Month: February 2023

In 1650 Anne Greene was hanged for supposedly murdering and then concealing her unborn child. The fact she had miscarried at 17 weeks appears to have escaped the prosecution who argued concealment meant an admission of guilt.

When hanged, friends pulled at Anne’s legs and she was also battered with a musket to hasten her death. Her body was then placed in a temporary coffin. The coffin was reopened the following day for dissection to proceed but a faint pulse was detected. Physicians proceeded to administer: an enema of tobacco smoke ‘to warm her bowels’; a poultice; bloodletting; hot cordial; the tickling of the throat with a feather; and vigorous massages. Anne miraculously recovered. The original judge died shortly afterwards and Anne was set free. She later married and had three children.

One of the physicians who noticed her faint pulse was the remarkable William Petty. Despite no formal early education, Petty became a prominent scientist and one of the founding members of the Royal Society. As well as completing a supposedly impossible survey of Ireland he also developed scientific approaches to the study of economics and is said to have influenced Adam Smith, Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes. Not bad for a doctor.

And he was a friend of Samuel Pepys. You see, Pepys is connected to everything and everyone!! Find out more on the walk this Saturday, 25th , 2pm

Samuel Pepys and the Personalities of 17th Century Westminster

In 1656 a man named James Naylor narrowly escaped the death penalty for blasphemy. His sentence was commuted to being pilloried and whipped. He received 310 strokes.

But this punishment was insufficient according to a prominent MP who successfully argued “You ought to do something with that tongue that has bored through God. You ought to bore the tongue through”.

And bored through it was. in front of a crowd of onlookers who stood bare-headed and silent in sympathy.

The name of the prominent MP? It was the man picture above, George Downing. After whom Downing Street is named.

Thank you to Clare Tomalin, biographer of Pepys, for the story.

Learn more about 17th century Westminster on a guided walk, Saturday, 25th February at 2pm

(And a walk on February 25th-see below)

Samuel Pepys’ biographer, Clare Tomalin, wrote of his life:

“A drama start to end….sickness, passion, fire, bereavement, imprisonment, false accusation and revolution….the most ordinary and the most extraordinary writer you will ever meet’

And he lived in the building where I teach! 12 Buckingham Street, where Pepys established his famous library and pioneering bookcases. His library is now in Magdalen College Cambridge.

Pepys later moved two doors down to number 14 Buckingham Street and the next occupant of this house was Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. You may be familiar with the film ‘The Favourite’ which portrays Robert Harley, played by Nicholas Hoult, as a ridiculous bewigged dandy. It is likely, however, that Harley was no fool; his magnificent book collection became one of the core collections of the British Library.

Two houses, two men, two famous book collections.

Discover more on a guided walk at 2pm on Saturday February 25th. It’s a super walk full of great anecdotes about Pepys and life in 17th century London.