Discover a snapshot of German life in early 18th-century London! Short talks, an exhibition of rarely displayed historical paintings, documents, and liturgical silverware, and an organ recital uncover the contributions of this little-known migrant community’s by tracing the life of Georg Andreas Ruperti, Lutheran minister at St Mary’s and Court Preacher at St. James’s Palace, showcasing his work with German refugees housed in camps in London (1709-10), his role as an intercultural mediator, and the scientific contribution of his Herbarium.

Detailed programme information

Two 15-minute lightning talks (starting at 15:00) by Dr Anna Linton (King's College London) and Dr Thomas Biskup (Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel, Germany), followed by an audience-led Q&A, will give lively introductions to the German community in 18th-century London. Linton will paint a wider picture of this community before focusing on its response to the influx of several thousand German Protestant migrants ('Palatines') in 1709-10 who were housed in Blackheath and elsewhere in London in early modern refugee camps. Having introduced Ruperti as a key figure in organising support for these migrants, Biskup will reveal the extensive transnational, interdenominational, cross-disciplinary network in which Ruperti operated, focusing especially on his botanical research (his Herbarium) which locates him at the interface of science and faith as well as English and German scholarship.

A self-guided exhibition (15:45–17:00) of posters and objects further illustrates the life and contributions of this community, featuring historical documents from the National Archives and oil portraits of pastors and church wardens and liturgical silver ware of the late 17th and early18th centuries otherwise not displayed to the general public. One poster addresses the acts of cultural translation that made traditional German hymns available and popular in England and a concluding organ recital by renowned organist Richard Brasier (starting at 16:30) will feature tunes played and sung around 1700 at St Mary’s.

This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 6th – 15th November 2025. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.