About us

The Churchill Archives Centre was purpose-built in 1973 to house Sir Winston Churchill’s papers— some 3000 boxes of letters and documents ranging from his first childhood letters, via his great war-time speeches, to the writings which earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature. They form an incomparable documentary treasure trove.

The Churchill Papers served as the inspiration and the starting point for a larger endeavour — the creation of a wide-ranging archive of the Churchill era and after, covering those fields of public life in which Sir Winston played a personal role or took a personal interest. Today the Centre holds the papers of almost 600 important figures and the number is still growing. Contemporaries of Winston Churchill, including friends and family, sit alongside major political, military and scientific figures like Margaret Thatcher, Ernest Bevin, John Major, Neil Kinnock, Admiral Ramsay, Field Marshal Slim, Frank Whittle and Rosalind Franklin.

The Archives Centre is situated within the grounds of Churchill College, itself the National and Commonwealth Memorial to Sir Winston. It includes air-conditioned reading rooms, a strong room with elaborate security systems, and a sophisticated conservation laboratory and a sorting room in which raw history is put into boxes. The mission of the Centre is to preserve and provide access to the unique materials in its care.

The Centre was built thanks to the generosity of celebrated American citizens whose names are proudly displayed in bronze lettering on the wall of the Exhibition Hall. Its work is supported by income from the Churchill College Archives Trust, the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and by the sponsorship of Churchill College and other distinguished benefactors. Thanks to its success in attracting valuable papers, the Centre at one point ran out of space and built an extension which was opened in 2002.

In more recent years, the Centre has become the repository for the personal papers of Lady Thatcher and Sir John Major. Thus we have become the closest thing in this country to not one but several great American presidential libraries — a unique distinction. The Centre has received national designated status for all its collections (2005) and has been granted National Archives Accreditation (2015). The Churchill Papers have also been inscribed on the UNESCO International Memory of the World Register (2015).

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More about the Archives Centre

Policies

All the Policies in place at the Archives Centre. Find out more

Mission Statement

The Centre exists to preserve and make available the raw material of our recent past. Find out more

Conservation

We aim to preserve archive material for the use of future generations while also making it available for today's researcher to use safely. Find out more

Research grants & By-Fellowships

Find out available research grants and Archives By-Fellowships, including eligibility and the application process. Find out more

History

Read about the origins and aims behind the Churchill Archives Centre. Find out more

Exhibition loans

Further information about how to request a loan and about recent loans to temporary exhibitions Find out more

Annual reports

The Archives Centre's annual reports for the last 5 years Find out more

Policy on access, freedom of information and data protection

We promote and facilitate access to information and welcomes enquiries from anyone interested in the Centre and its collections. Find out more

Information for potential depositors

Find out about the Archives Centre policies and practices regarding taking archive collections from depositors. Find out more