At Last The British Postal Museum And Archive Will Do Itself Justice

In an age where there seems to be a museum that celebrates almost every aspect of everyday life as we yearn for knowledge of less complicated days gone by,  one museum that in truth should be near the top of every must-see list is in fact tucked away in an inconsequential industrial unit not far from Kings Cross Railway Station. If you were to miss the red painted fascia that is displayed above the door, you would be well within your rights to walk straight past without a second glance.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the current whereabouts  of the British Postal Museum and Archive.  Despite its mundane appearance security is high, as here you will find such untold treasures as a sheet of the first Penny Blacks ever printed, historic telegrams and the Battle of Britain celebratory stamps with no Queen’s head. There is also row upon row of historic letterboxes.
Because of this low profile, there is an average of only ten visitors a day, all of whom have to make an appointment. Now however, all that will change with a new museum being created not far from the current location.

There is an initial aim of some 80,000 visitors a year to come and take in some of the top exhibits, and that figure could easily double when the public are given access to the London Post Office Railway that runs below ground.

There is a level of fascination however about the funding for this project which will not be cheap. The ubiquitous National Lottery Fund is set to provide some £20 million towards the project, but another £5 million will be raised by an historic stamp auction tomorrow at Sothebys.  The museum trustees have carefully selected suitable items for auction, with others deemed to be “out of bounds” as they are protected by law.

So, some 200 years after Wakefield was the first place in Britain to have a post box, albeit in a wall, perhaps we will have a Postal Museum to be proud of.

                                                     http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/