Reimagining the Restoration: Samuel Pepys's Diary and Popular History for the Twenty-first Century
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leicester
Department Name: English
Abstract
Since it was first published in 1825, Samuel Pepys's diary of the 1660s has been a vital source on the Restoration period for historians and literary scholars. The diary's mix of intimate, salacious experiences and major national events -- such as the plague, the Great Fire and the Dutch War -- has an enduring appeal. It is a source which has come to dominate public understanding of the later seventeenth century. With increasingly complete editions appearing, Pepys's diary has inspired exhibitions, novels and tv dramas, and has been used to sell everything from pens to whisky.
Despite considerable commercial and curatorial inventiveness, the ways that Pepys's diary is used today fall into predictable patterns in terms of both the episodes discussed and the approaches adopted. A number of these approaches -- unrecognised by the diary's readers -- were conditioned, even designed, by Pepys through steps he took to control access to his papers. Pepys bequeathed his diary as part of his library to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where it has been since 1724, with strict conditions on its access.
This project therefore investigates the reception of Pepys's diary over the last 200 years as a means to impact the ways it, and the Restoration, will be understood in the twenty-first century. The work has three strands which are united by the themes of inclusivity and storytelling. First, an academic trade book, The Secret History of Samuel Pepys's Diary, will explore the diary's reception. Timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the diary's publication, the book will trace the ways Pepys's diary has shaped ideas of the Restoration in popular culture, from early censored editions (which sparked protests among Victorian reviewers about 'suppressed' passages) to its role in the National Curriculum, and in inspiring controversial novels. The diary has always prompted historiographical debates over what kind of history, and whose histories, merit telling. To further this, I will offer archival discoveries about the other lives that feature in Pepys's diary -- such as those of non-elite women, Black Londoners, and a deaf boy and his signing friends -- whose stories are sometimes no less compelling than Pepys's own.
The second strand of this project concerns those 'other lives' and develops the long-standing involvement of historical novelists with the diary. Early in the project, I will run online workshops for creative writers based on my research, which will in turn inform the book's discussion of historical fictions. Using my archival work, these workshops will engage with the process of writing historical fictions, including ethical questions involved in creating stories about real (and silenced) individuals.
The final strand is an ambitious programme of engagement work developed with my collaborating organisation, the Museum of London, which targets primary school children, parents, and teachers. Each year the diary is the first introduction to seventeenth-century history for 5 to 7-year-olds across England and Wales, who learn about the Great Fire during National Curriculum Key Stage 1. The Museum has identified demand for greater diversity in teaching the Fire, demand that my research on Pepys's diary can help answer. Together we will produce KS1 educational resources for a new area of the successful fireoflondon.org.uk website. In addition, engagement work with D/deaf schools will focus on the history of sign language, as evinced in the diary. With work underway on the Museum's new West Smithfield site, this collaboration also allows project research to inform elements of the Great Fire gallery design.
As we approach the 200th anniversary of the diary's publication and the 300th anniversary of the Pepys Library, it is time to recognise the factors that shaped the diary's role in representing the Restoration to the public and to develop resources that can expand that role and, in doing so, expand that public.
Despite considerable commercial and curatorial inventiveness, the ways that Pepys's diary is used today fall into predictable patterns in terms of both the episodes discussed and the approaches adopted. A number of these approaches -- unrecognised by the diary's readers -- were conditioned, even designed, by Pepys through steps he took to control access to his papers. Pepys bequeathed his diary as part of his library to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where it has been since 1724, with strict conditions on its access.
This project therefore investigates the reception of Pepys's diary over the last 200 years as a means to impact the ways it, and the Restoration, will be understood in the twenty-first century. The work has three strands which are united by the themes of inclusivity and storytelling. First, an academic trade book, The Secret History of Samuel Pepys's Diary, will explore the diary's reception. Timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the diary's publication, the book will trace the ways Pepys's diary has shaped ideas of the Restoration in popular culture, from early censored editions (which sparked protests among Victorian reviewers about 'suppressed' passages) to its role in the National Curriculum, and in inspiring controversial novels. The diary has always prompted historiographical debates over what kind of history, and whose histories, merit telling. To further this, I will offer archival discoveries about the other lives that feature in Pepys's diary -- such as those of non-elite women, Black Londoners, and a deaf boy and his signing friends -- whose stories are sometimes no less compelling than Pepys's own.
The second strand of this project concerns those 'other lives' and develops the long-standing involvement of historical novelists with the diary. Early in the project, I will run online workshops for creative writers based on my research, which will in turn inform the book's discussion of historical fictions. Using my archival work, these workshops will engage with the process of writing historical fictions, including ethical questions involved in creating stories about real (and silenced) individuals.
The final strand is an ambitious programme of engagement work developed with my collaborating organisation, the Museum of London, which targets primary school children, parents, and teachers. Each year the diary is the first introduction to seventeenth-century history for 5 to 7-year-olds across England and Wales, who learn about the Great Fire during National Curriculum Key Stage 1. The Museum has identified demand for greater diversity in teaching the Fire, demand that my research on Pepys's diary can help answer. Together we will produce KS1 educational resources for a new area of the successful fireoflondon.org.uk website. In addition, engagement work with D/deaf schools will focus on the history of sign language, as evinced in the diary. With work underway on the Museum's new West Smithfield site, this collaboration also allows project research to inform elements of the Great Fire gallery design.
As we approach the 200th anniversary of the diary's publication and the 300th anniversary of the Pepys Library, it is time to recognise the factors that shaped the diary's role in representing the Restoration to the public and to develop resources that can expand that role and, in doing so, expand that public.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Katherine Loveman (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Croll-Knight J
(2023)
Museum of London, Reimagining the Restoration: Teacher Focus Groups Evaluation Report
Loveman K
(2023)
'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s' comic (learning resource)
Loveman K
(2023)
Teachers' Guide to Samuel Pepys's Diary
Loveman K
(2023)
Deaf Londoners in the 1660s: Teachers' Guide
Loveman, K
(2023)
Teachers' Guide to 1660s London
| Title | Deaf Londoners in the 1660s (comic) |
| Description | This is a comic featuring the lives of three deaf and hard-of-hearing Londoners from the Restoration period. It is aimed principally at primary school children (Key Stage 1 and 2 on the National Curriculum) and designed to aid teaching in Deaf history and the Great Fire of London. The figures featured are: Jane Gentleman, a maid who was hard of hearing; an unnamed deaf boy whom Samuel Pepys encountered at a party; and Framlingham Gawdy, a deaf artist. The first two figures feature in Samuel Pepys's diary. This is part of a wider set of online learning resources created by the Reimagining the Restoration project. Other material includes a 'Teachers' Guide to Deaf Londoners in the 1660s', which offers context on Deaf history and refers to some of the research which underpins the representations in the comic. There is also a video with a British Sign Language interpretation of the comic. The resources are hosted on the Museum of London website. The comic was created by Kate Loveman (Principal Investigator on the project), James Harrod (the project's Learning Manager at the Museum of London) and Garen Ewing (illustrator). The files published here are a version for the web, first made available on the Museum of London site in May 2023, and a high-resolution file suitable for printing. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | This video is a BSL-interpretation of the comic described above, and part of a larger set of learning resources -- from which its impact is not currently separable. For comments on the Deaf History resources' impact see under 'Engagement Activities', notably the entries for the Deaf Londoners in the 1660s website and the CPD for teachers working with Deaf children. |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/figure/Deaf_Londoners_in_the_1660s_comic_/22023992/1 |
| Title | How did they rebuild London? |
| Description | A 2.5 minute cartoon for primary school children, explaining how London was burnt in 1666, rebuilt to reduce the chances of fire, and grew. The video is part of a set of learning resources on the Great Fire of London for the National Curriculum Key Stage 1. The URL registered below provides links to 3 versions of this video (the animation; the animation with subtitles; the animation with BSL) and the transcript. The video is also available via 3 sites run by the Museum of London and is hosted on Youtube. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | In the teacher evaluation for this resource, prior to publication (carried out with 3 classes in 3 schools), all agreed that the video helped children in their classes understand how London was rebuilt and how the city changed over time. As of 1.3.25 the video has 8.2k views on Youtube, with BSL-interpreted version having an additional 528 views. |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/media/How_did_they_rebuild_London_animation_learning_resource_for... |
| Title | Interview about historical fiction with Catherine Johnson, author of novels for young adults and children (audio recording) |
| Description | Dr Kate Loveman interviews Catherine Johnson, the award-winning author of historical novels for children and young adults. Catherine Johnson's historical novels are principally set in the eighteenth-century and feature the adventures of young people who are Black or of mixed heritage. The topics Catherine and Kate discuss include: the roles for historical fiction in representing the experiences of Black Britons; the appeal of the eighteenth-century for writers; the types of sources that can provide inspiration; the depiction of sensitive subject matter, such as slavery and sexual assault, in novels aimed at young people; and tips for aspiring authors of historical fiction. This is an edited version of an interview recorded on 25 April 2022. It lasts 30 minutes. The interview was conducted as part of the 'Reimagining the Restoration' project, funded by the AHRC. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The interview and transcript were publicised on twitter and were used in the project's online creative writing workshops, the impact of which is elsewhere recorded. The number of downloads indicates usage beyond the workshop participants. The audio has had 147 downloads as of 1.3.25. This compares to audio 71 downloads at the same point in 2024. |
| URL | https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/media/Interview_about_historical_fiction_with_Catherine_John... |
| Title | Interview about historical fiction with Catherine Johnson, author of novels for young adults and children (transcript) |
| Description | This is the transcript of an interview with Catherine Johnson, the award-winning author of historical novels for children and young adults. Catherine Johnson's historical novels are principally set in the eighteenth-century and feature the adventures of young people who are Black or of mixed heritage. The topics Catherine discusses with Kate Loveman include: the roles for historical fiction in representing the experiences of Black Britons; the appeal of the eighteenth-century for writers; the types of sources that can provide inspiration; the depiction of sensitive subject matter, such as slavery and sexual assault, in novels aimed at young people; and tips for aspiring authors of historical fiction. This is an intelligent transcript of the audio recording, which is publicly available. The interview took place on 25 April 2022. It was conducted as part of the 'Reimagining the Restoration' project, funded by the AHRC. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The interview and transcript were publicised on twitter and were used in the project's online creative writing workshops, the impact of which is elsewhere recorded. The number of downloads indicates usage beyond the workshop participants. As of 1.3.25 the transcript has been downloaded 199 times. The materials are continuing to attract interest (on 7.3.24 the equivalent figures was 118 transcript downloads) |
| URL | https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/media/Interview_about_historical_fiction_with_Catherine_John... |
| Title | Interview about historical fiction with Deborah Swift, author of novels based on Samuel Pepys's diary (audio) |
