London is never short of fun and interesting museums... 📨

🌟 The Postal Museum is the public face of the Postal Heritage Trust, an independent charity dedicated to preserving and sharing our rich postal history and heritage. Established in 2004, the trust’s roots go back much further. Since Henry VIII appointed Sir Brian Tuke to set up a national postal network for the court, the postal service has existed for over 500 years. Although Charles I opened the postal network to the public in 1635, and it became the General Post Office (GPO) under Oliver Cromwell and Charles II in 1660, it wasn’t until the early 19th century that the first steps were taken to organize and preserve postal records. Sir Francis Freeling, a spymaster during the Napoleonic Wars, served as Secretary of the Post Office from 1797 until his death in 1836. He led the way in establishing the foundation of the archives we see today, introducing a system for recording minutes and reports for the first time. 📝 After the Public Records Act was passed in 1838, the GPO prioritized record-keeping. By the 1890s, an archive was set up at the GPO headquarters in London’s Central Hall, St. Martin’s, where people could access the institution’s records. 📚 The museum itself originated in the early 20th century. In 1969, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the National Postal Museum in the City of London. Initially located in the basement of the GPO headquarters, it was quite modest. Part of the museum’s purpose was to house the award-winning Victorian stamps from Britain (donated by Reginald Phillips in 1965). For the first time, the museum opened its collections to the public in an unprecedented way. 🎉 🌟 The Postal Museum is divided into two parts. I highly recommend it to parents visiting London with kids. One part offers an underground postal train experience for little ones, while the other focuses on the history of the postal service. 🌟 The Postal Museum #LondonLife #MuseumFun #ArtInMuseums #ExploreMuseums #LondonMuseums #HiddenGems #LondonTravel #LondonAdventures