School votes to drop Samuel Pepys's name

Pupils and staff at a Cambridgeshire school have voted to remove the name of Samuel Pepys from one of its pastoral houses following revelations about the former pupil's treatment of women.

Pepys House at Hinchingbrooke School, Huntingdon, is named after the 17th Century diarist.

Parents were sent an email late last year saying "recent research on [Pepys's] personal behaviour... includes actions that were harmful, abusive and exploitative, especially in his relations with women".

Following a consultation with pupils and staff, the school said 1,764 cast votes, "with 1,054 voting to seek a new figurehead for Pepys House".

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 named after historical figures connected with its history, including Pepys and Oliver Cromwell.

In the email sent to parents last year, the school said: "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."

Following the consultation, school principal Andy Hunter said: "I am proud of the way that the school community conducted itself over the course of this process.

"The students have been curious, reflective and, above all, respectful throughout."

Parents were told the school had asked Chip Colquhoun, warden and current tenant of Pepys House in Brampton, to moderate the process.

The head said "Mr Colquhoun confirmed that the consultation was conducted thoroughly and impartially".

"It is important to note that there are no plans to rename the Pepys Building (a modern block which houses the geography department), nor to change long-established references such as the Pepys Stairs. These aspects were never under consideration," Hunter added.

"The school maintains a strong and valued historical association with Samuel Pepys and remains proud of that connection."

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