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The Museum of the Post Office in the Community

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The Museum of the Post Office in the Community, created by The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) tells the fascinating story of the role postal communications has played in Britain. The Post Office plays a part in everyone's life; it touches all communities and is something everyone has used. Did you realise however that the modern postal service traces it routes back to 1635 when King Charles I opened up his private, Royal Mail, for public use? With vehicles, uniform, post boxes, oral history, photographs, films and ephemera, the Museum displays have something to interest everyone.

To find out more about what is on display at the Museum of the Post Office in the Community itself, and the different subjects that are explored please visit the online exhibition, and the BPMA blog. Photos showing the build of the Museum can be found on Flickr.

The Museum of the Post Office in the Community

  

The Museum of the Post Office in the Community

Museum location

The Museum of the Post Office in the Community is located on the first floor of the Post Office within Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Telford, Shropshire. Blists Hill is one of ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums.

How to get there

By road, take exit J4 of M54, follow signs for Ironbridge Gorge, then follow signs for Blists Hill Museums.

More detailed travel advice can be found on the Ironbridge website.

When at the Blists Hill Victorian Town, the Museum of the Post Office in the Community is situated on Canal Street, on the first floor of the Post Office building.

Opening hours and arrangements

Open seven days a week, all year round.
Summer 2010 opening hours: 10am to 5pm
Winter 2010-11 opening hours: 10am to 4pm (Monday 8 November 2010 until Friday 8 April 2011)

Please see www.ironbridge.org.uk for details on tickets. Entry to The Museum of the Post Office in the Community is included in the main entrance fee.

Visitor facilities

A number of toilets are available onsite, including fully accessible toilets with side transfer support rails, at the entrance and at the Forest Glen Refreshment Pavilion in the Lower Town. Baby change facilities are also available onsite.

Blists Hill Victorian Town offers the following places to eat:

  • Entrance Café - Wide selection of hot and cold snacks and light meals. Seasonal opening.
  • New Inn Pub - Traditional range of beers, spirits and pub snacks.
  • Victorian Club Room - Traditional style hot and cold meals.
  • Forest Glen Pavilion - Self-service restaurant, offering selection of light refreshments and hot meals. Seasonal opening.
  • Fried Fish Dealer - Fish and chips, cooked and served in the Victorian manner.

The Tourist Information Centre has a list of pubs, restaurants, cafés, hotels and B&B's in and around the area. Call 01952 884391 or see the Visit Ironbridge or Shropshire Tourism websites for more information.

Access arrangements

The Museum of the Post Office in the Community is designed to be fully accessible, with a lift to take wheelchair users to the exhibition space.

Visitors to Blists Hill Victorian Town who are registered disabled have a fifty percent (50%) discount on the entry prices. A companion is also welcome to visit at a 50% discount. Parking is free on the site for visitors with disabilities, with 11 designated parking spaces. Fully accessible toilets with side transfer and support rails are available onsite at the entrance and at the Forest Glen Refreshment Pavilion in the Lower Town.

For more detailed information download a copy of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Access Guide here, covering all aspects of visiting for people with special needs. Alternatively contact Ironbridge Visitor Information Centre on 01952 884 391 or tic@ironbridge.org.uk to request a copy.