Interesting: Pepys was at Whitehall the day before yesterday with Coventry (secretary to James, Duke of York), and no one said anything about the Queen's illness. It wasn't a secret; the information was already being printed by The Intelligencer. However, this does provide a possible answer as to why two important meetings were booked at the same time: James was half-expecting a call to go to Catherine's bedside, so it was possible the country could have been plunged into mourning at any time. The hurry wasn't in anticipation of a fun romp at Newmarket after all.
John Unthank was usually Elizabeth Pepys' tailor, and he had a large shop at Charing Cross. Pepys doesn't give us a name or location today, so we don't know where she went.
This man is hard to track down. Terry's link goes to his father, who does sound like an interesting character. His given name was Elisha, and I haven't found out when or why he changed it to Ellis. But more information can be found here:
The Robert Gertz movie of the annotated Pepys would be a blockbuster.
On to more mundane matters: "... after stepping abroad to buy a thing or two, compasses and snuffers for my wife ..."
I know why she needed compasses (you could share, Sam!), but what's a snuffer? They have worn out all their old candle snuffers, all at once? How many do you need for a 4-bedroom, 3 storey house?
The Urban Dictionary was also enlightening: "A Conspiracy Theorist who believes Obama is secretly planning a proposal requiring mandatory "End of Life Counseling" for senior citizens every five years. Similar to a birther." And we find their values confusing ...?
"... the Duke and the Africa Committee meeting in our room, Sir G. Carteret; Sir W. Compton, Mr. Coventry, Sir W. Rider, Cuttance and myself met in another room, ..."
This entry implies so much.
In 1660 a committee of six (the Earl of Pembroke, Lord Craven, Sir George Carteret, William Coventry, Sir Ellis Leighton and Cornelius Vermuyden) was named to have charge of The Company of the Royal Adventurers into Africa's affairs. In the Charter no mention was made of the office of governor or of any court of directors. Apparently it was thought that the committee of six could direct all of the company's affairs.
So Mr. Coventry is Secretary to James, Duke of York, and one of six who run the African Corporation. They had just completed their second round of fund raising in September, so presumably this meeting was about what to do next and how to spend the money. Why didn't Coventry go to that meeting?
Secondly note the semi-colon after Carteret's name on the list of people. I understand Pepys didn't use punctuation, so what we see is the translator's understanding of what goes where. Carteret was another of the six who ran the African Corp., so I agree that is probably the committee he belonged in, but he could just as easily have joined the Tangier committee even thought he wasn't listed by Pepys as one of the original members.
Why were both of these important meetings scheduled at the same time?
Perhaps James' busy social schedule has him off to Newmarket tomorrow or something? Perhaps we will find out later. I hope so -- both committees have such influence over the future.
An amazing set of annotations; I'll be busy for a month digesting it all. I'm sure you all had a good time putting the above together.
It seems to me that after Pepys' last round with Mrs. Lane, followed by uncouth behavior motivated by guilt and self-loathing, he pulled himself together and allowed Elizabeth to go to Brampton with him. She nearly died on the trip, which might have been a wake-up call, and he seems to be generally happy with her now. Simultaneously he doesn't want to spend any money or time on companions or extra-curricular activities like dancing lessons, and seems realize she needs things to do. Decorating her closet and moving furniture have been a good exercise so far, and not too expensive. A trip to a synagogue - why not? But the question remains, what next?
"And was mightily pleased to see my house clean and in good condition, but something coming into my wife’s head, and mine, to be done more about bringing the green bed into our chamber, which is handsomer than the red one, though not of the colour of our hangings, my wife forebore to make herself clean to-day, but continued in a sluttish condition till to-morrow. I after the old passe, all the day within doors, … the effect of my electuary last night,"
Pepys is too much ... all week the staff has been cleaning up after a flood (if you have never done that, it is HARD work), and are so exhausted they had to go to bed early. Sunday -- church for everyone usually (dress up, listen to some music, see some friends, listen to a little wisdom, sit down for a couple of hours). But apparently Sam wants them to boil water and carry it up two flights of stairs to make Elizabeth a bath so she looks fine for him??? Here's Elizabeth moving a couple of (probably) four-poster beds, while he farts his way around drinking his electuary, muttering "my cods! my cods" while eating everything they put in front of him -- and she's supposed to look like Miss Great Britain at an afternoon tea. Sluttish condition??? -- you have no idea how lucky you are, pal! You moved a couple of chairs, changed some slip covers, and read a book. The women (and Will?) are working their fannies off. Typical man!
It occurs to me that Sir William Penn captured Jamaica in 1655 ... and rum comes from Jamaica. There must be a connection, and I wonder if he made money off this arrangement?
I don't have time to research this idea today, and will post anything I find later ... but I'm wondering if anyone else knows?
