Thomas Dalmahoy MP (c 1620 – 1682) came from a 13th century Scottish knightly family.
Thomas Dalmahoy was in the service of the Hamiltons by 1632, but later claimed to have ‘suffered for my constant loyalty and duty to his Majesty [Charles II] and to his father of blessed memory’.
As master of the horse to William, 2nd Duke of Hamilton, who was mortally wounded at the second battle of Worcester, Thomas Dalmahoy arranged his funeral, and on 19 June 1655, married Lady Elizabeth Maxwell, Duchess of Hamilton, the widow of said 2nd Duke. [THERE'S A STORY HERE I'D LOVE TO KNOW.]
The Hamilton estates in Scotland remained sequestrated; but as coheir to her father (James Maxwell, 1st Earl of Dirletoun who had died in 1650), Lady Elizabeth Maxwell Dalmahoy, Dowager Duchess of Hamilton brought The Friary and interest at Guildford, Surrey for Thomas (although her daughters disputed some part of this).
Samuel Pepys, meeting the ‘Scotch gentleman’ on his way to the exiled Court in May 1660, found Thomas Dalmahoy ‘a very fine man’, and Speaker Onslow, whose family was kin to Dalmahoy’s second wife (Lady Elizabeth Muschamp Clerke) called him genteel and generous.
Thomas Dalmahoy was proposed for the order of the Royal Oak, with an income of £1,200 p.a., but that never happened. [WHAT DID HE DO TO EARN IT?]
Thomas Dalmahoy was returned for Guildford at a by-election in 1664, with the personal support of the Duke of York.
A moderately active Member of the Cavalier Parliament, Thomas Dalmahoy was appointed to 49 committees, acted as teller in 3 divisions, and made 10 recorded speeches.
Although a consistent supporter of the Government, Thomas Dalmahoy MP joined forces with Sir Nicholas Carew of the country party to oppose the Wey navigation bill in 1665, and secured its rejection on first reading. [The river Wey flows by Guildford.]
Thomas Dalmahoy MP was appointed to the committee for the continuation of the Conventicles Act in 1668.
A friend of James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, Thomas Dalmahoy MP appeared on both lists of the court party in 1669-71.
When the Wey navigation bill was reintroduced in 1670, Thomas Dalmahoy MP submitted a proviso and was appointed to the committee.
Charles Maitland, Lord Halton, the brother of John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, had acquired the property next to Thomas Dalmahoy MP’s ancestral home in Dalmahoy, Ratho, Midlothian, and so it was a neighbor he was defending against the increasingly vociferous demands for Lauderdale’s removal. Dalmahoy pointed out on 13 Jan. 1674 that the Duke of Lauderdale was not in Scotland when the Scottish Parliament gave the Government the power to use the militia outside their own country.
John Lindsay, Earl of Lindsay and 17th Earl of Crawford, was also released from Windsor Castle on 3 March along with John Maitland, Earl of Lauderdale. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
"John Maitland, Earl of Lauderdale, recently released from Windsor Castle"
Prisoners discharged. A Letter from Colonel Whitchcot, from Windsor-Castle, 22d February 1659; and a Warrant of the 27th Day of November 1656, signed "He. Lawrence, President," directed to the Governor of Windsor-Castle, to receive into his Charge John Earl of Crawford Lindsey; and another Warrant, signed "He. Lawrence, President," dated the 17th of January 1656, directed to the Governor of Windsor-Castle, to take into his Charge the Body of John Lord Sinclare; and another Warrant, dated 14 January 1656, signed "Oliver P." to detain and keep under Imprisonment the Body of the Earl of Lauderdale; were read.
¶Ordered, That the Earl of Crawford Lindsey, the Earl of Lawderdale, and the Lord Sinclare, now Prisoners in Windsor Castle, shall be discharged of their Imprisonment, upon giving Security to the Council of State, to whom it is referred to take the same, not to act any thing prejudicial to this Commonwealth. https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
When he left Windsor, Lauderdale was said to be so poor he couldn't afford a new pair of boots. Maybe he had to sell his books on Hebrew, etc. which he had been studying during captivity? I wonder who took him in. Maybe the families of his fellow captives? Maybe the Murrays at Ham House, Richmond? He's now travelling with the best of companions, Sir John Greville.
So begins 20 years of service to Charles II, and with it, more personal power than anyone other than the royals. That's not a spoiler because he had nothing to do with the Navy and little to do with Pepys, but when he does crop up, don't underestimate this member of the Privy Council.
When I said the Killigrews were everywhere, I should have directed you to the last paragraph of this story, and the physical evidence of Charles II's liaisons during the Interregnum: https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
What "Black Betty's" relationship was to Sir Peter, I do not know. Cousin - sister - aunt???
PACKET -- The ‘King’s Post’ was how official mail was handled, both on inland routes and internationally. State dispatches were called ‘packets’ after the French word ‘paquet’, refering to how these items were packaged and sealed.
