Background
Pepys was born at Bunstead, Essex the son of John Pepys of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire and his wife Elizabeth Bendish, daughter of John Bendish of Bowes Hall, Essex.
Pepys was born at Bunstead, Essex the son of John Pepys of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire and his wife Elizabeth Bendish, daughter of John Bendish of Bowes Hall, Essex.
He entered Middle Temple in 1609 and was called to the bar in 1617. He was a bencher of his inn in 1636 and acted as reader in 1640. He was active in local government, attending meetings of the County Committee for Suffolk between 1642 and 1648.
He acted as treasurer of the Middle Temple in 1648.
He was appointed Baron of the Exchequer on 30 May 1654 and became Serjeant-at-Law at the same time. He was appointed Chief Justice of Ireland in 1654 between 22 August and 3 November.
He sat in court with Miles Corbet on occasion and was also appointed chief justice of the Upper Bench and commissioner of the great seal in 1655. He was on the circuit in Ulster in early 1657.
In 1658, he presented books to the Inner Temple.
He died suddenly in 1659 and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. Pepys married firstly Judith Cutte, daughter of Sir William Cutte of Arkesden, in 1620. Pepys was grieved at the death of Judith, "a good woman", the more so since like so many of the Pepys family of their generation, she was childless: "it is a sad consideration how the Pepys"s do decay.".
Short Parliament]
In April 1640, Pepys was elected Member of Parliament for Sudbury in the Short Parliament.