Research from home

If you can't visit the museum, we want to make the archive as accessible as possible.

Online Catalogue

The online catalogue is the first place to start; it’s a great resource with thousands of documents and files detailing much of what is in the physical archive. Visit the catalogue.

Distance Research

We cannot undertake research on your behalf, however there are independent researchers who can do the work for you. The National Archives have a guide on finding a researcher.

Distance Copying

The Postal Museum has its own digitisation studio providing high-quality digital images.

The archive also provides research quality images at: £10 for the first 10 images + 50p per image after that + VAT. It may not be possible to copy some items because of their condition, or for other reasons. A timescale for large orders will need to be agreed due to limited staff resources for copying.

If you require any copies of material please contact [email protected]

Family History Research

Some of the work researching the employment history of your ancestors can be done online, through Ancestry. Find out more about researching Family History.


The Postal Museum looks after over 400 years of postal heritage, including the archive of Royal Mail Group plc, and Post Office Ltd.