King's College London

Historians from King’s and History & Policy (H&P) have been delving behind Number 10 Downing Street to bring to life the fascinating history of the house and its occupants in a dynamic new history section for the Number 10 website.

Lively biographies of previous Prime Ministers and monthly articles by expert historians, such as  Dr Andrew Blick from the Institute of Contemporary History, are among the new features. 

H&P has drawn on the expertise of its 350-strong national network to provide visitors to the Number 10 website with articles on:

• the evolution of the role and office of Prime Minister since the 18th century
• the changing role of the Cabinet Secretary
• life after Number 10: what ex-Prime Ministers do with their time

Dr Paul Readman, Head of the Department of History at King's, welcomed the collaboration: 'This is a chance for historians of different eras, from medieval times to the contemporary world, to deploy their expertise in a format that will be widely and easily accessed, bringing high quality history to a global audience. Scholars at King's are engaged in a rich diversity of historical research, and we look forward to contributing to this exciting initiative.'

H&P is an independent, charitably-funded initiative based at the Institute for Contemporary British History at King's, working for better public policy through an understanding of history.

Dr Alastair Reid, Visiting Professor at King's and H&P co-founder, commented: 'This year, H&P celebrates its tenth anniversary. What better way to mark our progress than by launching historians' contributions to the Number 10 website? The new history section will be a great resource for anyone wanting to know more about the role and institution of the British Prime Minister, and how it has changed and developed over the past 300 years.'

For more details, please visit the History and Policy website.

Please visit No 10 Downing Street, the official site of the British Prime Minister’s Office, to read more about the house and its occupants.