the archive management costs, we receive a charitable donation from Royal Mail Group to help develop our services to the public; from exhibitions to education packs and beyond. This charitable donation is due to be reviewed before the current agreement ends in 2009.

As an educational charity, we have applied for project funding from grant-giving bodies, including MLA London, and the Heritage Lottery Fund. You can find out more in the Projects section.