The National Paper Museum was established by the British Paper and Board Makers' Association. It was opened on 24 April, 1963 at The Vegetable Parchment Mills, St. Mary Cray, Kent. Remy Barcham Green was one of the founding members of the Musuem, and a large proportion of the archive material had been collected by his company J. Barcham Green Ltd. before the Museum was established.

The Mill at St. Mary Cray closed down in 1967 and the Museum exhibits had to be put into storage at Cray Vally Mills, Kent until alternative premises could be found. The NPM Trust then approached the University of Manchester, having heard that it was involved in setting up the Manchester Museum of Science and Technology. The museum agreed to house the NPM material and the exhibits were transferred in 1968. Dr Richard Hills, director of the The Manchester Museum of Science and Technology, sat on the NPM board of trustees and worked with them to continue collecting material for exhibition and research. The Trust continued in existence until 2006. Its loaned collections were donated to the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester.