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San Diego Sarah has posted 9,747 annotations/comments since 6 August 2015.

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Second Reading

About Sir Henry Felton

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Why was Sir Henry Felton, MP bringing news of the battle? According to Wikipedia, he was also Vice Admiral for Suffolk from 1660 - 1683.

Henry Felton took no part in the Civil War, and in 1656 was elected to Parliament for the Suffolk county office under the Protectorate.

By the summer of 1659 Henry Felton MP had become an active Royalist. Since his wife was Susanna Tollemache Felton, perhaps his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Murray Tollemache (who was closely affiliated with the Sealed Knot) had something to do with that? ... Elizabeth Murray Tollemache goes on to marry the Duke of Lauderdale (who you will remember digging for treasure with Pepys at the Tower of London a while back).

Henry Felton's daughter-in-law was the beauty, Betty Howard Felton, disinherited daughter of James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk and another Barbara Villiers (aunt of our Barbara Villiers Palmer), who eloped with his son Thomas when she was 15.

Mother Barbara Villiers was daughter of Edward Villiers, brother of George, 1st Duke of Buckingham.

The gorgeous Betty Felton goes to court and the men notice. In her short life she was the on-again-off-again mistress to the Duke of Monmouth, and another cousin, John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester -- and some other nobles I have yet to investigate.

It's such a small gene pool when you look into the relationships. While Sir Henry Felton MP might appear to play a small bit part in history, his ability to reach people and influence events should not be underestimated.

About Saturday 3 June 1665

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"I am concerned that young history students using the online diary as a resource might be misled"

I agree Sasha. I can't count the number of times I've emailed Phil Gyford asking him to remove a post in which I've made a mistake, so I can post the correct info. in the right place.
phil@gyford.com enables us to be responsible ... something they couldn't do 10 years ago.

History students: Read all the annotations before you decide on the best information.

It is fun following the process, though, while remembering some of the assumptions are questionable, as in Sasha's objection above.

About Friday 2 June 1665

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"That 2 a.m. supper: poor servants! I presume they didn't just leave a plate of bread and cheese and a mug of ale on the table for him, ..."

Pepys' maids were lucky; they had their own bedroom on the top floor. In many households they would have a pallet on the kitchen floor, under the table, in a closet, by the fire. So if one of them occasionally had to snooze in the kitchen waiting for him, they still had a good deal for the times. And for a letch, Pepys hasn't taken advantage of anyone, or beaten anyone, recently (that we know of).

About Sunday 4 June 1665

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... and then to my office, and there and in the garden discoursed with several people about business ..."

Thanks to Rev. Josselin we know it was "the season hot and dry to wonder. pastures burn and the land sins."

So here is Pepys in his hot clothes, faced with accounting all afternoon in his stuffy office with little light or breeze. I'd hang out in the garden and gossip with passing acquaintances too. When the conversation became delicate he adjourned to the office.

This is the second time I recall Pepys not referring to Sunday as "Lord's Day". I wonder if that was significant.

About Thursday 1 June 1665

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

My guess is that Sam has not retaken his vows for June, and is rewarding himself for a month of hard work before this sort of behavior costs him fines in the poor box again. Amazing he didn't go and see a play while he was at it.

About Whitehall Palace (general information)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"When the Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza — who had led a sheltered and pious existence — arrived in England to marry Charles II in 1661, she and her ladies were horrified to find noblemen blithely urinating throughout the palace. The ladies complained “that they cannot stir abroad without seeing in every corner great beastly English pricks battering against every wall.”

"Festering palace filth was one reason royal courts moved around so much. Henry VIII traveled from Hampton Court to Windsor Castle to Greenwich Palace and beyond, often completing 30 moves a year.

"Once the court vacated, servants descended, buckets and scrub brushes in hand, to remove all the human waste off the floors."

From a fun article about hygiene and poison in those days in general at: https://daily.jstor.org/hidden-po…

About Bread

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The Dutch navy, which in the 16th century was becoming a formidable force, issued to each sailor a weekly ration of half a pound of cheese, half a pound of butter, and a five-pound loaf of bread.

Historian Simon Schama calculated that a Dutch ship with a crew of 100 in 1636 would need among their provisions 450 pounds of cheese and one and a quarter tons of butter.

For more information about the economics of cows and dairy in general, I recommend: https://www.atlasobscura.com/arti…...

About Cheese

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The Dutch navy, which in the 16th century was becoming a formidable force, issued to each sailor a weekly ration of half a pound of cheese, half a pound of butter, and a five-pound loaf of bread.

Historian Simon Schama calculated that a Dutch ship with a crew of 100 in 1636 would need among their provisions 450 pounds of cheese and one and a quarter tons of butter.

For more information about the economics of cows and dairy in general, I recommend: https://www.atlasobscura.com/arti…...

About Butter

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The Dutch navy, which in the 16th century was becoming a formidable force, issued to each sailor a weekly ration of half a pound of cheese, half a pound of butter, and a five-pound loaf of bread.

Historian Simon Schama calculated that a Dutch ship with a crew of 100 in 1636 would need among their provisions 450 pounds of cheese and one and a quarter tons of butter.

