In 2016 a new postal museum will open in London, giving access to every British stamp issued since 1840 and 70,000+ artefacts, telling the story of how the postal system transformed world history.
The museum situated in Mount Pleasant, site of one of the largest sorting offices in Europe, will provide access to 400 years of postal, social and design history. It will include photographs, posters, vehicles, pillar boxes and a world-class stamp collection including the story behind the introduction of the Penny Black. Endorsed by the British government and Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the museum will cost approximately £12m to build and will be housed on three floors. It will comprise a 500m2 interactive exhibition area, a search room for in-depth research, 2½ miles of Archive, digitisation studio, café, shop, hire space for talks/philatelic societies to meet and an outdoor courtyard.
Fundraising – Why We Need Your Help
Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd, once the largest company in the world, have part-funded the museum as well as donating a building worth £1.1m and a 999 year lease. We need to raise £3m by December 2013 in order to secure funding for the museum. It will be part of a masterplan of 700 homes, offices and retail space and will be a major destination for the study of philately and postal history.
Philatelic Significance
Philatelic material will be incorporated across the exhibition space which will be themed into different time periods. Stamps will be used in context to support the exhibits and inform the story: for example, people, events and technology. Stamps will also feature in annual, temporary exhibitions; particularly stamp designers and iconic artwork.
We have just finished cataloguing stamp artwork from 1975-1985 and we aim to digitise all our stamps to create an on-line gallery. An increased, dedicated space will allow us to purchase a larger format scanner to enable digitisation of registration sheets, giving remote access to our full philatelic collection.
We are particularly keen to raise £250,000 for a new digitisation suite and scanner. If you would like to help us build a future for a world-class national postal museum please contact Jeanette Grose, BPMA Campaign Director, email jeanette.grose@postalheritage.org.uk.
A new museum will attract 180,000 visitors a year and offer:
A focal point to generate interest in philately from a larger, diverse audience, giving access to Penny Black sheets and 1,000 new philatelic items every year
Never before seen Archive material/ stamps both issued and un-adopted from 1840
Education space for 12,000 children a year and a unique Stamps in Schools project which introduces pupils to the history of stamps/ stamp collecting
Letter writing initiatives to promote literacy for adults and children
Facilitate partnerships with other philatelic/heritage organisations for joint working