| Description | Dr Kate Loveman interviews Deborah Swift, a historical novelist who has written gripping and carefully researched stories about seventeenth-century women. These include a trilogy of novels based on the women in Samuel Pepys's diary of the 1660s (Pleasing Mr Pepys, A Plague on Mr Pepys, and Entertaining Mr Pepys). The topics Kate and Deborah discuss include: the appeal of the seventeenth century for historical novelists; the opportunities and challenges of writing fiction about women's lives; Deborah's approaches to Pepys's diary in her trilogy; depictions of sensitive subject matter, such as marital abuse and racism; and tips for aspiring historical novelists. This is an edited version of an interview recorded on 3 May 2022. It lasts 30 minutes. The interview was conducted as part of the 'Reimagining the Restoration' project, funded by the AHRC. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | This audio recording was publicised to the public on Twitter by Deborah Swift and Kate Loveman in May 2022, attracting interest to the Reimagining the Restoration project. It was subsequently used by some of the participants in the project's creative writing workshops. The audio has had 148 downloads to date (1.3.25), this compares to 108 at the same point in 2024. |
| URL | https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/media/Interview_about_historical_fiction_with_Deborah_Swift_... |
| Title | Interview about historical fiction, with Deborah Swift, author of novels based on Samuel Pepys's diary (transcript) |
| Description | Dr Kate Loveman interviews Deborah Swift, a historical novelist who has written gripping and carefully researched stories about seventeenth-century women. These include a trilogy of novels based on the women in Samuel Pepys's diary of the 1660s (Pleasing Mr Pepys, A Plague on Mr Pepys, and Entertaining Mr Pepys). The topics Kate and Deborah discuss include: the appeal of the seventeenth century for historical novelists; the opportunities and challenges of writing fiction about women's lives; Deborah's approaches to Pepys's diary in her trilogy; depictions of sensitive subject matter, such as marital abuse and racism; and tips for aspiring historical novelists. This is an intelligent transcript of an audio recording, which is publicly available. The interview took place on 3 May 2022. It was conducted as part of the 'Reimagining the Restoration' project, funded by the AHRC. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The interview transcript has had 211 downloads to date (1.3.25). The interview was publicised on twitter and used in the project's online creative writing workshops, the impact of which is elsewhere recorded. The number of downloads indicates usage beyond the workshop participants. Downloads indicate continued interest (the figure was 108 in March 2024). |
| URL | https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/media/Interview_about_historical_fiction_with_Deborah_Swift_... |
| Title | The Glorious Life of Mingo - William Battenby - In Service to Life |
| Description | Author Elizabeth Uter reads her short story about Mingo, a young Black man whom Samuel Pepys encountered in the 1660s. In 1667 Sir William Batten died and left Mingo the rights to staff the navigation lights at Harwich port. This story imagines what happened next... You can read this work, along with other poetry and prose inspired by Pepys's journal, in the collection Other Lives in Samuel Pepys's Diary, edited by Kate Loveman (https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.20449623) The collection was produced as part of the 'Reimagining the Restoration' project, which is funded by the AHRC. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | This performance was an outcome of the project's creative writing workshops and was used to publicise the creative writing collection. The recording was advertised on twitter. It has been downloaded 135 times as of 1.3.25 (this compares to 64 downloads at the same point in 2024). |
| URL | https://leicester.figshare.com/articles/media/The_Glorious_Life_of_Mingo_William_Battenby_In_Service... |
| Title | What was life like in 17th-century London? |
| Description | A 2-minute cartoon, introducing 1660s London to primary school children. This is part of a set of learning resources on the Great Fire of London for Key Stage 1. The URL registered below provides links to 3 versions of this video (the animation; the animation with subtitles; the animation with BSL) and a transcript. The video is available via 3 sites run by the London Museum and is hosted on Youtube. As of 1.3.25 the video has been viewed 36 thousand times on Youtube, with the BSL-interpreted version having an additional 1.3 thousand views. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Teachers evaluating the video and accompanying activity sheet commented 'the video was nicely produced, the information was clear, the activity was straightforward' and that the video was 'engaging for learners'. |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/media/What_was_life_like_in_seventeenth-century_London_animation_... |
| Title | Who was Samuel Pepys? |
| Description | 2.5 minute cartoon introducing primary school children to Samuel Pepys's life and diary. The video is part of set of learning resources for teaching the Great Fire on Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum. The URL registered below provides links to 3 versions of this video (the animation; the animation with subtitles; the animation with BSL) and the transcript. The video is also available via 3 sites run by the London Museum and is hosted on Youtube. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Teachers evaluating the video and accompanying activities commented: 'By the end of the lesson most could tell me who Samuel Pepys was and what he did. The video was really well-received by most of the class." "The quiz about Samuel Pepys facts was good fun and the children felt encouraged they got all (or nearly all) of the questions correct! The videos we had were good length and simply animated, so the information was easier to pick up." As of 1.3.25 the video has 29k views on Youtube, with BSL-interpreted version having an additional 1.5k views. |
| URL | https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/media/Who_was_Samuel_Pepys_animation_learning_resource_for_primar... |
| Description | The award's primary purpose was to produce an academic trade book on the creation and reception of Pepys's diary. The second set of objectives involved an extensive programme of engagement work to bring new research on Pepys and Restoration history to the public. Kate Loveman's book, The Secret History of Samuel Pepys's Diary, is due to be published by Cambridge University Press in April 2025. It is 94,000 words. During the grant, an introduction and six out of the eight chapters were written. Principal findings from this research include: (a) Discoveries about how Pepys's use of shorthand influenced his diary, changing our understanding of its contents. (b) Establishing how and why Pepys came to be a cultural figurehead for the Restoration period. This entailed exploring changes over the last 200 years in concepts of who and what count as valuable history. (c) Showing how the diary and other sources can be used to trace members of groups under-represented in the historical record. There is a focus on female servants and the Black residents of Pepys's neighbourhood. The public engagement programme began with interviews with historical novelists and online creative writing events for members of the public. Participants' enthusiasm led to the PI editing an online collection of their creative writing, 'Other Lives in Samuel Pepys's Diary'. Many of the achievements of this award result from work with the Museum of London (now relaunched as the London Museum). The project funded the post of a Learning Manager, James Harrod, to work with Loveman in organising schools events and creating learning resources which better reflected the diversity of seventeenth-century London. After consultation with teachers