From about 1655, a pint of rum was given to every sailor in the Navy every day. Half was served at 12 noon, and the other half at between 5 or 6 p.m. (the amount decreased in later years). Known as Pusser’s Rum (the name a corruption of Purser, the person who issued the rum), sailors had a daily tot of rum until the practice ended on 31 July 1970.
The Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius is credited with the invention of gin. By the mid 17th C numerous Dutch and Flemish distillers (400 in Amsterdam by 1663) had popularized the re-distillation of malt spirit with juniper, anise, caraway, coriander, etc., which were sold in pharmacies to treat problems like kidney ailments, lumbago, stomach ailments, gallstones, and gout.
English troops who were fighting against the Spanish in Holland in the Eighty Years' War noticed its calming effects before battle, which is the origin of the term Dutch courage.
The first confirmed date for the production of gin is the early 17th century in Holland, although claims have been made that it was produced prior to this in Italy.
British troops fighting in the Low Countries during the Thirty Years' War were given 'Dutch Courage' during the long campaigns in damp weather through the warming properties of gin.
The formation by King Charles of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, where members had the sole right to distill spirits in London and Westminster and up to 21 miles beyond improved both the quality of gin and its image; it also helped English agriculture by using surplus corn and barley.
The origins of Gin can be traced to 17th century Holland. Dr. Franciscus de LA Boie invented Gin in 1650. He was a medical professor at the University of Leyden and was known as Dr. Syivius.
Gin was intended to be a medicine. Dr. Sylvius sought an inexpensive, effective diuretic for the treatment of kidney disorders. He mixed oil of Juniper berries with grain alcohol, both of which have diuretic properties. He called his concoction 'genever', from the French word for Juniper. What made the recipe revolutionary was not the use of Juniper, but the grain alcohol.
Until Dr. Sylvius, most beverage alcohol was made from grapes or other fruit -- Brandies. The Scots and Irish made Whiskies from grain, but they tempered them with years of aging in wooded casks. Unaged grain spirits were considered too harsh for human consumption.
At the same time, English soldiers, who were fighting on the continent were introduced to what they termed, 'Dutch Courage'. They returned to England with a preference for this new drink, and the population at large soon grew fond of this inexpensive spirit, so it eventually became known as the national drink of England.
The dry Gin London distillers eventually developed is different from the Holland / Geneva Gin still made by the Dutch, which is heavy-bodied, strongly flavored with a pronounced malty taste and aroma.
Sunday 4 October 1663 (Lord’s day). Up and to church, my house being miserably overflooded with rain last night, which makes me almost mad. At home to dinner with my wife, and so to talk, and to church again, and so home, and all the evening most pleasantly passed the time in good discourse of our fortune and family till supper, and so to bed, in some pain below, through cold got.
The House of Office for two families is in the basement ... where did the rain go? So what's floating around besides dirty water? Yuck ... poor maids.
No one answered Miss Anne or In Aqua about why there was so much cleaning going on. Last Saturday night/Sunday morning there was a very heavy rain, and the house and cellar were flooded ... which of course includes The House Of Office for two families. Pepys gave us no specifics beyond it was nasty ... so he went to church twice and never mentions anyone cleaning up. Apparently the water in the cellar has subsided so things can be put to rights. It's not just the smell of Pepys' flatulence Bess, Will and the maids are putting up with!
"So I to the office till night, about several businesses, and then went and sat an hour or two with Sir W. Pen, talking very largely of Sir J. Minnes’s simplicity and unsteadiness, and of Sir W. Batten’s suspicious dealings, wherein I was open, and he sufficiently, so that I do not care for his telling of tales, for he said as much, but whether that were so or no I said nothing but what is my certain knowledge and belief concerning him. "
Every annotation I have read of Pepys' relationship with Penn is that he really disliked him. Yet every couple of days he religiously visits the man, and here he is gossiping his way through another couple of hours,
My reading is that Pepys gives Penn an opening on Batten's business dealings, and Penn agreed "sufficiently" but for different reasons which information Pepys did not like. Since Pepys didn't know the details enough to judge, he refrained from saying anything further which he didn't know to be a fact.
Go to bed, Pepys. You're in pain, and sitting there playing politics and private eye isn't helping.
Hinchingbrooke is about 34 miles from Newmarket by road today ... who knows what route they would have to take back then. Quite a round trip to see some horse racing. King James' and King Charles' palaces had been wrecked after the Civil War, so Charles II would have needed to stay off site for a year or two during reconstruction.
A perpetual round of gaiety continued during the reign of King Charles, who spent as much time as he could in Newmarket. The king would ride around the countryside boasting he never enjoyed such good health as he did in Newmarket. But this was interrupted by the civil war, and with the downfall of the monarchy, Newmarket underwent a serious decline.