In 1674 the Post Master General proposed a sea route to Spain and Portugal from Plymouth or Fowey; the service would be financed by passengers and freight.
Falmouth, established as a new town in 1661, with its deep estuary, good anchorage and located on the south-west coast, became an important Packet station in 1688.
By the 1680s, communications between Britain, the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean had became difficult, because France cut off the land routes. A major part of Britain’s trade was with Spain and Portugal, and via them to the Americas and West Indies, so an alternative route had to be found. In the late 1680s or early 1690s the first service between Falmouth and the Groyne of Corunna was established. By 1705 there was regular service to the West Indies and the Americas.
For over 150 years, 1688 to 1850, Falmouth Packet ships filled the harbor. The Packet Service made Falmouth the information hub of the Empire, second only to London for knowing the latest news.
The packet service was part of the General Post Office (GPO), under the Post Master General. Packet Commanders were hired by the GPO for a route in his own manned and equipped ship, at £1,800 p.a. The ships was inspected, and if a ship was built specifically as a Packetship, it was inspected to ensure it complied with GPO specifications.
In war time the mail was kept on deck, ready to be hung over the side if engaged. Mail was stored in regulated, weather-proofm leather portmanteaus. They were weighted with iron so they would sink if jettisoned. When a packet ship was threatened, the portmanteau was hung over the side, ready to be cut away if necessary. Sometimes portmanteaux did not sink and fell into enemy hands. If this happened the commander was called to account by a committee of his fellow captains. It was better to lose documents, as they were usually made in duplicated for dispatch on other packet ships.
Packet crews were protected from Naval impressment. The crew was kept on the ship’s books at the end of a voyage, working on the docked ship, enjoying shore leave, safe from the press gangs. But if a packet ship was lost, impressment protection was lost. The surviving crew was rescued by a merchant ship and taken to Spithead, where the press gang immediately boarded and ‘pressed’ the experienced crew into service.
When I said the Killigrews were everywhere, perhaps I should have directed you to the last paragraph of this story, and the physical evidence of Charles II's liaisons during the Interregnum: https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
What "Black Betty's" relationship was to Sir Peter, I do not know. Cousin - sister - aunt???
Scube, in my readings I came across a back story about Lambert, and one reason he didn't earn a reprieve. I posted it at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
It contains no spoilers of any consequence. It is an insight into how complicated people's relationships were during these difficult years.
Lambert loved gardening, and during his time of idleness at Wimbledon House during Oliver's Protectorate, he sent coded letters to Sir Christopher, Lord Hatton, exiled in Paris, ordering tulip bulbs.
After his failed uprising in 1660, Sir John Lambert, at 41, was condemned to death, but his sentence was commuted by Charles II to life imprisonment, and he was sent to Castle Cornet on Guernsey, where the Governor was ordered to “give such liberty and indulgence to Col. John Lambert within the precincts of the island as will consist with the security of his person”. The Governor was none other than Sir Christopher, Lord Hatton.
This turned out to be an unhappy encounter: they may have been united by the love of flowers – Gen. John Lambert was allowed to devote his time at Castle Cornet to creating a garden on the top level next to the round tower, between the two parallel walls – but the Governor and the prisoner were to be divided by love.
Gen. Lambert’s family, including his daughter Mary, were allowed regular visits and even stayed on Guernsey. Gov. Hatton’s entire family, including both his sons, were also residents. The inevitable encounters took place: Charles Hatton fell for Mary Lambert and they married in secret.
Gov. Hatton did not find out for more than a year, and when he did, he was furious, as was Charles II, who thought the liaison with such a prominent ‘traitor’ was because of laxness and complicity on Hatton’s part.
Gov. Hatton responded by telling Charles II that the match was made entirely without his knowledge, and how strongly he disapproved. So strongly, he turned his son out, and cut him off without a penny.
Nevertheless, Charles II removed Gov. Hatton from his position, and Gen. Lambert was later moved to Drakes Island in Plymouth Sound, where he died in 1684.
[For more about Lambert, see David Farr, John Lambert: Parliamentary Soldier and Cromwellian Major-General, 1619-1684, Boydell, 2003]
Love of gardening may cut across many boundaries, BUT there are limits. It’s fine to ship tulips and anemones to your political enemies -- but you don’t want your children to marry them. https://thegardenstrust.blog/2015…
I note Montagu was too wise to have an opinion about the breeding of this cousin of Monck's -- Sir Peter Killigrew's family was everywhere, and very well connected.
Stroll along Grove Place opposite Discovery Quay in Falmouth and you will find Arwenack House. It is the oldest building in town, originally built in 1385 and rebuilt around 1567-1571 by Sir John Killigrew, the first Governor of Pendennis Castle. At the time it was described as ‘the finest and most costly house in the country’.
