In this episode of Find My Past the TV show, three people learn about their ancestors' dramatic experiences of the Great Fire of London, which consumed four fifths of the medieval wooden city in 1666.
Huthrie Copplestone discovers that her ancestor is famous diarist Samuel Pepys, who recorded the destruction of the fire.
Schoolboy William Taswell also wrote about the fire and witnessed it at close quarters. Taswell's descendant Nigel Milne is keen to learn more about his ancestor and discovers that he lives in the same part of London where Taswell lived in 1666.
Samuel Pepys' boss at the Admiralty where he worked was James Duke of York, later crowned James II. James II is often thought of as a poor monarch, losing the throne after just three years. During the fire, however, he saved many of London's buildings, including the Tower of London.
James II's descendant Dr Simon Claridge knows he's related to royalty, but is amazed to learn that he's doubly related to James II.