For more information about the economics of cows and dairy in general, I recommend: https://www.atlasobscura.com/arti…

About Sir Allen Apsley (jr, MP Thetford)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Sir Allen Apsley is a major character in Elizabeth St.John's novel based on her family's historical records: "By Love Divided". The title comes from the fact that Sir Allen was cousin to Barbara Villiers Palmer and George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, "Oliver's Dark Lantern" St.John, Ralph Bathhurst FRS, Chancellor Edward Hyde, Lady Wilmot, Duchess of Rochester was his aunt, and regicide Col. John Hutchinson was his brother-in-law -- and there were more.

In Diary days Sir Allen was probably suffering from PTSD, and self-medicating on alcohol, along with his drinking buddy, James, Duke of York.

His wife, Francis Petre Apsley became BFF with the Princesses Anne and Mary -- which led to all sorts of intrigue after the diary.

What these men went through in 10 years of hand-to-hand combat followed by 9 years of banishment abroad being pursued by assassins (who might be their cousins) is quite extraordinary. That their behavior might not be stellar should not be a surprise.

Elizabeth's next book will probably cover 1653-1664. Name TBD.

About Nell Gwyn

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I'm recovering from surgery, and took the opportunity to read "The Darling Strumpet: A Novel of Nell Gwynn" by Gillian Bagwell. You'll be pleased to hear that Sam and Elizabeth appear almost throughout the book as friends of Nellie.

The book is excellent post-op reading ... I felt compassion for every character. However, they are portrayed as people you could recognize, as we "recognize" characteristics in Pepys' Diary: people trying to get ahead, putting dinner on the table for their children -- in contrast to the vivid and polarized ways we have learned about them from history books and films. I almost found The Darling Strumpet a let-down, but I think Bagwell has it right. I was disappointed there wasn't more about the court at Oxford, the plague, and the great fire -- but that's the problem with knowing too much about the period to start with. I wanted the book to be twice as long with more detail given about everything. Bagwell has left me questioning details and wanting more, which must be the job of a good historical fiction author.

About Friday 19 May 1665

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Just occurred to me that 'Annie the eater' is Anne Hyde who, between so many pregnancies and hearty eating, became very over weight.

About Friday 19 May 1665

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Good try, Jay, and if this is a ditty composed in the 18th century about people in the 17th, then plausible. But as I understand the context, this was composed at the time about Anne Hyde, Duchess of York's courtiers, so Anne and Mary were not born yet, or babies.

About Clocks and watches

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The big thing holding back the adoption of watches was the want of pockets, according to this article:
https://www.racked.com/2018/3/27/…

Later this century the "invention" of the waistcoat supplied gentlemen with a convenient, safe and visible way to display this expensive bauble. The vast working majority continued to rely on church-bells and watchmen -- for want of pockets (and affordable baubles).

About Sir Robert Brooke (MP Aldeburgh, Suffolk)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... and I took a coach, and to Wanstead, the house where Sir H. Mildmay died, ..."

Yet a couple of the annotations say Mildmay died in Antwerp on his way to prison in Tangier in early 1664 (his paperwork was done in March). I think Pepys is wrong -- no convicted Regicides died at home in their beds. As to Antwerp, I'd love to know where they got that information. Pepys should know -- he's paying for the shipping and must see the manifests. Yet another puzzle.

About Saturday 13 May 1665

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Sorry, no pockets at that time. Women tied on pockets like aprons, or carried fabric bags. So I guess Pepys had a man bag?

Which makes me ask another question ... we often hear of Pepys going to other offices to discuss accounts. Did he take boxes (like the Queen gets every day) ... or did he have an early version of a briefcase or suitcase?

About Thursday 2 February 1659/60

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Ah, Terry -- that sounds likely. But did the London Trained Band stretch to cavalry?

In poking around this evening these related facts appeared, but not an answer. Maybe no one knows by now.

"After the Newbury campaign in 1644 the [London] Trained Bands were not again involved on the battlefield. This was due largely to the rise of the New Model Army, as well as the reluctance of the City authorities and the soldiers themselves for the Trained Bands to participate in operations outside the immediate vicinity of the capital. But they continued to defend London until the end of the Civil Wars." -- http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/…

"On 18 Jan. 1649 he [Edward Massie] escaped and joined Charles II, under whom he served in the Worcester campaign in 1651. He was imprisoned in the Tower, but escaped again in August 1652, and became one of the most active and daring royalist conspirators. He was captured after Booth’s Rising, but escaped for the third time, and was entrusted with the seizure of Gloucester for the Royalists. In hiding in London, he helped to foment the mutiny of 1 Feb. 1660." -- http://www.historyofparliamentonl…
Quite a guy -- specialized in escaping from the Tower of London!

About Thursday 2 February 1659/60

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

The British Civil Wars Project has a slightly different timeline for these events. I'm not sure who were engaging the rioting troops and the apprentices if Monck's men don't arrive until tomorrow:

February
1 Mutiny among soldiers at St James's, who refuse to leave London until their arrears of pay are settled. Source: RCII
2 Further mutinies break out among soldiers stationed at Somerset House and Salisbury Court. Parliament orders the payment of one month's arrears, after which the soldiers obey orders and leave London. RCII
An apprentice riot breaks out at Leadenhall in support of the excluded MPs. The riot is suppressed by cavalry, and around 40 apprentices arrested, beaten up and imprisoned. RCII
3 General Monck's army arrives in London. RCII, DSP

http://bcw-project.org/timelines/…