Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Pepys Commemoration Service on Thursday, when we remember the lives of Samuel and Elizabeth Pepys who are buried here and called this church their own. We are grateful to The Hon Mary Ann Slim, Master of The Clothworkers’ Company, for reading the lesson, Commodore Iain Gibb, Elder Brother of Trinity House for laying the wreath on Pepys Memorial and Tony Venning, a Member of the Pepys Club for laying the floral tribute at Elizabeth Pepys’ memorial. Thank you too to Colin and the St Olave Singers for the music. A copy of the order of service can be found here. 

A huge thank you to Guy de la Bédoyère for giving the Annual Address after the service. One of the very few people able to read the system of shorthand used by Samuel Pepys, Guy has spent twenty five years revisiting the passages that remained in a foreign language in the main scholarly translation of the text. These deal with Pepys’ complex and often, to our ears, highly unsettling relationships with and behaviour towards women and his extra marital affairs. Guy’s work supplements existing translations by offering fresh insights and understanding into the meaning of Pepys’ words and raises questions about how we view his behaviours today. Thank you to everyone who came and to Guy for answering our questions at the end. 

Guy’s latest book ‘The Confessions of Samuel Pepys’ is available from all good bookshops.

Join us over the next few days for more events as part of our Pepys ‘Mini Festival’ at St Olave Hart Street!