The Killigrew family were the most powerful family in Cornwall and lived there for about 16 generations. And they were also notorious as Mary Killigrew, Sir John Killigrew’s wife, was also one of Cornwall’s most infamous pirates!
Much of Arwenack House was destroyed during the Civil Wars when it was the headquarters of the Roundhead Army besieging Pendennis Castle, so it was rebuilt again in 1786.
It was Sir Peter Killigrew MP who was persuaded by Charles II to make the town the Royal Mail Packet Station.
The Killigrew's dominance ended in the 18th century when the heir was killed in a duel. His son-in-law took the Killigrew name – but had no heirs bringing to an end one of the most powerful dynasties in Cornwall. https://www.falmouth.co.uk/discov…
Sir Peter Killigrew MP's (1593 - 1668) Parliamentary bio:
He was born circa 1593, the 4th son of John Killigrew of Arwennack, Falmouth, Cornwall, by Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Monck of Potheridge, Merton, Devon. I.E. He is Gen. Monck's cousin
He married in 1625, Mary, da. of Thomas Lucas of Colchester, Essex, and they had a son and a daughter. I.E. He is related to the Duchess of Newcastle
His ancestors held manorial property in Cornwall under Henry III, and first represented a Cornish borough in 1553
Peter, like many of his family, made his career at Court. He acted as diplomatic courier during Prince Charles’ visit to Spain in 1623, for which King Charles I knighted him in 1625
In 1633 Sir Peter Killigrew inherited Arwennack from his brother, but it had been reduced by litigation and extravagance to £800 p.a., so he accepted employment from Parliament as a messenger during the Civil Wars. He was rewarded by the Rump with the grant of a market at Smithwick on Carrick Roads, Falmouth, where he continued the development begun by his father
Killigrew held local office under the Protectorate, and his cousin George Monck secured his return to Richard Cromwell’s Parliament for a Scottish constituency, and his appointment as governor of Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, on the return of the secluded Members
Killigrew was twice involved in double returns for Helston, Cornwall in 1660; Lord Wharton marked him as a friend, but he was never allowed to sit, despite favorable recommendations from the elections committee
Sir Peter Killigrew MP delivered to Charles II a letter of thanks from Gen. Monck for the Declaration of Breda and expressions of loyalty from the fleet.
In September 1660, Sir Peter Killigrew MP surrendered Pendennis Castle to Richard Arundell in exchange for a pension of £300.
Successful at Helston in the general election of 1661, Killigrew was again listed by Wharton as a friend.
An inactive Member of the Cavalier Parliament, Sir Peter Killigrew MP was appointed to only 10 committees.
Listed as a court dependant in 1664, Killigrew obtained a charter for Smithwick under the name of Falmouth, and arranged for the transfer of the very profitable customs house from Penryn.
Killigrew raised money to build and endow a church dedicated to King Charles the Martyr, and promoted a bill to make it parochial.
On 1 Dec. 1664 Sir Peter Killigrew Snr. MP was ordered to attend the committee of privileges on a charge of ‘affronting and assaulting Sir Richard Everard’, but no report was made.
Appropriately enough for so indefatigable a traveler, Sir Peter Killigrew MP died at Exeter on the road to London. It was reported on 5 Aug. 1668 that his body was to be returned to Falmouth for burial in the church that he had founded.
"I remember that last night upon discourse concerning Clarges my Lord told me that he was a man of small entendimiento."
Montagu's being a snob again! From Clarges Parliamentary bio I think this may illustrate why the wealthy lawyer who enjoyed huntin', shootin' and fishin' at his country estate found entertaining these working types so difficult:
"A ‘bigoted’ High Churchman, Sir Thomas Clarges MP, with his modest London origins, was not an archetypal country gentleman. Although Clarges later in life came to own much land in the home counties, his chief interests and links were always metropolitan. ... Even in the last years of his life, Sir Thomas Clarges MP showed little inclination for the steadier life of a country gentleman and seldom left the capital. Self-conscious of his acquired genteel status, Sir Thomas Clarges MP was attached to the ‘succession of posterity’ which he regarded as ‘one of the greatest blessings and felicities of this life’."
I.E. Clarges did not believe in rocking the boat -- and Montagu was instrumental in the biggest boat rocking in a generation.
"... a packet to Mr. Downing, to acquaint him with what had been done lately in the fleet. And this I did by my Lord’s command, who, I thank him, did of himself think of doing it, to do me a kindness, for he writ a letter himself to him, thanking him for his kindness to me."
Now that is a grace note if ever I heard of one. Montagu is a gentleman. And he's teaching Pepys how to be one. Pay attention, Pepys. Things like this will take you far in nobleman land.
Dr. Thomas Clarges -- brother of Ann Clarges, Monck's laundress at the Tower during his imprisonment 10 years ago. Reading his biograghy changes my view of Ann Clarges Monck.