and Deaf organisations, the project created two new sets of online resources, drawing on the PI's research: (1) Resources for teaching the Great Fire of London at Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum. These are 3 animations; 7 classroom activities (plus versions at different levels); and 3 teachers' guides. These resources are hosted on the London Museum's schools' site and duplicated on fireoflondon.org.uk. Work for the project has ensured the long-term future of the latter popular site. (2) Resources on 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s': These consist of a comic; a BSL-interpreted video of the comic; 2 classroom activities; an image pack; and a Teachers' Guide, introducing the comics' historical characters and the history of British Sign Language. Figures from the comic feature in the KS1 resources and vice versa. These resources are hosted on the London Museum's schools' site. In the winter of 2022-3, the project ran workshops with three schools for D/deaf children in London. Children aged 6-8 learned about the Great Fire, deaf people in Restoration London, and the origins of British Sign Language. For many this was their first experience learning about Deaf history. Following the resources' launch, three Continuing Professional Developments events were run for teachers based on the materials. Finally, the PI's research has informed plans for the London Museum's new Great Fire gallery, specifically representation of two households, Black Londoners, and D/deaf Londoners. |
| Exploitation Route | The London Museum continues to develop project research through work on a new gallery (due to open 2026). The project also enabled the Museum to test methods (such as providing versions of the same learning resources at differentiated levels and a live-captioning service for online events) that will inform future outreach work and accessibility. The learning resources are designed to allow lessons on the Great Fire in primary schools to incorporate Deaf history and vice versa. Early responses from teachers' Continuing Professional Development events and from Deaf organisations confirm the Deaf history resources have an appeal beyond the immediate intended audience of children in primary schools who are deaf and/or use signed communication. Research from the book and related resources is designed to be of use to academics working on areas including public history, Deaf history, Black history, historical fiction, and Victorian popular culture. There are, in particular, methods to help researchers who have come across shorthand in sources but are unsure how to go about dealing with it. At this early point in dissemination, findings are available via the learning resources, magazine articles, and the project site, and are already generating interest from academics in these fields. |
| Sectors | Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://pepyshistory.le.ac.uk |
| Description | The impact for the project to date can be divided into the influence of the activities and resources for UK schools, and the responses to activities aimed at the general public in the UK and worldwide. In terms of obstacles to impact, consultation at the start of the project revealed that there was no close precedent for the creation of Deaf history learning resources for primary schools on other UK museum, teaching, or cultural websites. Among the educators we consulted, Deaf history (especially pre-20th century history) was rarely taught, despite Teachers of the Deaf being keen to do more of this. We were therefore not just testing ideas for resources, but testing ways to integrate the subject into the existing curricula. Creation of the resources happened alongside a programme of workshops on the Great Fire and Deaf history with three London schools for deaf children, involving 24 children and 7 teachers and teaching assistants. Teachers noted 'General constant excitement!' among children and high levels of engagement. Particularly where children (deaf and hearing), have had limited exposure to deaf role models, the effect of discussing historical examples can be profound. Perhaps the best piece of evidence on the workshops' impact was a question from one child towards the end of the programme: 'Were there deaf children in ancient Greece?'. He had been making his own inferences about the rest of history from learning about the presence of deaf people in 1660s London. The workshops encouraged a wider curiosity about the past and children's own relationship to it. The two sets of learning resources launched in May 2023 on the Museum of London's site and the KS1 resources were duplicated on fireoflondon.org.uk in February 2024. Following the museum's relaunch as the London Museum in summer 2024, both sets of resources were rebranded and are hosted on the museum's new site. Work in creating and disseminating the resources has led to educators in schools, charities, and museums gaining knowledge that will inform their own practice. For example, a representative from the British Deaf Association's Heritage Project wrote the deaf history resources 'are incredibly invaluable, and I had no idea of the connection [of Deaf history] to Pepys'. The project's CPD events for teachers had a total of 41 participants, with a live-stream event reaching teachers around the country. At a face-to-face event for teachers in mainstream primaries, some had no experience of teaching the Great Fire and none had any experience in teaching deaf history. Feedback showed all intended to use the resources, with the 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s comic' and the diverse historical figures from the 'Teachers' Guide to 1660s London' proving particularly popular. The creative writing programme and project publicity each reached an international audience and provided evidence of the research influencing attitudes to history, especially the history of marginalized groups. Participants in the Creative Writing workshops were, for example, surprised to find women so assertive in the Restoration and were prompted to reflect on diversity in their own writing. Subsequently, the PI's identification of the likely 'discoverer of the Great Fire of London' (a low-status journeyman) generated considerable media coverage focused on the experience of 'ordinary' people at the time of the Fire. The use of this research in a couple of recent national newspaper quizzes is an example of findings from the project already embedding themselves in popular culture. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | London Metropolitan Archives CPD event for teachers |
| Organisation | London Metropolitan Archives |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The project's PI and former Learning Manager, together with two other members of the Museum of London's Learning team, organised a Great Fire of London teachers' study day at the LMA. The PI and Learning Manager ran sessions at the event. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The LMA staff hosted the event and ran sessions on archives and using maps in teaching. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Museum of London - schools' programme and resources |
