Pepys concern may lead to Hinchingbrooke School house change

A historical school has told pupils and parents it is considering renaming one of its houses over concerns about its former pupil’s treatment of women.

Pepys House at Hinchingbrooke School in Huntingdon is named after 17th Century diarist Samuel Pepys.

Parents were sent an email recently saying “recent research on [Pepys’] personal behaviour… includes actions that were harmful, abusive and exploitative, especially in his relations with women”.

School principal Andy Hunter said: “We are currently exploring what standards of behaviour it is reasonable to apply to historical figures.”

Pepys is best known for his 1660s diaries and famed for his accounts of events such as the Great Fire of London and the Great Plague.

Hinchingbrooke School has five houses names after historical figures connected with its history, including Pepys and Oliver Cromwell.

The school is consulting students about the proposal to change the name of Pepys House, as first reported by The Telegraph.

The email sent to parents and carers, seen by the BBC, came from the school’s associate principal Femi Solano and Tom Wheeley, a history teacher and trustee of the Hinchingbrooke Foundation.

They wrote: “While Pepys is an important historical figure who attended our school, recent research on his personal behaviour, recorded in his own diaries, includes actions that were harmful, abusive and exploitative, especially in his relations with women.

“These behaviours do not align with the values we hold as a school – respect, equality, kindness, and high standards.”

A recent book by historian Guy de la Bedoyere, called The Confessions of Samuel Pepys, noted aspects of the diarist’s private life including his treatment of his wife, servants and his mistresses.

The school, founded as Huntingdon Grammar in 1565, now has more than 2,000 students.

The school’s email continued: “Our houses are more than names — they are a source of pride and inspiration to our students — we believe it is right to ask the question: Should Pepys House be renamed?

“This is particularly the case for Pepys House as it is named after a specific individual, unlike Cromwell and Montagu Houses, which commemorate the historic families who lived at Hinchingbrooke.

“This re-evaluation is not about erasing history.

“Instead, it is about ensuring that the figures we celebrate as role models reflect the values we want our students to live by.

“Pepys will always remain part of the rich history of our school, but it is a question of whether he should appear specifically as an icon of the pastoral system.”

In a statement released to the BBC, Mr Hunter said he hoped the discussion would give students “the chance to talk about cancel culture, to weigh all the available evidence and consider how, and when, our understanding of the past should shape the decisions we make today”.

“We are placing our trust in our students to think critically, to approach the issue with maturity, and to come to a balanced, well-informed conclusion.

“We will respect whatever decision the school community arrives at.”