She must have been like Pall -- the parents put all their efforts into educating the son(s), and Ann stayed at home, running errands, cooking and cleaning. No dowry, she made a bad match, and after a while the husband disappeared. She found a job at the Tower to support herself. She was kind to a political prisoner, and Monck never forgot it.
Moral of the story: No one knows what the future has in store for you, so just keep moving forward. It's probably not going to be "tidy" or logical.
Pall is cousin to Edward Montagu as well. She could easily end up being a maid at the Tower after the parents die, if her brothers don't take care of her.
"... the House did deliver their letter to Sir John Greenville, in answer to the King’s sending, and that they give him 500/. for his pains, ..."
An independent example of a gratuity being paid by the beneficiary for services rendered. Pepys is doing nothing wrong in accepting gifts from grateful people.
mwainer has found a confirmation that Montagu did personally receive a copy of the Declaration of Breda letter from Charles II. "Five copies of the document were sent to England's centers of power -- the House of Commons, the City of London, the Army, the House of Lords and the Navy -- where they each helped gather key support for Charles II."
"I perceive his [MONTAGU] being willing to do all the honour in the world to Monk, and to let him have all the honour of doing the business, though he will many times express his thoughts of him to be but a thick-sculled fool."
OK -- now we have Pepys' word for it that Montagu at the very least was a snob. You shouldn't judge the older general by his 50-year-old appearance, or by his thick Devonian accent, Montagu. He'd conducting a fine PR campaign in London right now.
The elegant, noble courtier, a lawyer by training, was "a true Renaissance man: the generous patron, the cheerful if sometimes moody companion, the hopeless manager of money, the competent artist and musician. He had an ear for languages, mastering Spanish by the end of his embassy, and his fascination with topography, mathematics, astronomy, and navigation emerges clearly from his manuscript journals." -- https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… Montagu was 20 when he went to war in 1644.
In contrast Monck was an Army brat: "The younger son of an impoverished Devon landowner, Monck began his military career in 1625 [WHEN HE WAS 17] and served in the Eighty Years' War until 1638, when he returned to England. Posted to Ireland as part of the army sent to suppress the Irish Rebellion of 1641, he quickly gained a reputation for efficiency and ruthlessness. After Charles I agreed to a truce with the Catholic Confederacy in September 1643, he was captured fighting for the Royalists at Nantwich in January 1644 and remained a prisoner for the next two years. [I GUESS THIS IS WHEN HE MET THE QUESTIONABLE MRS. MONCK.] "Released in 1647, he was named Parliamentarian commander in Eastern Ulster, fought in Scotland under Oliver Cromwell in the 1650 to 1652 Anglo-Scottish War, and served as General at sea during the 1652 to 1654 First Anglo-Dutch War. From 1655 to 1660, he was army commander in Scotland, and his support for moderates in Parliament who wanted to restore the monarchy proved decisive in Charles II regaining his throne in May 1660." https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
You don't earn a resume like that by being "a thick-sculled fool." A thick-skinned pragmatist, more like it. Monck knew how to get the job done, using the carrot and the stick equally effectively.
(Devonians are still complaining that people from London are prejudiced against their accent. I know -- I lived in Devon as a teen, and was never accepted by the locals because I talked like a Londoner.)
"In the evening as I was going on board the Vice-Admiral, the General [MONTAGU] began to fire his guns, which he did all that he had in the ship, and so did all the rest of the Commanders, which was very gallant, and to hear the bullets go hissing over our heads as we were in the boat."
Well, that answers our question from a few days ago, whether or not there was shot or canon balls in the guns -- makes a bigger bang if there is, but it is a waste of valuable ammo.
There were bullets -- but I doubt there were cannon balls.
"... drinking his health upon their knees in the streets, ..."
I doubt Deal's streets were any cleaner than London's. And that was -- filthy. And I'm not talking about candy wrappers and cigarette butts.
Cities on hills used to have the night soil men come by with water carts and wash down the streets at 2 a.m. Then the waste could be collected from the bottom of the hill. London is pretty flat, so how did they do it? Shovels and pails?
Toasting the King on their knees on the cobblestones would not be a nice experience. They were showing how dedicated they were to the idea. (Must have been drunk to do it, I suspect.)
"... they continued bare all the time it was reading."
Sir John Greville and his companions (bodyguards?) stood, barehead, before the Commons while the letter was read. This showed their respect for the House. To have kept their hats on would have been a disrespectful visual message to the representatives of the English public (the Irish and Scots had not been included in these sessions, don't know about the Welsh).
Comments
Third Reading
About Thomas Dalmahoy
San Diego Sarah • Link
Thomas Dalmahoy MP (c 1620 – 1682) came from a 13th century Scottish knightly family.
Thomas Dalmahoy was in the service of the Hamiltons by 1632, but later claimed to have ‘suffered for my constant loyalty and duty to his Majesty [Charles II] and to his father of blessed memory’.
