The humble postcard – a communication staple for over 150 years – is at risk, we have warned today (10 July) as new research commissioned by the charity reveals that only 8% of adults send a postcard once a year and 52% never send them at all. In a bid to revive the once popular British holiday tradition and inspire children to take up postcard-writing, we have commissioned three limited edition postcards, designed by children’s illustrators Nick Sharratt and Sir Quentin Blake, which will be available to collect for free at eighteen historic sites as part of their Great British Summer events. We have also acquired around 800 historic postcards depicting Dover Castle in Kent – an intimate time capsule with the earliest dating from the 19th century.

Introduced to Britain in 1870, postcards were an instant success, allowing a nation of long, laborious letter-writers to send quick, cheap and easy correspondence with little formality for the first time. With numerous postal collections and deliveries per day, in 1871 around 75 million postcards were sent in Britain and volumes increased to over 800 million a year by the end of King Edward VII’s reign in 1910[1] – for a population of almost 45 million[2] at that time, that’s an average of just under 18 postcards being sent per person, at a rate equivalent to one postcard every three weeks. The traditional postcard served a lighter purpose too, and for some might conjure up memories of flaky fish and vinegar-soaked chips, salty sea air, sandcastles and writing to tell your nan/best friend/neighbour how much fun you’re having because you’re on holiday and alas, they’re not.

But new research suggests that this once beloved holiday ritual could soon become a relic of the past and the numbers tell a story of good intentions undone by modern life. While 86% of adults grew up either sending postcards or in a household where a family member did, and 62% say they’d love their own kids to carry on the tradition, the reality doesn’t match the sentiment: over half of us now never send a postcard at all, just 16% do so a few times a year, and 18% less than once. So why the decline? The usual suspects: digital communication is cited as easier, postage costs add up, and for many, putting pen to paper feels, sadly, too time-consuming.  

[1] The Postal Museum, Collection Highlights, Postcards

[2] Office for National Statistics, UK Population Estimates 1851 to 2014

Matt Thompson, English Heritage’s Conservation, Curatorial and Learning Director, said:

“The postcard was once as much a part of the British holiday as a bucket and spade or the drip of ice cream; a handwritten note dashed off from the pier or a historic landmark, stamped and posted to friends and family back home. But our research reveals a habit fading fast and, if this decline continues, there’s a chance it could become a distant nostalgic memory, and there’s something genuinely sad about the idea of this tradition disappearing. At English Heritage we believe the postcard deserves more than a place in the nostalgia tin – it’s a living tradition worth preserving and we need your help to give it a new lease of life. We want to inspire the next generation so pick up one of our three brilliant postcards, designed by Sir Quentin Blake and Nick Sharratt, write your message, pop it in the post and give your grandmother or friend’s fridge door something to get excited about.”

Nick Sharratt, author and illustrator of children's books (including Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker), said:

“I think getting the nation, and children in particular, to take up sending postcards again is a wonderful idea. It’s something that’s very nostalgic for many of us.  I wanted my designs to be the kind of thing a child would want to pick up and perhaps keep, but even more inspire that first trip to the postbox! If they do, maybe postcards have a future after all!”

Sir Quentin Blake, children's writer and prolific illustrator (including many stories by Roald Dahl), said:

“There’s no better way to put a smile on someone’s face than with a postcard. In the days of knights in armour they didn’t have postcards, so I do hope children enjoy mine and send him on to someone special.”

We have collaborated with Judges, the nation’s last family-run postcard business, to print these exclusive designs. Graeme Wolford, whose family took over the original 1902 business in 1983, said: “Our business has weathered the postcard decline for many years – from its peak in the 60s and 70s when roughly 12 million were sold annually to 3 million a year now. We’ve also seen a striking evolution; postcards may not be as prevalent, but they’re now printed on higher-quality paper and they’re cherished, they’ve become more of a collector’s item, transforming into a mini art-form. In spite of this, some things remain constant – we still see a higher demand for postcards in summer and there’s definitely been an increase in demand for those nostalgic seaside designs. It’s been wonderful to collaborate with an organisation like English Heritage who also value tradition and legacy.”

As well as its new postcards, we have acquired around 800 historic postcards depicting Dover Castle in Kent throughout the years. Assembled in a private collection by Pat Cunningham, former Head Custodian at Dover Castle who worked at the site from 1988 until 2010, the postcards were lovingly collected over several decades from local antique shops and online vendors. From a request from 1914 to ‘my dearest mum […] will you please send my clean vest?’ to an endearing postcard from a child to a friend in 1967 which reads ‘I am having a lovely time. We have only had a little rain. We have been around to a few places. I am often go fishing. I am sorry I have started to write in pencil but Tony pinched my pen.’

This invaluable collection not only provides a visual record of the ways in which the structure of the castle changed from the late 19th century onwards, but a delightful insight into the everyday lives of ordinary people and their postcard habits at a time when sending a postcard was as common as sending a text.

Dr Grace Parsonage, English Heritage’s Assistant Curator, South East, said: “It’s been a real treat to work through this remarkable collection, alongside our volunteers, to record and transcribe these messages from the past. While a number unsurprisingly include very English platitudes (i.e. I have arrived safely and the weather is nice), there have been a number which have sparked amusement: ‘Good morning Chummy – have you received my cloths’; ‘Hope the eggs will arrive quite safe’, ‘if any one comes to Dover ask them to bring some potatoes’, and those which have been more poignant: ‘I was very disappointed that I did not see you before I left on Friday […] Love and kisses from Daddy’; ‘My darling Fredie, In memory of the 6th anniversary of our wedding day. Hoping the next will be spent together.’ Reading these messages from real people from times gone by, they can’t help but strike a feeling. People and the way they connect seem not to have changed much after all.”

English Heritage’s Great British Summer kicks off from Saturday 18 July and the three limited-edition postcards, two designed by Nick Sharratt and one by Sir Quentin Blake, are available to collect at eighteen sites around the country.