Drinks in the City | The Samuel Pepys, London

As the year draws to a close, we were delighted to bring together friends from across the archives, libraries and heritage sector for an evening of celebration, connection and good cheer.

Our London Drinks Reception, hosted in partnership with the City Archivists Group, took place last week at The Samuel Pepys in the heart of the City. Set within the privately booked Balcony Bar, the venue offered spectacular views over the Thames, taking in Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern, and the Shard, creating the perfect backdrop for the occasion.

The evening was a wonderful opportunity to gather past and present clients , alongside colleagues and peers from across the industry, for a relaxed night of food, conversation and festive fun. Guests enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner and a free bar throughout the evening, with plenty of time to mingle and catch up before the games began.

Games, Competition and a Touch of Time Travel

In true TownsWeb Archiving style, the night included a playful mix of activities. Guests challenged each other to giant Jenga and Connect 4, and later took part in our Big Epic Quiz, which sparked plenty of friendly rivalry!

We also ran a special competition to guess the number of pages in a very large bound volume from our studio collection. Congratulations to Sara Pink, Director of Library and Archives at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, who submitted the closest guess and took home a luxury M&S hamper.

Left to right: Nathanael Liu, Alexandra Foulds & Sara Pink, our competition winner!

Adding an extra element of fun, our green screen photo area proved very popular. Guests posed for photos that will soon be transformed into historic scenes, offering a light-hearted bit of “time travel” to round off the evening. Keep an eye out, as we will be sharing these images very soon!

Back in time: Casper Smithson (TownsWeb) and Alexandra Foulds (Royal College of Surgeons of England)

A Big Thank You

Thank you to Barnaby Bryan, at the City Archivists Group for helping make the event what it was,  and to everyone who joined us for such a memorable evening. It was a pleasure to gather with so many members of our community, celebrate the year’s achievements, and enjoy a relaxed festive night together.

Barnaby Bryan (far left), City Archivists Group.

A special thanks to our TownsWeb team for making the night run smoothly! 

L to R: Lyssa, Karoline, Reeve, Paul M. Josh.

Take a look at our short video from the night, below:

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Thank you again to everyone who joined us, and if you couldn't make it this time, we look forward to seeing you all again at future events in 2026 and beyond!