Deaf Londoners in the 1660s

Explore the lives of deaf people in 17th-century London and learn about the ways life has changed since then. Here you will find a comic book, a teachers’ guide, and activities to use in class.

Watch a BSL-interpreted video version of this comic:

Deaf history teaching notes

• Whether you’re teaching a class or just want to find out more about 17th-century Deaf history, this teachers' guide covers characters from the comic, perspectives on deafness, and the growth of sign languages.

Deaf history images

• This set of images shows historical evidence mentioned in the comic and notes: Pepys’s diary, Framlingham Gawdy’s letter, and a selection of 17th-century fingerspelling alphabets.

The story of me

• Make your own mark on history and create a comic book to tell your story.

Deaf life: past and present

• These conversation cards are designed to get you talking about how life for deaf people has changed since the 1660s.

Videos with BSL interpretation

• Watch these videos about life in 17th-century London, Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London with BSL interpretation
• Visit The Great Fire of London teaching resources for activities accompanying these videos

What was life like in 17th-century London?

Please note, this video contains a street scene from the plague at 00:23.

Who was Samuel Pepys?

Photograph of the Pepys Library by Andrew Dunn (CC BY-SA 2.0)

How did they rebuild London after the Great Fire?

Produced by the Reimagining the Restoration project, a partnership project between the Museum of London and the University of Leicester. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

(grant ref. AH/W003651/1)

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