The conflict which engulfed England in 1642 began in Newmarket, in the palace in early March when King Charles had a confrontation with a parliamentary deputation demanding he surrender control of the army. ‘By God not for an hour’, he angrily retorted. ‘You have asked such of me that was never asked of a King!’
During the ensuing confrontation Newmarket took the royal side. In 1642 some townspeople tried to raise troops for the king, and six years later, at the height of the second civil war, there was an abortive rising which led to serious fighting in the market place.
Then in June 1647 King Charles was seized at Holdenby House and brought as a prisoner to Newmarket. Here the entire New Model Army massed, and surrounded by this ring of steel, he was kept under house arrest in his palace for nearly two weeks. But his stay was not totally unpleasant, for he was allowed to ride in his coach on Newmarket Heath. And many people, including the local gentry, flocked to see him, especially when he ‘was at Dinner or Supper’ in the Presence Chamber which echoed with prayers for his safety.
King Charles' execution spelled the doom of the royal palace in Newmarket. As is evident from a 1649 survey, it fell into disrepair and was sold off in 1650 to a consortium of 7 men including the regicide Col. John Okey, who pulled down most of the buildings with relish.
By the end of the Interregnum the Jacobean palace was a shadow of its former self: the Prince’s Lodgings had been razed. Parts of the palace still standing (the brew house and stables) were dilapidated. Only the garden ‘was not much altered’. Newmarket’s link with the monarchy seemed broken forever.
Newmarket must have thrilled to hear of the Restoration ...
A perpetual round of gaiety continued during the reign of King Charles, who spent as much time as he could in Newmarket. The king would ride around the surrounding countryside boasting that he never enjoyed such good health as he did in Newmarket.
But this was interrupted by the civil war, and with the downfall of the monarchy, Newmarket underwent a serious decline.
The fratricidal conflict which engulfed England in 1642 began in Newmarket, in the royal palace in early March when King Charles had a confrontation with a parliamentary deputation demanding he surrender control of the armed forces. ‘By God not for an hour’, he angrily retorted. ‘You have asked such of me that was never asked of a King!’
The die was cast. During the ensuing confrontation Newmarket took the royal side, In 1642 some of the townsfolk tried to raise troops for the king, while six years later, at the height of the second civil war, there was an abortive rising which saw serious fighting in the market place.
Then in June 1647 King Charles was seized at Holdenby House and brought prisoner to Newmarket. Here he found the entire New Model Army massed, and surrounded by this ring of steel, he was kept under house arrest in his own palace for nearly a fortnight. However, his stay was not altogether unpleasant, for he was permitted to go riding in his coach on Newmarket Heath. And many people, including gentry, flocked to see the king, especially when he ‘was at Dinner or Supper’ in the Presence Chamber which reverberated with their prayers for his safety.
To no avail, for King Charles execution spelt the doom of the royal palace in Newmarket. As is evident from a 1649 survey, it fell into disrepair and was sold off in 1650 to a consortium of 7 men including the regicide Col. John Okey, who pulled down most of the buildings in an orgy of vandalism.
By the end of the Interregnum the Jacobean palace was a shadow of its former self: the Prince’s Lodgings had been razed. Parts of the palace still standing (the brew house and stables) were dilapidated. Only the garden ‘was not much altered’. Newmarket’s link with the monarchy seemed broken forever.
‘When the King enjoys his own again!’ How Newmarket must have reveled in the first fine, careless rapture of Restoration England! ...
Hinchingbrooke is about 34 miles from Newmarket today ... who knows what route they would have to take back then. Quite a daily ride to see some horse racing.
As I'll post next, King James' and King Charles' palaces had been wrecked after the Civil War, so Charles II would need to stay off site for a while during reconstruction.
Comments
Second Reading
About Thursday 15 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
Thanks, Bill ... I signed up.
About Saturday 17 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
Interesting: Pepys was at Whitehall the day before yesterday with Coventry (secretary to James, Duke of York), and no one said anything about the Queen's illness. It wasn't a secret; the information was already being printed by The Intelligencer. However, this does provide a possible answer as to why two important meetings were booked at the same time: James was half-expecting a call to go to Catherine's bedside, so it was possible the country could have been plunged into mourning at any time. The hurry wasn't in anticipation of a fun romp at Newmarket after all.
About Friday 16 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
John Unthank was usually Elizabeth Pepys' tailor, and he had a large shop at Charing Cross. Pepys doesn't give us a name or location today, so we don't know where she went.
About Sir Ellis Leighton
San Diego Sarah • Link
This man is hard to track down. Terry's link goes to his father, who does sound like an interesting character. His given name was Elisha, and I haven't found out when or why he changed it to Ellis. But more information can be found here:
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Le…
About Thursday 15 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Robert Gertz movie of the annotated Pepys would be a blockbuster.