As master of the horse to William, 2nd Duke of Hamilton, who was mortally wounded at the second battle of Worcester, Thomas Dalmahoy arranged his funeral, and on 19 June 1655, married Lady Elizabeth Maxwell, Duchess of Hamilton, the widow of said 2nd Duke. [THERE'S A STORY HERE I'D LOVE TO KNOW.]
The Hamilton estates in Scotland remained sequestrated; but as coheir to her father (James Maxwell, 1st Earl of Dirletoun who had died in 1650), Lady Elizabeth Maxwell Dalmahoy, Dowager Duchess of Hamilton brought The Friary and interest at Guildford, Surrey for Thomas (although her daughters disputed some part of this).
Samuel Pepys, meeting the ‘Scotch gentleman’ on his way to the exiled Court in May 1660, found Thomas Dalmahoy ‘a very fine man’, and Speaker Onslow, whose family was kin to Dalmahoy’s second wife (Lady Elizabeth Muschamp Clerke) called him genteel and generous.
Thomas Dalmahoy was proposed for the order of the Royal Oak, with an income of £1,200 p.a., but that never happened. [WHAT DID HE DO TO EARN IT?]
Thomas Dalmahoy was returned for Guildford at a by-election in 1664, with the personal support of the Duke of York.
A moderately active Member of the Cavalier Parliament, Thomas Dalmahoy was appointed to 49 committees, acted as teller in 3 divisions, and made 10 recorded speeches.
Although a consistent supporter of the Government, Thomas Dalmahoy MP joined forces with Sir Nicholas Carew of the country party to oppose the Wey navigation bill in 1665, and secured its rejection on first reading. [The river Wey flows by Guildford.]
Thomas Dalmahoy MP was appointed to the committee for the continuation of the Conventicles Act in 1668.
A friend of James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, Thomas Dalmahoy MP appeared on both lists of the court party in 1669-71.
When the Wey navigation bill was reintroduced in 1670, Thomas Dalmahoy MP submitted a proviso and was appointed to the committee.
Charles Maitland, Lord Halton, the brother of John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, had acquired the property next to Thomas Dalmahoy MP’s ancestral home in Dalmahoy, Ratho, Midlothian, and so it was a neighbor he was defending against the increasingly vociferous demands for Lauderdale’s removal.
Dalmahoy pointed out on 13 Jan. 1674 that the Duke of Lauderdale was not in Scotland when the Scottish Parliament gave the Government the power to use the militia outside their own country.
About Friday 11 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
John Lindsay, Earl of Lindsay and 17th Earl of Crawford, was also released from Windsor Castle on 3 March along with John Maitland, Earl of Lauderdale.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Thursday 10 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"John Maitland, Earl of Lauderdale, recently released from Windsor Castle"
Prisoners discharged.
A Letter from Colonel Whitchcot, from Windsor-Castle, 22d February 1659; and a Warrant of the 27th Day of November 1656, signed "He. Lawrence, President," directed to the Governor of Windsor-Castle, to receive into his Charge John Earl of Crawford Lindsey; and another Warrant, signed "He. Lawrence, President," dated the 17th of January 1656, directed to the Governor of Windsor-Castle, to take into his Charge the Body of John Lord Sinclare; and another Warrant, dated 14 January 1656, signed "Oliver P." to detain and keep under Imprisonment the Body of the Earl of Lauderdale; were read.
¶Ordered, That the Earl of Crawford Lindsey, the Earl of Lawderdale, and the Lord Sinclare, now Prisoners in Windsor Castle, shall be discharged of their Imprisonment, upon giving Security to the Council of State, to whom it is referred to take the same, not to act any thing prejudicial to this Commonwealth.
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
When he left Windsor, Lauderdale was said to be so poor he couldn't afford a new pair of boots. Maybe he had to sell his books on Hebrew, etc. which he had been studying during captivity? I wonder who took him in. Maybe the families of his fellow captives? Maybe the Murrays at Ham House, Richmond? He's now travelling with the best of companions, Sir John Greville.
So begins 20 years of service to Charles II, and with it, more personal power than anyone other than the royals. That's not a spoiler because he had nothing to do with the Navy and little to do with Pepys, but when he does crop up, don't underestimate this member of the Privy Council.
About Falmouth, Cornwall
San Diego Sarah • Link
More about Sir Peter, the Killigrew family in general, and their attachment to the growth of Falmouth at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Wednesday 9 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
When I said the Killigrews were everywhere, I should have directed you to the last paragraph of this story, and the physical evidence of Charles II's liaisons during the Interregnum:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
What "Black Betty's" relationship was to Sir Peter, I do not know. Cousin - sister - aunt???
About Sunday 1 April 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
PACKET -- The ‘King’s Post’ was how official mail was handled, both on inland routes and internationally. State dispatches were called ‘packets’ after the French word ‘paquet’, refering to how these items were packaged and sealed.
In 1674 the Post Master General proposed a sea route to Spain and Portugal from Plymouth or Fowey; the service would be financed by passengers and freight.
Falmouth, established as a new town in 1661, with its deep estuary, good anchorage and located on the south-west coast, became an important Packet station in 1688.
By the 1680s, communications between Britain, the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean had became difficult, because France cut off the land routes. A major part of Britain’s trade was with Spain and Portugal, and via them to the Americas and West Indies, so an alternative route had to be found.
In the late 1680s or early 1690s the first service between Falmouth and the Groyne of Corunna was established.
By 1705 there was regular service to the West Indies and the Americas.
For over 150 years, 1688 to 1850, Falmouth Packet ships filled the harbor. The Packet Service made Falmouth the information hub of the Empire, second only to London for knowing the latest news.
The packet service was part of the General Post Office (GPO), under the Post Master General. Packet Commanders were hired by the GPO for a route in his own manned and equipped ship, at £1,800 p.a. The ships was inspected, and if a ship was built specifically as a Packetship, it was inspected to ensure it complied with GPO specifications.
In war time the mail was kept on deck, ready to be hung over the side if engaged. Mail was stored in regulated, weather-proofm leather portmanteaus. They were weighted with iron so they would sink if jettisoned. When a packet ship was threatened, the portmanteau was hung over the side, ready to be cut away if necessary. Sometimes portmanteaux did not sink and fell into enemy hands. If this happened the commander was called to account by a committee of his fellow captains. It was better to lose documents, as they were usually made in duplicated for dispatch on other packet ships.
Packet crews were protected from Naval impressment. The crew was kept on the ship’s books at the end of a voyage, working on the docked ship, enjoying shore leave, safe from the press gangs. But if a packet ship was lost, impressment protection was lost. The surviving crew was rescued by a merchant ship and taken to Spithead, where the press gang immediately boarded and ‘pressed’ the experienced crew into service.
Excerpts from https://nmmc.co.uk/2021/09/the-ca…
https://www.thehistoricalfictionc…
About Sir Peter Killigrew
San Diego Sarah • Link
When I said the Killigrews were everywhere, perhaps I should have directed you to the last paragraph of this story, and the physical evidence of Charles II's liaisons during the Interregnum:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
What "Black Betty's" relationship was to Sir Peter, I do not know. Cousin - sister - aunt???
About Saturday 14 April 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Scube, in my readings I came across a back story about Lambert, and one reason he didn't earn a reprieve. I posted it at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
It contains no spoilers of any consequence. It is an insight into how complicated people's relationships were during these difficult years.
About Maj.-Gen. John Lambert
San Diego Sarah • Link
Lambert loved gardening, and during his time of idleness at Wimbledon House during Oliver's Protectorate, he sent coded letters to Sir Christopher, Lord Hatton, exiled in Paris, ordering tulip bulbs.
After his failed uprising in 1660, Sir John Lambert, at 41, was condemned to death, but his sentence was commuted by Charles II to life imprisonment, and he was sent to Castle Cornet on Guernsey, where the Governor was ordered to “give such liberty and indulgence to Col. John Lambert within the precincts of the island as will consist with the security of his person”. The Governor was none other than Sir Christopher, Lord Hatton.
This turned out to be an unhappy encounter: they may have been united by the love of flowers – Gen. John Lambert was allowed to devote his time at Castle Cornet to creating a garden on the top level next to the round tower, between the two parallel walls – but the Governor and the prisoner were to be divided by love.
Gen. Lambert’s family, including his daughter Mary, were allowed regular visits and even stayed on Guernsey. Gov. Hatton’s entire family, including both his sons, were also residents. The inevitable encounters took place: Charles Hatton fell for Mary Lambert and they married in secret.
Gov. Hatton did not find out for more than a year, and when he did, he was furious, as was Charles II, who thought the liaison with such a prominent ‘traitor’ was because of laxness and complicity on Hatton’s part.
Gov. Hatton responded by telling Charles II that the match was made entirely without his knowledge, and how strongly he disapproved. So strongly, he turned his son out, and cut him off without a penny.
Nevertheless, Charles II removed Gov. Hatton from his position, and Gen. Lambert was later moved to Drakes Island in Plymouth Sound, where he died in 1684.
[For more about Lambert, see David Farr, John Lambert: Parliamentary Soldier and Cromwellian Major-General, 1619-1684, Boydell, 2003]
Love of gardening may cut across many boundaries, BUT there are limits. It’s fine to ship tulips and anemones to your political enemies -- but you don’t want your children to marry them.
https://thegardenstrust.blog/2015…
About Wednesday 9 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
I note Montagu was too wise to have an opinion about the breeding of this cousin of Monck's -- Sir Peter Killigrew's family was everywhere, and very well connected.
Stroll along Grove Place opposite Discovery Quay in Falmouth and you will find Arwenack House. It is the oldest building in town, originally built in 1385 and rebuilt around 1567-1571 by Sir John Killigrew, the first Governor of Pendennis Castle. At the time it was described as ‘the finest and most costly house in the country’.
The Killigrew family were the most powerful family in Cornwall and lived there for about 16 generations. And they were also notorious as Mary Killigrew, Sir John Killigrew’s wife, was also one of Cornwall’s most infamous pirates!
Much of Arwenack House was destroyed during the Civil Wars when it was the headquarters of the Roundhead Army besieging Pendennis Castle, so it was rebuilt again in 1786.
It was Sir Peter Killigrew MP who was persuaded by Charles II to make the town the Royal Mail Packet Station.
The Killigrew's dominance ended in the 18th century when the heir was killed in a duel. His son-in-law took the Killigrew name – but had no heirs bringing to an end one of the most powerful dynasties in Cornwall.
https://www.falmouth.co.uk/discov…
About Sir Peter Killigrew
San Diego Sarah • Link
Sir Peter Killigrew MP's (1593 - 1668) Parliamentary bio:
He was born circa 1593, the 4th son of John Killigrew of Arwennack, Falmouth, Cornwall, by Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Monck of Potheridge, Merton, Devon. I.E. He is Gen. Monck's cousin
He married in 1625, Mary, da. of Thomas Lucas of Colchester, Essex, and they had a son and a daughter. I.E. He is related to the Duchess of Newcastle
His ancestors held manorial property in Cornwall under Henry III, and first represented a Cornish borough in 1553
Peter, like many of his family, made his career at Court. He acted as diplomatic courier during Prince Charles’ visit to Spain in 1623, for which
King Charles I knighted him in 1625
In 1633 Sir Peter Killigrew inherited Arwennack from his brother, but it had been reduced by litigation and extravagance to £800 p.a., so he accepted employment from Parliament as a messenger during the Civil Wars.
He was rewarded by the Rump with the grant of a market at Smithwick on Carrick Roads, Falmouth, where he continued the development begun by his father
Killigrew held local office under the Protectorate, and his cousin George Monck secured his return to Richard Cromwell’s Parliament for a Scottish constituency, and his appointment as governor of Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, on the return of the secluded Members
Killigrew was twice involved in double returns for Helston, Cornwall in 1660; Lord Wharton marked him as a friend, but he was never allowed to sit, despite favorable recommendations from the elections committee
Sir Peter Killigrew MP delivered to Charles II a letter of thanks from Gen. Monck for the Declaration of Breda and expressions of loyalty from the fleet.
In September 1660, Sir Peter Killigrew MP surrendered Pendennis Castle to Richard Arundell in exchange for a pension of £300.
Successful at Helston in the general election of 1661, Killigrew was again listed by Wharton as a friend.
An inactive Member of the Cavalier Parliament, Sir Peter Killigrew MP was appointed to only 10 committees.
Listed as a court dependant in 1664, Killigrew obtained a charter for Smithwick under the name of Falmouth, and arranged for the transfer of the very profitable customs house from Penryn.
Killigrew raised money to build and endow a church dedicated to King Charles the Martyr, and promoted a bill to make it parochial.
On 1 Dec. 1664 Sir Peter Killigrew Snr. MP was ordered to attend the committee of privileges on a charge of ‘affronting and assaulting Sir Richard Everard’, but no report was made.
Appropriately enough for so indefatigable a traveler, Sir Peter Killigrew MP died at Exeter on the road to London. It was reported on 5 Aug. 1668 that his body was to be returned to Falmouth for burial in the church that he had founded.
His son, Peter Jr., also became a Member of Parliament.
https://www.historyofparliamenton…
About Sunday 6 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"I remember that last night upon discourse concerning Clarges my Lord told me that he was a man of small entendimiento."
Montagu's being a snob again! From Clarges Parliamentary bio I think this may illustrate why the wealthy lawyer who enjoyed huntin', shootin' and fishin' at his country estate found entertaining these working types so difficult:
"A ‘bigoted’ High Churchman, Sir Thomas Clarges MP, with his modest London origins, was not an archetypal country gentleman. Although Clarges later in life came to own much land in the home counties, his chief interests and links were always metropolitan. ... Even in the last years of his life, Sir Thomas Clarges MP showed little inclination for the steadier life of a country gentleman and seldom left the capital. Self-conscious of his acquired genteel status, Sir Thomas Clarges MP was attached to the ‘succession of posterity’ which he regarded as ‘one of the greatest blessings and felicities of this life’."
I.E. Clarges did not believe in rocking the boat -- and Montagu was instrumental in the biggest boat rocking in a generation.
About Saturday 5 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... a packet to Mr. Downing, to acquaint him with what had been done lately in the fleet. And this I did by my Lord’s command, who, I thank him, did of himself think of doing it, to do me a kindness, for he writ a letter himself to him, thanking him for his kindness to me."
Now that is a grace note if ever I heard of one. Montagu is a gentleman. And he's teaching Pepys how to be one. Pay attention, Pepys. Things like this will take you far in nobleman land.
About Saturday 5 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Dr. Thomas Clarges -- brother of Ann Clarges, Monck's laundress at the Tower during his imprisonment 10 years ago. Reading his biograghy changes my view of Ann Clarges Monck.
She must have been like Pall -- the parents put all their efforts into educating the son(s), and Ann stayed at home, running errands, cooking and cleaning. No dowry, she made a bad match, and after a while the husband disappeared. She found a job at the Tower to support herself. She was kind to a political prisoner, and Monck never forgot it.
Moral of the story: No one knows what the future has in store for you, so just keep moving forward. It's probably not going to be "tidy" or logical.
Pall is cousin to Edward Montagu as well. She could easily end up being a maid at the Tower after the parents die, if her brothers don't take care of her.
About Friday 4 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... the House did deliver their letter to Sir John Greenville, in answer to the King’s sending, and that they give him 500/. for his pains, ..."
An independent example of a gratuity being paid by the beneficiary for services rendered. Pepys is doing nothing wrong in accepting gifts from grateful people.
About Thursday 3 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
mwainer has found a confirmation that Montagu did personally receive a copy of the Declaration of Breda letter from Charles II. "Five copies of the document were sent to England's centers of power -- the House of Commons, the City of London, the Army, the House of Lords and the Navy -- where they each helped gather key support for Charles II."
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Thursday 3 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"I perceive his [MONTAGU] being willing to do all the honour in the world to Monk, and to let him have all the honour of doing the business, though he will many times express his thoughts of him to be but a thick-sculled fool."
OK -- now we have Pepys' word for it that Montagu at the very least was a snob. You shouldn't judge the older general by his 50-year-old appearance, or by his thick Devonian accent, Montagu. He'd conducting a fine PR campaign in London right now.
The elegant, noble courtier, a lawyer by training, was "a true Renaissance man: the generous patron, the cheerful if sometimes moody companion, the hopeless manager of money, the competent artist and musician. He had an ear for languages, mastering Spanish by the end of his embassy, and his fascination with topography, mathematics, astronomy, and navigation emerges clearly from his manuscript journals." -- https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Montagu was 20 when he went to war in 1644.
In contrast Monck was an Army brat: "The younger son of an impoverished Devon landowner, Monck began his military career in 1625 [WHEN HE WAS 17] and served in the Eighty Years' War until 1638, when he returned to England. Posted to Ireland as part of the army sent to suppress the Irish Rebellion of 1641, he quickly gained a reputation for efficiency and ruthlessness. After Charles I agreed to a truce with the Catholic Confederacy in September 1643, he was captured fighting for the Royalists at Nantwich in January 1644 and remained a prisoner for the next two years. [I GUESS THIS IS WHEN HE MET THE QUESTIONABLE MRS. MONCK.]
"Released in 1647, he was named Parliamentarian commander in Eastern Ulster, fought in Scotland under Oliver Cromwell in the 1650 to 1652 Anglo-Scottish War, and served as General at sea during the 1652 to 1654 First Anglo-Dutch War. From 1655 to 1660, he was army commander in Scotland, and his support for moderates in Parliament who wanted to restore the monarchy proved decisive in Charles II regaining his throne in May 1660."
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
You don't earn a resume like that by being "a thick-sculled fool." A thick-skinned pragmatist, more like it.
Monck knew how to get the job done, using the carrot and the stick equally effectively.
(Devonians are still complaining that people from London are prejudiced against their accent. I know -- I lived in Devon as a teen, and was never accepted by the locals because I talked like a Londoner.)
About Thursday 3 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"In the evening as I was going on board the Vice-Admiral, the General [MONTAGU] began to fire his guns, which he did all that he had in the ship, and so did all the rest of the Commanders, which was very gallant, and to hear the bullets go hissing over our heads as we were in the boat."
Well, that answers our question from a few days ago, whether or not there was shot or canon balls in the guns -- makes a bigger bang if there is, but it is a waste of valuable ammo.
There were bullets -- but I doubt there were cannon balls.
About Tuesday 1 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... drinking his health upon their knees in the streets, ..."
I doubt Deal's streets were any cleaner than London's. And that was -- filthy. And I'm not talking about candy wrappers and cigarette butts.
Cities on hills used to have the night soil men come by with water carts and wash down the streets at 2 a.m. Then the waste could be collected from the bottom of the hill. London is pretty flat, so how did they do it? Shovels and pails?
Toasting the King on their knees on the cobblestones would not be a nice experience. They were showing how dedicated they were to the idea. (Must have been drunk to do it, I suspect.)
About Wednesday 2 May 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... they continued bare all the time it was reading."
Sir John Greville and his companions (bodyguards?) stood, barehead, before the Commons while the letter was read. This showed their respect for the House. To have kept their hats on would have been a disrespectful visual message to the representatives of the English public (the Irish and Scots had not been included in these sessions, don't know about the Welsh).