The Postal Museum

The Postal Museum An independent museum telling the story of postal communication and its impact on global society. Home of Mail Rail, London's secret underground railway.
(1304)

A reminder that our next Postal Worker Open Day takes place this Sunday.That means employees of Royal Mail or the Post O...
09/06/2026

A reminder that our next Postal Worker Open Day takes place this Sunday.

That means employees of Royal Mail or the Post Office past and present can visit with friends and family for just £2 a ticket.

Booking in advance is strongly encouraged, head to the link below to grab your ticket.

👉 https://buff.ly/9Rkf66r

Happy World Ocean Day!We have quite the shoal of philatelic fishies from our world stamp collection to show you, in fact...
08/06/2026

Happy World Ocean Day!

We have quite the shoal of philatelic fishies from our world stamp collection to show you, in fact, with so many to choose from it was hard to keep it to just 20 slides.

Featuring almost every type of underwater creature you can think of, from the tentacled to the finned, stamps have a remarkable way of having a design for everything. You could say as vast as the ocean teeming with almost as much variety.

Putting it simply, stamps are awesome.

This week's Postbox Saturday arrives from Ramsgate in Kent with an Elizabeth II wall box with a crown of yellow flowers....
06/06/2026

This week's Postbox Saturday arrives from Ramsgate in Kent with an Elizabeth II wall box with a crown of yellow flowers.

05/06/2026

Today would have been Allan Ahlberg's 88th birthday. We are very lucky to be temporary custodians of a remarkable birthday present handmade and given to Allan by his wife and illustrator Janet Ahlberg.

Together the couple collaborated on over 100 books, including The Jolly Postman, the subject of a dedicated exhibition at our museum. It features a range of original illustrations and items, such as this papier mache plate that Janet adorned with illustrations from the Witch's catalogue that the Jolly Postman delivers to her.

It demonstrates the affection the couple had for their iconic creation and a small insight into their relationship.

Opening tomorrow, we wanted to welcome the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration to the local community! This illustrati...
04/06/2026

Opening tomorrow, we wanted to welcome the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration to the local community!

This illustration from The Enormous Crocodile was part of the 2006 'Animal Tales' stamp series.

Part of our longstanding Enhancing Mail Rail project, visitors can now experience 270-degree views of the Mail Rail tunn...
03/06/2026

Part of our longstanding Enhancing Mail Rail project, visitors can now experience 270-degree views of the Mail Rail tunnels in the Mail Rail Explorer.

This new immersive space is available for all visitors, with design and content shaped by our access advisory group.

The Mail Rail ride has also been enhanced with updated audio commentary, a new audiovisual show and a new platform lift to increase accessibility.

We want to thank Arts Council England and the Post Office Remembrance Fellowship whose generous support made this possible, and our access advisory group for their work to create a more inclusive Mail Rail experience.

Find out more about the project, part of Mail Rail's upcoming centenary and the museum's 10 year anniversary plans, via the link below.

👉 https://buff.ly/oUyquWr

Find out about our upcoming Home Educator events, featuring self-led visits and our very own Jolly Postman show! This Ju...
02/06/2026

Find out about our upcoming Home Educator events, featuring self-led visits and our very own Jolly Postman show! This June and July at The Postal Museum.

👉 https://buff.ly/wK0c8vX

01/06/2026

On this day in history, Mail Rail ceased operations.

From 1927 to 2003 Mail Rail, formerly known as the Post Office Railway, transported letters and parcels below London from Paddington in the west to Whitechapel in the east.

Driverless trains powered by electricity ran through tunnels far smaller than the much better known London Underground system. It operated without many of the city's inhabitants even knowing about it.

Now you can ride parts of the network of tunnels at our museum on board our own custom Mail Rail trains. See how it compares to archive video of the railway filmed in the 1980s.

Museum

A photo of Mail Rail, then known as the Post Office Railway, taken in 1937. From 1927 to 2003 it transported letters and...
31/05/2026

A photo of Mail Rail, then known as the Post Office Railway, taken in 1937.

From 1927 to 2003 it transported letters and parcels below London from Paddington in the west to Whitechapel in the east. Driverless trains powered by electricity ran through tunnels far smaller than the much better known London Underground system. It operated without many of the city's inhabitants even knowing about it.

It closed on this day in 31 May 2003 but there was more behind the closure than merely a decline in the number of letters being sent. Find out more below.

👉 https://buff.ly/VSEJ1y5

The recent sunny weather has inspired us to find an equally picturesque image from our digital archive library. This pho...
28/05/2026

The recent sunny weather has inspired us to find an equally picturesque image from our digital archive library. This photograph taken outside Lympstone Post Office in Devon doesn't have a date catalogued.

Can you work out an estimate based on the photo itself?

Address

15-20 Phoenix Place
London
WC1X0DA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+44 (0)300 0300 700

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Postal Museum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organisation

Send a message to The Postal Museum:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share