| Organisation | Museum of London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The project funded activities with the Museum of London as a collaborating organisation, including funding a Learning Manager based in the Museum's Learning Team to organise project activities and the production of teaching resources. The PI and the project's Learning Manager, with other members of the Museum's Learning Team: 1. Produced 2 new sets of learning resources on the Great Fire of London and on Deaf history. This included running focus groups for teachers and evaluations of the resources with teachers prior to publication. 2. Ran a programme of workshops with 3 Deaf schools on seventeenth-century Deaf history and the Fire of London. 3. Ran 3 Continuing Professional Development events for teachers, online and in person, using the new resources. The PI has contributed research for a new gallery on the Great Fire, planned for the Museum's new West Smithfield site, and this aspect is ongoing as of 2025. The Museum of London was renamed the London Museum in summer 2024. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Museum has provided support from Learning Team members, the Digital Editor (Learning), the Design team and the Comms team in producing the resources, in publicity, and in running activities with schools. The Museum hosted the focus groups, 2 teachers' CPD events, and a combined workshop for the Deaf schools programme. The Museum received funding from the project which was used to employ an animation studio and a comic book artist to assist in the create teaching resources, and to provide BSL interpretation for the videos. |
| Impact | Museum of London, Reimagining the Restoration: Teacher Focus Group Evaluation Report, by Jess Croll-Knight (2022), listed under 'Publications'. This is an external evaluator's report on the primary schools and Teachers of the Deaf focus groups. The evaluator was funded by the project. Great Fire of London KS1 teaching resources: including 3 animations, teachers' guides and classroom activities. 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s' teaching resources: including a comic, BSL-interpretation of the comic, classroom activities and a teachers' guide. Articles for Primary History, British Association of Teachers of the Deaf Magazine and an Archives and Records Association blog post publicising the resources. Article for the Conversation on 'Who Discovered the Great Fire of London'. Press coverage on this discovery. Article for the London Topographical Society newsletter (May 2024). |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Article for The Conversation website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman wrote an article 'The Great Fire of London: How we uncovered the man who first found the flames' for the Conversation website (1,000 words). She was approached to do so following the extensive coverage of this discovery. It was a lead item on the UK site. Up to Feb 2025 the article has 13, 265 'reads' with 25% of the readership from the USA, and 3% from Australia. It prompted several contacts requesting more information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/great-fire-of-london-how-we-uncovered-the-man-who-first-found-the-flames... |
| Description | Blog Post - Archives and Records Association |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman wrote a 1,400 word article, 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s', for the Archives and Records Association's Accessibility and Archives blogspot, as part of their Deaf History month coverage (27.11.23). This introduced the resources on the Great Fire and on Deaf History, and discussed the research behind them and issues arising in their creation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.archives.org.uk/news/uk-disability-history-month-accessibility-and-archives-deaf-londone... |
| Description | Blogpost: Other Lives in Samuel Pepys's Diary |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A post by Kate Loveman, for the 'Creative Writing at Leicester' blog, reporting on the 'Other Lives in Samuel Pepys's Diary' creative writing workshops and collection. This included excerpts from the collection and links to download the collection and a writer's audio performance, increasing circulation of those publications. Page views aren't available for this post, but in the month of posting (October 2022) the blog had c.3200 readers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | http://creativewritingatleicester.blogspot.com/search?q=loveman |
| Description | CPD event for Teachers of Deaf Children |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A Continuing Professional Development event was held on 10.7.23 at the Museum of London for teachers and others working with deaf young people. There were 6 participants (including two interpreters, who were not strictly participants but ended up taking away teaching materials to pass on). The event introduced Great Fire of London and Deaf Londoners in the 1660s teaching materials, activities from the schools' workshops with deaf children and sought further information towards future activities/resources. In surveys all respondents agreed they had learned new information and were likely to use the resources in their Great fire and Deaf history teaching. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | CPD event for Teachers of Primary School Children |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 15 teachers attended a 'Great Fire Study Day', run jointly by the project, the Museum of London, and the London Metropolitan Archives, at the LMA on 29.9.23. Some teachers had no previous experience of teaching the Great Fire; none had taught deaf history. Teachers were introduced to the Great Fire and Deaf history resources, visited the LMA archives and exhibit on Black Londoners, and did object handling. The 14 respondents to surveys enthused about 'the research!', 'the real life characters' , 'learning about the different people other than Samuel Pepys' and 'black/Asian people in London at that time.' Comments on resources included 'I will use the Deaf history comic to show the diversity of the time.' 'Videos bring context and are engaging. I love that all of the 'characters' are real people. The comic is also a great way to bring to life the stories of the deaf community' 'I will use ... comic strip, code-breaking Samuel Pepys shorthand.' 13 intended to incorporate some deaf history into lessons via the comic or using the sign language alphabets provided. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Careers talk for MA students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The project's Learning Manager ran a session for students taking the 'Museums and Galleries in Education' MA at University College London. The participants included students from America and Asia. The talk covered careers and the project content, particularly on Deaf history (a specialism at UCL). This provoked questions, discussion and suggestions from students for additional resources. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Contribution to Wren 300 exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman was consulted by Hamish MacPherson about Christopher Wren's interest in seventeenth-century sign language for the Wren 300 'Christopher Wren: What Legacy Now?' exhibition at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. She conducted some additional research to ensure accuracy of exhibition captioning on this topic. The exhibition ran July to November 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://wren300.org/events/christopher-wren-what-legacy-now/ |
| Description | Creative Writing Workshops and Showcase: Other Lives in Samuel Pepys's Diary |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In May and June 2022, Kate Loveman and historical novelist Yvonne Battle-Felton ran two online creative writing workshops for the public, exploring the lives of people in Pepys's diary who come from groups under-represented in historical sources. In total thirteen participants from the UK and India joined the two workshops. Using research from Dr Loveman, they workshopped extracts from the diary into short historical fictions. Six of the writers then performed their work in an online showcase, to an audience attending from locations including Ireland, South Africa and the US. In a questionnaire, 91% of participants agreed 'the workshop helped me think about diversity in my writing', that they 'learned new information about the historical period', and that they 'found the workshop inspiring'; 73% said they were more likely to write historical fiction as a result of attending. Comments included 'I didn't realise that women could be so independent during that time' and 'Gave me new ideas for a sequence' (of poems)'. Enthusiasm for the workshop led to an unanticipated output, a collection of creative writing from the workshops, published online. To date (1.2.25), that publication has been viewed 3166 times, with the volume file downloaded 825 times. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://pepyshistory.le.ac.uk/creative-writing/ |
| Description | Deaf Londoners in the 1660 Learning Resources |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s' Learning Resources were published on the Museum of London's schools site in May 2023 (https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/schools/learning-resources/deaf-londoners-1660s). The main target audience are teachers of D/deaf children, and primary or secondary school teachers looking to increase the diversity and representation of historical people in their schemes of work. These resources are linked via characters and themes to the project's Great Fire resources. The Deaf history resources were written by Kate Loveman (PI) and James Harrod (the project's Learning Manager). The resources are listed below. Those marked * contain the most significant research content and have been registered on research fish under publications or creative products. *1. Deaf Londoners in the 1660s comic, introducing episodes from the lives of three deaf and hard-of-hearing Londoners. The comic is also available in printed copies for schools and Deaf organisations, with around 500 copies so far distributed. *2. 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s Teachers' Guide'. The guide introduces 17th-century Deaf history, the history of British Sign Language and the 3 figures from the comic. It explains the research behind the depiction of the signs shown in the comic. *3. Deaf Londoners in the 1660s British Sign Language-interpreted reading of the comic (video). 4. 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s Image Pack'. This contains images of historical evidence shown in the comic, for example a letter from the deaf artist Fram Gawdy. It also features images of 17th-century fingerspelling alphabets for use in class. 5. 'The Story of Me' activity sheet - a comic writing activity for children, focusing on their achievements and facilitating further discussion about deaf identities. 6. 'Deaf Life: Past and Present': a series of image cards comparing life for deaf people in the 1660s with today. It includes changes in everyday technologies and the development of BSL. The resources are also available as a collection on the University of Leicester's research repository. The Deaf Londoners in the 1660s site has had 573 users to date. Comments from teacher evaluation of the resources include 'really great at showing children positive deaf role models lived in all historic eras and validated their identity and culture'. At CPD events run about these resources, 100% of teachers of deaf children and 93% of primary school teachers working in mainstream schools stated that they intended to use the resources in their teaching. As of summer 2024, the resources were moved to a new site as part of the Museum of London's rebrand as the London Museum and the resources themselves rebranded. Between 5 Feb 2024 and 25 Feb 2025, there were 155 downloads of the resources. The most popular was the comic itself with 78 downloads. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/schools-communities/schools/resources/deaf-londoners-in-the-1660s/ |
| Description | Focus groups |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Two focus groups were held at the Museum of London (12.7.22 and 13.7.22) for primary school teachers and for teachers and support workers of deaf young people to gather information, test ideas for the KS1 and Deaf history resources, and get feedback on existing provision in the Museum and elsewhere. Participants came from schools and local councils. Although the primary purpose was information-gathering this led to further participation in the project, specifically ongoing feedback and a partnership for the schools' workshop programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Great Fire of London Learning Resources |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Great Fire of London Learning Resources pack is for primary schools, particularly those teaching National Curriculum Key Stage 1. The resources are available on (1) Museum of London website (published May 2023) https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/schools/learning-resources/great-fire-london (2) fireoflondon.org.uk site (Feb 2024): https://www.fireoflondon.org.uk/the-great-fire-of-london-ks1-resources/ (3) University of Leicester research repository (Feb 2024): https://figshare.le.ac.uk/account/home#/collections/6712650 The Great Fire of London is one of the most widely taught topics in English primary schools at Key Stage 1 (ages 5-7). The resources, written by Kate Loveman (PI) and James Harrod (project Learning Manager), are listed below. Those marked (*) contain the most significant research content, and have been separately registered as publications or creative products on researchfish. 1. 'KS1 Resources: Teachers' Notes'. A guide to using the resources. *2. 'Teachers' Guide to 1660s London'. A brief introduction to the city and mini-biographies of the range of historical figures featured in the videos. This includes, for example, new research on Isay William Mingo, an enslaved young man who lived next door to Samuel Pepys. His first two names (which he used after he became free), were identified and published for the first time here. *3. 'What was life like in 17th-century London?' animation. A 2-minute cartoon, introducing the city in the 1660s. Elizabeth Pepys travels from Seething Lane in the East to Westminster Hall in the West. Available in subtitled and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted versions. 4. 'What was life like in 17th-century London?' activity sheet, to accompany the video. This is available in two versions for learners, one a little more challenging. 5. 'How did the Great Fire start?' time-line activity, tracking the progress of the fire. This is available in two versions, one more challenging. 6. 'How do we know what happened?' activity sheet, introducing the concept of historical evidence, explaining primary and secondary sources. Available in two difficulty levels *7.'Who was Samuel Pepys?' animation. A 2.5 minute cartoon introducing Pepys's life and his diary. Available in subtitled and BSL-interpreted versions. 8. 'Who was Samuel Pepys?' activity sheet, accompanying the video. Available in two difficulty levels (true or false, or multiple choice) *9. 'Teachers' Guide to Samuel Pepys's Diary'. Notes introducing teachers to Samuel Pepys's diary and to his shorthand. This resource contains an image of Pepys's diary volumes and one of his shorthand concerning Isay William Mingo, both first published here. (Making images of the diary manuscript more widely available is a project objective) 10. 'How did Samuel Pepys write his diary?' activity sheet. This features exercises for children to try writing and reading Pepys's shorthand, and includes a shorthand image. 11. 'How did people fight the Great Fire of London?' activity sheet, using objects in the Museum of London's collection. *12. 'How did they rebuild London?' animation. A 2.5 minute cartoon showing the Great Fire and how the city changed and grew in its aftermath. Available in subtitled and BSL-interpreted versions. 13. 'How did they rebuild London?' card-sorting activity. Cards show a problem, cause, and solution, inviting children to identify and discuss causal links. To date, the Museum and fireoflondon.org.uk pages have had 3890 users. We conducted evaluation surveys with five schools on initial versions of these resources before their publication. Comments included: On all the resources: "Each resource was straightforward, and the teacher notes were very welcome" For the 'What was life like in 17th-century London?' animation and activity: "a really great introduction to life before the Great Fire of London. The activity was familiar and accessible." 100% of teachers agreed that the resource helped learners understand the topic, with 80% strongly agreeing. Children's comments on the resources included that they enjoyed '"Being an investigator because I got to talk to my friends and learn together" , and being surprised "That people wrote so much about the Great Fire because I didn't think the writing would survive". 86% of teachers surveyed agreed the resources showed a wide range of Londoners; 100% agreed the resources provided enough stories and fun facts to engage learners; 100% agreed the resources supported different learning styles. 100% agreed the resources supported historical enquiry. As of summer 2024, the Museum of London website resources were moved to a new site as part of the institutions' rebrand as the London Museum and the resources themselves rebranded. Between 5 February 2024 and 25 Feb 2025, the resources hosted on these two versions of the site have been downloaded 4143 times. The most popular activities are the 'What was life like in 17th-century London?' (578) and 'How did the Great Fire start?' (570). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| URL | https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/schools-communities/schools/resources/the-great-fire-of-london/ |
| Description | Heritage Day, University of Leicester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Running a stall on Pepys and Deaf History at the Heritage Hub fair, 23.3.24, open to the public. The stall was named on visitors' feedback surveys among the favourite events. Attendance led to planning of further engagement activities with the 1620s House museum, Leicestershire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | History workshops with schools for deaf children |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | In winter 2022-23 the project ran workshops with three schools in London for deaf children, with both teachers and children benefitting from the activities. The schools were a BSL-first school, an English-first school, and a bilingual school; the core attendees were 24 children (age 6 to 8) and 7 teachers and teaching assistants. The workshops were delivered by two arts practitioners, one of whom was Deaf and worked in BSL, the other of whom had SEND and BSL expertise, and worked in English. Workshops were arts-based and used research by the PI. Museum Learning team members helped deliver teaching. Early in the programme, all schools came for a visit day to the Museum of London, Barbican, where they saw the Great Fire exhibition, collaborated on a collage about the fire, and learned about 17th-century signing, Each school had 4 additional workshops. They learned about seventeenth-century deaf people (artists, servants etc.) and the Great Fire, with activities tailored to the children's learning levels. The art activities included creating self-portraits featuring seventeenth-century finger spelling and making seventeenth-century houses with adaptations for deaf people (e.g. one child noted big windows would be good to let in light for lip-reading and signing). One school was taken on a visit to the Monument to the Great Fire. Teachers reported learning through the workshops (e.g. 'I've definitely learnt a lot of new facts like what people used before BSL and how the Deaf community worked in 17th-century London') and acquiring material they'd use elsewhere in Personal Understanding of Deafness sessions. The children were extremely enthusiastic. For example, teachers reported 'The children were engaged and learned new things from the history sections and are really enjoying the art activities building towards creating their own portraits.' Questions about the seventeenth century and other periods showed the lessons were expanding children's sense of deaf people's presence and activities, and with it their own interest in history as a topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Learning resources press release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | In May 2023 Kate Loveman worked with the University of Leicester on a press release 'Teaching resources cast new light on The Great Fire of London'. This was to publicise the launch of two sets of learning resources on the Museum of London's site. Further 'launch' activity followed in September 2023, which is when the Great Fire is most often taught in UK schools. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://le.ac.uk/news/2023/may/fire-of-london |
| Description | London Topographical Society Newsletter article |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 'London's Great Fire of 1666: New Research and New Displays', 850-word article co-authored with Meriel Jeater for the London Topographical Society Newsletter, no. 98, May 2024. Featuring research on Thomas Dagger and other findings from the PI on the inhabitants of London on the night of the Great Fire. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://publuu.com/flip-book/51334/1097291 |
| Description | Magazine article - Primary History |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman and James Harrod wrote a 980-word article 'Exploring the Great Fire of London and Deaf History', which was published in Primary History, 95 (2023), pp. 62-3. This is the Historical Association's magazine targeted at primary school teachers. with a readership of over 2000. The article introduced the project's Great Fire resources and Deaf history resources. Pages from the project's comic were also used as the magazine's prominent centrefold 'pull out'. The project also received coverage in the HA's email bulletin. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Magazine article - BATOD Magazine |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman wrote a 1,600-word article 'Deaf Londoners in the 1660s' for BATOD Magazine, the magazine of the British Association of Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People. This was published in the December 2023 issue, pp. 41-42, and featured as an item on the front page. The magazine has a readership of over 1300 including international members. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Magazine article - Deaf History Journal |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Peter Jackson, President of the British Deaf History Society, wrote an article on the project's Deaf history resources from information supplied by Kate Loveman. The article was published in the Deaf History Journal 26.2 (Summer 2023), pp.10-11. Copies of the comic were also sent to the British Deaf History Society's Deaf Heritage Centre for distribution to interested members. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Media Interview/ article - The Guardian |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman was interviewed by the Guardian about her work identifying the 'discoverer' of the Great Fire of London. The resulting article (published 1.9.23) served to publicise both this research and the preparations for the Museum's new site, due to open in 2026. The article was listed among the 'most viewed' on the Guardian website's front page and on the UK page for over 24 hours. It was the main article on page 3 of the print edition. The piece was used by other media outlets in their coverage and led to press queries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/sep/01/museum-of-london-identifies-man-who-raised-alarm-ove... |
| Description | Online CPD for teachers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman and James Harrod ran an online Continuing Profession Development session for teachers on 22.6.23. This introduced the Great Fire of London and Deaf Londoners in the 1660s resources, along with approaches for using them in class. Twenty-two teachers attended, from location including Birmingham and Northamptonshire. This was first CPD online event the Museum had run for teachers, and also the first time a live-caption service had been used in an event for accessibility (it allowed for testing with an eye to future schools events). The event led to further enquiries from teachers, and requests for printed copies of the comics to be sent for use in the classroom. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Press release and media: First witness to the Great Fire of London uncovered |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | In early September 2023, the project issued a press release 'First witness to the Great Fire of London uncovered' via the Museum of London press office. This was to publicise Kate Loveman's research, conducted for the new Museum gallery. Researching the members of Thomas Farriner's household present at the fire, she had identified the likely first 'discoverer' of the fire, Thomas Dagger. It was a means to advertise wider work on the new Museum site due to open in 2026. This discovery subsequently got worldwide press coverage. The two most significant interviews are separately listed as 'Engagement Activities', but other coverage included: The Times (print and online), The Telegraph (print), Evening Standard (online), CNN (online), Radio London, BBC Radio Oxford, BBC news online, Sky news. online. The Guardian Weekend Quiz and The I Weekend Quiz subsequently based questions on Thomas Dagger. Further queries (via interviewers, emails and from media) followed this coverage. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/news-room/press-releases/first-witness-great-fire-london-uncovered... |
| Description | Project Twitter/X account |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PI runs a project Twitter/X account (@pepyshistory) which has been used to publicise events, new resources, and her research. The most notable engagement here was a thread on 'Samuel Pepys's guide to the Coronation' which went viral in May 2023 on the weekend of Charles III's coronation. It received 933 retweets; 3490 likes for the initial tweet, and gained the account over 1000 followers. It also prompted queries from users about Charles II's coronation and led to users reading the diary (as one user wrote incredulously: 'Ok so I've checked and this is all actually true') |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023,2024 |
| Description | Project website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project website pepyshistory.le.ac.uk was launched in February 2022. This holds brief introductions to the project's research aims, schools' outreach activities and creative writing strand. In 2022, it was used to publicise the creative writing workshops and circulate participant information. From 2023, it was used to publish the most comprehensive account of the PI's research findings 'Who discovered the Great Fire of London?'. Since February 2024, it has hosted the PI's 'Guide to reading Samuel Pepys's shorthand' aimed at the general public and at researchers grappling with early modern shorthand. This document is part of the project's aim to make images of Pepys's diary more widely available. Update: between 3 Feb 2024 and 2 Feb 2025, the site had 550 active users, including from the US, China and Germany. The shorthand guide has been downloaded 98 times in this period. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023,2024,2025 |
| URL | https://pepyshistory.le.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Public lecture, 'The Strange History of Samuel Pepys's Diary', University of Leicester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PI's professorial inaugural lecture on 26.6.24, titled The Strange History of Samuel Pepys's Diary. Audience ranged in age from c. 10 years old to 80. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.tickettailor.com/events/cssahevents/1238560 |
| Description | Public talk at Literary Festival |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The PI gave a talk on 'Samuel Pepys's cheese' at the 'Literary Leicester' festive at the University of Leicester. This was free, ticketed event with an audience of 60 ("sold out"), predominantly older visitors to the university with some colleagues. This featured her research and showed elements of the projects' learning resources. There were questions and surprise about the history revealed from the public and colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Public talk at the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Pepys Library |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk at Magdalene College, Cambridge,' to an audience of the public and academics on 'Pepys's Library (1650-1703)' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Radio interview - international news |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman was interviewed on her Great Fire research and Thomas Dagger for the Radio 4 PM programme (1.9.23), which was subsequently used for the World Service (2.9.23). This prompted queries from other media outlets, the public, and academics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Radio interview - local radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman was interviewed by Ben Jackson (7.9.23) for his afternoon programme on BBC Radio Leicester, discussing her Great Fire of London research and findings on Thomas Dagger. This is led to a request to keep the station apprized of future discoveries. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Talk to Archives and Records Association forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Kate Loveman gave an talk online to the Archives and Records Association's 'Disability Collections Forum' (a network of people from libraries, archives and museums working on disability and inclusion). The talk covered the process of creating the Deaf Londoners in the 1660s resource - discussing research, consultation and the resources' relationship to existing teaching. This led to follow-up queries and an exchange of information with other projects exploring Deaf history. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |