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Display

The Cabinet Table

Date
All-year round
Price
Free

About The Cabinet Table

Pull up a chair and feel what it is like to sit around the most important table in the country. Explore leaders from the past through their documents at this permanent display.

The table displays a selection of records for you to explore. On display currently are documents relating to 20 prime ministers of the 20th century, from Lord Salisbury to Tony Blair. These documents give insights into the different personalities of the prime ministers and show how their individual approaches shaped Britain.

Opening times
Tuesday to Sunday
See our opening times
Price
Free

No booking needed

Location
First Floor
The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, TW9 4DU
Accessibility
See our accessibility guide

Display highlights

Plan your visit

What is The National Archives?

The National Archives is the official archive of the UK government, and England and Wales. We are the guardians of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents.

Everyone is welcome to visit our headquarters in Kew. We put on exhibitions, events and displays and offer reading rooms giving access to our collections there.

Find out more about who we are

Getting here

The National Archives is located by the River Thames in Kew, 30 minutes from Central London. We offer advice on travelling to us by car, bike, train or bus.

Read our advice on getting here

Children and families

We provide a warm welcome to visitors of all ages, including children and family groups.

  • Free activity sheets (for ages 1+) are available from the Time Travel Club trolley in our entrance hall
  • Our café is child-friendly and there are picnic benches outside
  • Prams and buggies are welcome, and we have a buggy park
  • Baby changing facilities are located by our entrance hall, at the top of the main stairs, and in the library
  • Emergency supplies of nappies and wipes are available

Find out more about visiting with children

Eat and drink

We have a café and coffee bar provided by Maids of Honour, a historic local tea room and bakery. It has spacious indoor and outside seating and a soft play area.

On the menu is a variety of high-quality lunchtime meals, sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks, tea and coffee. Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements are all catered to.

Find out more about our café

A woman sits at the replica Cabinet table, with a bookcase and a document in a display case behind her.