Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys: Search Local History Famous People History ... wwp UK Samuel Pepys 1633 - 1703 Famous diarist lived in Greenwich 1665 - 1666 Samuel Pepys begun his diary on 1 January 1660 and continued writing it until May 1669, when he was too blind to write. He was a frequent visitor to Greenwich in his official capacity as 'clerk of the Acts' for the Navy. The famous diarist lived in Greenwich 1665 - 1666 and was a great friend of John Evelyn , a fellow diarist. The royal dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich, adjacent to Greenwich are frequently mentioned. It was a private diary written in code and not intended for publication. 4 March 1664: " ... at Greenwich, did observe the foundation laying of a very great house for the King, which will cost a great deal of money" (this was to become Greenwich Hospital The Black Death 24 August 1665: At Greenwich, "dined very well and thence to look at our rooms at the Kings' House, which were not yet ready for us". Later that year: "walked to Greenwich, in my way seeing a coffin with a dead body therein, dead of the plague, laying in an open close to Combe Farm, which was carried out last night, and the parish have not appointed anybody to bury it...this disease making us more cruel to one another than if we were dogs". The Great Fire of London Sunday 2 September 1666: Pepys was woken at 3am to be told of a great fire in the City During the day Pepys was summoned to see the King ( Charles II ). The King ordered him to tell the Lord Mayor of London to pull down houses to stop the fire spreading (see picture). | |
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