Access to our Collections
Public Records from The Royal Mail Archive
Access to The Royal Mail Archive is provided at our Search Room in Freeling House. To see original archive material and use microfilms, researchers will usually need to visit us.
As a general rule all material in the archive with a POST class reference, which is catalogued and over 30 years old, is available in the Search Room on demand. Some material is not suitable for viewing on conservation grounds, and some material will be made available on microfilm to both preserve the originals and facilitate the making of copies. As with any archive, if your visit will be to see a specific item, it is always best to contact us before you visit.
If your research relates to Public Record material which is under 30 years old you may still be able to see relevant material under the Freedom of Information Act. Please contact us in writing (by post, fax or email) in the first instance, detailing what you wish to see. Freedom of Information requests are processed by Royal Mail, and your request will be passed to them to answer within the statutory framework.
Philatelic material (POST 141 to POST 150) is Public Record material, but for security and conservation reasons access is only possible by prior appointment, and with one-to-one supervision. If you are interested in seeing material from the philatelic collections please telephone the Curator (Philately), Douglas Muir, on + 44 (0)20 7239 2565, to discuss your requirements. Some fascinating philatelic material is always on display in our small exhibition at The Royal Mail Archive. See What's On for information about our current exhibition.
Items from the Museum collection
At present, we do not have suitable facilities for providing access on demand to the museum collection (material without a POST class reference on the catalogue). It may still be possible for you to see items you are interested in: please contact us outlining what you would like to see and we will try and help you. Our Museum Store (near Loughton, in Essex) is, however, open to the public on certain days throughout the year, and conducted tours of our object collections are available on a regular basis. See What's On for the latest dates.
Material held by other institutions
This online catalogue includes entries for material held by other institutions, and this is clearly indicated by the entry in the 'Repository' field. Material held by the BPMA will be shown as either 'GB 813 The Royal Mail Archive, Freeling House' (for archive records) or as 'LDPHT The British Postal Museum & Archive, Freeling House/BPMS (for museum objects). Where we are not the repository given in this field, you should contact the named institution to access the material in which you are interested. The three other institutions currently represented in our catalogue are: