To spot the Pepys Library, look directly ahead for a grand, pale-stone building with a strikingly symmetrical front, elegant arched walkways at the base, and an inscription above the central doorway-this is your landmark!
Now, as you stand here, you’re looking at a building that holds not just books, but centuries of secrets! Can you imagine Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist, bustling around London in a curly wig, collecting stories, manuscripts, and the juiciest gossip of the 1600s? He wasn’t just a lover of books-he was their guardian. By the time he passed away in 1703, he’d amassed over 3,000 volumes, from ancient choirbooks that once echoed through candlelit halls, to Sir Francis Drake’s own almanac, and even Isaac Newton’s world-changing Principia Mathematica. And you thought your Kindle had a decent collection!
Walk closer-look at those original bookcases inside, crafted with care (according to Pepys’s diary, by a chap called Sympson the Joiner). Each shelf still stands as Pepys arranged it, holding not only towering tomes but his most famous treasure: the six bound manuscripts of his diary, where he spilled everything from state secrets to his favorite dinner. He even left strict instructions about their care-nobody was allowed to rearrange his books, add new ones, or (watch out) sell them!
The building itself is something of a survivor, too. Finished slowly, thanks to money troubles (some traditions never change!), its handsome neo-classical face shines in Ketton stone. The back might be simple red brick, but the front has those lush arches and the proud painted words: Bibliotheca Pepysiana 1724-just in case you forget where you are. Above, his motto waits: “Mens cujusque is est quisque.” That’s Latin for “The mind’s the man.” And, in Pepys’s case, there was certainly plenty to fill both a mind and a library.
Now picture it: dusty sunlight slipping in through tall windows, the faint creak of wood as the books settle, the ghost of Pepys himself perhaps peering over your shoulder, anxious you don’t move his diaries an inch.
Peek in if you can-the most dazzling books are on display, and the air almost hums with the stories they’ve kept safe for centuries. Whether you’re a history buff, a lover of mysteries, or just someone who’s lost every library card they ever had, Pepys’s legacy waits for you inside these walls. Just don’t try to sneak a new paperback onto the shelf, or you might hear Pepys’s ghost tutting in disapproval!
Interested in knowing more about the background, the collection or the pepys building
