London's Great Plague

On 30 April 1665, the diarist Samuel Pepys recorded the first rumours that the bubonic plague was spreading through London: 'Great fears of the sickness here in the City ...

God preserve us all!' Thought to have come by ship from Amsterdam, which had been ravaged by the disease for two years, the Plague reached its height in August and September 1665, when over 7,000 Londoners were dying every week.

The disease continued until the Great Fire of London in September 1666.

Throughout the long summer when the Plague was at its worst, Pepys stayed in the city and his diary is one of the most vivid accounts of what became known as the Great Plague.