Did Samuel Pepys really bury his cheese during the Great Fire of London?
Yes. On September 4, 1666, with London burning a few streets away, the most fastidious diarist of the seventeenth century buried his Parmesan cheese and his wine in the garden, then went back to writing everything down. In this episode of Our Next Collar, four animal witnesses tell the Great Fire from four positions: Pepys's cat in the garden, a demolition horse in the streets, a shop dog from Cheapside, and a crow above St. Paul's as the cathedral burned.
History remembers the famous. Their pets remember the person. On Our Next Collar, a brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee can reach the animals of history, and they tell what they really saw. This is the Witnesses format: several animals, one event, and the discovery that the same day was many different days depending on where you stood. True, surprising, and great for curious kids and the grown-ups listening with them.
This episode is fully scripted and has passed the Talking With Pets accuracy review. The recording is in production. The audio player and the full transcript will appear right here the day the episode goes live. Join the founding list below and we will write to you when it does.
From the episode
Armando: That seems, in its way, practical.
Pepys's cat: (extremely dry) He buried the Parmesan.
Chaco: (looking at his ward-by-ward timeline, then setting it down) You're all describing September 4. And you're all somewhere different.
Pepys's cat: I was in a garden watching a man bury his cheese.
The fire of September 1666, Pudding Lane, the 13,200 houses, the lead running off St. Paul's, and the Parmesan Pepys buried and dug up undamaged are real. The four voices are ours.
Sources and further reading
- The Great Fire of London, September 2 to 6, 1666: the Pudding Lane bakery origin, about 13,200 houses and 87 churches destroyed, 373 acres burned, and the firebreak strategy. Museum of London. museumoflondon.org.uk
- The Diary of Samuel Pepys, September 1666: waking at three in the morning, the boat on the Thames, the buried Parmesan and wine, the king watching from the riverbank, and nine years of daily entries. Public domain editions of the diary.
- St. Paul's Cathedral, September 4, 1666: the wooden scaffolding, the melted lead running in the streets, the booksellers' vault; Christopher Wren's new cathedral, completed 1710. St Paul's Cathedral. stpauls.co.uk
- The death toll: fewer than ten confirmed, possibly higher, remarkably low for the scale. Museum of London. museumoflondon.org.uk
- Pepys's cat: cats appear in the diary entries of the period; the character's testimony about Pepys's actions is sourced to the diary, and her opinions are labeled as inference.
All historical claims above were checked in the Talking With Pets accuracy review, most recently the full editorial pass of July 2026.
Did Samuel Pepys really bury his cheese during the Great Fire of London?
Yes. On September 4, 1666, Pepys buried his Parmesan cheese and his wine in his garden at Seething Lane while the fire moved through the city, then went back to writing in his diary. He later dug the cheese up undamaged. Source: the Diary of Samuel Pepys.
How did the Great Fire of London start?
It started by accident in a bakery on Pudding Lane in the early morning of September 2, 1666, and spread fast through a dense medieval city of wooden buildings and narrow streets. It burned until September 6, destroying about 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and 373 acres of the city. Source: Museum of London.
Did St. Paul's Cathedral really burn?
Yes. Old St. Paul's burned on September 4, 1666. The lead on the roof melted and ran in the streets, and the booksellers' stock stored in the vault was lost. Christopher Wren designed the new St. Paul's, completed in 1710, which still stands today. Source: St Paul's Cathedral; Museum of London.
How many people died in the Great Fire?
Fewer than ten deaths were confirmed, though the true number may have been higher. Given that most of the city burned, the confirmed toll is remarkably low. Firebreaks, buildings pulled down ahead of the flames, were the main way the fire was fought. Source: Museum of London.
What is Our Next Collar, and is it good for kids?
Our Next Collar is an educational history podcast for curious kids ages 6 to 10 and the grown-ups listening with them. A brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee reaches the pets of history, and one of them tells the true story of the person they knew. Every episode lists its sources and says plainly which parts are real and which are ours, which makes it a quiet lesson in how to weigh sources. It is a podcast from Talking With Pets.
Our Next Collar Ā· the true stories only the animals saw.
Chaco, Roxie, Moose, Prince MoRee, and Armando are getting the pilot ready. Join the founding list and we will write to you when the first episodes go live. Listen with someone you like.