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.

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.

For research-quality copies of material at the rates below, please contact [email protected]

The digital scan rates below are per Finding Number, for example ‘POST 108/248’; this could be for a file, volume, photograph or poster etc.

Existing Digital Scans:

For material of up to 9 pages: £5.00 + VAT = £6.00
For material of 10-299 pages: £10.00 + VAT = £12.00
For material of 300+ pages: £20.00 + VAT = £24.00

New digital scans:

£10.00 + VAT for up to the first ten images and 50p per image after that + VAT

Page count quote large orders:

From: £10.00 + VAT = £12.00

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.