diff --git a/wagtail/tests/testapp/wagtail_hooks.py b/wagtail/tests/testapp/wagtail_hooks.py
index f300168d2a..336486ba50 100644
--- a/wagtail/tests/testapp/wagtail_hooks.py
+++ b/wagtail/tests/testapp/wagtail_hooks.py
@@ -65,3 +65,13 @@ def register_custom_search_area():
         classnames='icon icon-custom',
         attrs={'is-custom': 'true'},
         order=10000)
+
+
+@hooks.register('construct_explorer_page_queryset')
+def polite_pages_only(parent_page, pages, request):
+    # if the URL parameter polite_pages_only is set,
+    # only return pages with a slug that starts with 'hello'
+    if request.GET.get('polite_pages_only'):
+        pages = pages.filter(slug__startswith='hello')
+
+    return pages
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/tests/test_pages_views.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/tests/test_pages_views.py
index 7856ff2e4e..5ca3e5744d 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/tests/test_pages_views.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/tests/test_pages_views.py
@@ -146,6 +146,19 @@ class TestPageExplorer(TestCase, WagtailTestUtils):
         # Pages must not be paginated
         self.assertNotIsInstance(response.context['pages'], paginator.Page)
 
+    def test_construct_explorer_page_queryset_hook(self):
+        # testapp implements a construct_explorer_page_queryset hook
+        # that only returns pages with a slug starting with 'hello'
+        # when the 'polite_pages_only' URL parameter is set
+        response = self.client.get(
+            reverse('wagtailadmin_explore', args=(self.root_page.id, )),
+            {'polite_pages_only': 'yes_please'}
+        )
+        self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
+        self.assertTemplateUsed(response, 'wagtailadmin/pages/index.html')
+        page_ids = [page.id for page in response.context['pages']]
+        self.assertEqual(page_ids, [self.child_page.id])
+
     def make_pages(self):
         for i in range(150):
             self.root_page.add_child(instance=SimplePage(
diff --git a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/pages.py b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/pages.py
index 7fdec723db..c8a9afdeaa 100644
--- a/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/pages.py
+++ b/wagtail/wagtailadmin/views/pages.py
@@ -68,10 +68,15 @@ def index(request, parent_page_id=None):
     else:
         pages = pages.order_by(ordering)
 
-    # Pagination
     # Don't paginate if sorting by page order - all pages must be shown to
     # allow drag-and-drop reordering
     do_paginate = ordering != 'ord'
+
+    # allow hooks to modify the queryset
+    for hook in hooks.get_hooks('construct_explorer_page_queryset'):
+        pages = hook(parent_page, pages, request)
+
+    # Pagination
     if do_paginate:
         paginator, pages = paginate(request, pages, per_page=50)