Agata Prendota
Agata Prendota
11 April, 2025
What's On

Putting a stamp on it - care home residents explore 500 years of postal history

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Glenroyd care home in Blackpool were treated to a fascinating session led by Sharon Jawanda, Community Programmes Producer at the Postal Museum, looking back over 500 years of postal history.

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Based in Farringdon, London, the Postal Museum was opened in 2017 and welcomes over 130,000 visitors a year.The award-winning museum is home to hundreds of thousands of objects and stories. The collections tell the story of British postal communication and its continued impact on life around the world today. The museum houses everything from vehicles, uniforms, pillar boxes and stamps to a 100 year old postal railway.

In her talk, Sharon shared incredible stories about the people whose imagination and innovation shaped Britain’s postal service from the reign of Henry VIII to the present day and who have kept the nation at the forefront of communication technology for hundreds of years. 

Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool had a wonderful time learning about the Postal Museum.
Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool had a wonderful time learning about the Postal Museum. Credit: Glenroyd Care Home

Sharon said: “There are so many fascinating stories from Henry VIII’s first postal couriers through all kinds of innovations right up to the present day. It has been so lovely to share our stories with the staff and residents at Barchester’s care homes and hear all about their experiences and memories of sending and receiving important letters.The post plays such an important part in our lives and in our history, I really enjoyed being able to bring the museum to life for everyone at Barchester.”

Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool had a wonderful time learning about the Postal Museum.
Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool had a wonderful time learning about the Postal Museum. Credit: Glenroyd Care Home

Bex Vernon, Resident Experience Executive for Barchester Healthcare, commented: “We are excited to work with wonderful partners like the Postal Museum to bring a wide range of fantastic experiences into our homes for all to enjoy. We’re so grateful to Sharon for sharing her expert knowledge with us.

“Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities,” Bex added.

Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool loved reminiscing about sending and receiving letters over the years. They wrote postcards that are on their way to other Barchester homes.
Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool loved reminiscing about sending and receiving letters over the years. They wrote postcards that are on their way to other Barchester homes. Credit: Glenroyd Care Home

General Manager, Yvonne Hand, said: “The talk today was just wonderful! We all loved hearing about how the Postal Museum, we had no idea that there was a secret postal railway running underneath London – it is amazing what you find out! We’re so grateful to Sharon for her time and insight, it was a really interesting session.”

Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool loved reminiscing about sending and receiving letters over the years. They wrote postcards that are on their way to other Barchester homes.
Residents at Glenroyd Care Home in Blackpool loved reminiscing about sending and receiving letters over the years. They wrote postcards that are on their way to other Barchester homes. Credit: Glenroyd Care Home

Glenroyd care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Glenroyd provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 74 residents from respite care to long term stays.