On to more mundane matters: "... after stepping abroad to buy a thing or two, compasses and snuffers for my wife ..."
I know why she needed compasses (you could share, Sam!), but what's a snuffer? They have worn out all their old candle snuffers, all at once? How many do you need for a 4-bedroom, 3 storey house?
The Urban Dictionary was also enlightening: "A Conspiracy Theorist who believes Obama is secretly planning a proposal requiring mandatory "End of Life Counseling" for senior citizens every five years. Similar to a birther." And we find their values confusing ...?
About Wednesday 14 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... the Duke and the Africa Committee meeting in our room, Sir G. Carteret; Sir W. Compton, Mr. Coventry, Sir W. Rider, Cuttance and myself met in another room, ..."
This entry implies so much.
In 1660 a committee of six (the Earl of Pembroke, Lord Craven, Sir George Carteret, William Coventry, Sir Ellis Leighton and Cornelius Vermuyden) was named to have charge of The Company of the Royal Adventurers into Africa's affairs. In the Charter no mention was made of the office of governor or of any court of directors. Apparently it was thought that the committee of six could direct all of the company's affairs.
So Mr. Coventry is Secretary to James, Duke of York, and one of six who run the African Corporation. They had just completed their second round of fund raising in September, so presumably this meeting was about what to do next and how to spend the money. Why didn't Coventry go to that meeting?
Secondly note the semi-colon after Carteret's name on the list of people. I understand Pepys didn't use punctuation, so what we see is the translator's understanding of what goes where. Carteret was another of the six who ran the African Corp., so I agree that is probably the committee he belonged in, but he could just as easily have joined the Tangier committee even thought he wasn't listed by Pepys as one of the original members.
Why were both of these important meetings scheduled at the same time?
Perhaps James' busy social schedule has him off to Newmarket tomorrow or something? Perhaps we will find out later. I hope so -- both committees have such influence over the future.
About Wednesday 14 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
An amazing set of annotations; I'll be busy for a month digesting it all. I'm sure you all had a good time putting the above together.
It seems to me that after Pepys' last round with Mrs. Lane, followed by uncouth behavior motivated by guilt and self-loathing, he pulled himself together and allowed Elizabeth to go to Brampton with him. She nearly died on the trip, which might have been a wake-up call, and he seems to be generally happy with her now. Simultaneously he doesn't want to spend any money or time on companions or extra-curricular activities like dancing lessons, and seems realize she needs things to do. Decorating her closet and moving furniture have been a good exercise so far, and not too expensive. A trip to a synagogue - why not? But the question remains, what next?
About Saturday 10 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
Good to learn they had a surplus of grain in 1638 so they needed a use for it. The Brits always did like a little tipple.
About Sunday 11 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
"And was mightily pleased to see my house clean and in good condition, but something coming into my wife’s head, and mine, to be done more about bringing the green bed into our chamber, which is handsomer than the red one, though not of the colour of our hangings, my wife forebore to make herself clean to-day, but continued in a sluttish condition till to-morrow. I after the old passe, all the day within doors, … the effect of my electuary last night,"
Pepys is too much ... all week the staff has been cleaning up after a flood (if you have never done that, it is HARD work), and are so exhausted they had to go to bed early. Sunday -- church for everyone usually (dress up, listen to some music, see some friends, listen to a little wisdom, sit down for a couple of hours). But apparently Sam wants them to boil water and carry it up two flights of stairs to make Elizabeth a bath so she looks fine for him??? Here's Elizabeth moving a couple of (probably) four-poster beds, while he farts his way around drinking his electuary, muttering "my cods! my cods" while eating everything they put in front of him -- and she's supposed to look like Miss Great Britain at an afternoon tea. Sluttish condition??? -- you have no idea how lucky you are, pal! You moved a couple of chairs, changed some slip covers, and read a book. The women (and Will?) are working their fannies off. Typical man!
About Strong water
San Diego Sarah • Link
It occurs to me that Sir William Penn captured Jamaica in 1655 ... and rum comes from Jamaica. There must be a connection, and I wonder if he made money off this arrangement?
I don't have time to research this idea today, and will post anything I find later ... but I'm wondering if anyone else knows?
About Strong water
San Diego Sarah • Link
From about 1655, a pint of rum was given to every sailor in the Navy every day. Half was served at 12 noon, and the other half at between 5 or 6 p.m. (the amount decreased in later years). Known as Pusser’s Rum (the name a corruption of Purser, the person who issued the rum), sailors had a daily tot of rum until the practice ended on 31 July 1970.
Read more at http://www.rmg.co.uk/discover/beh…
About Saturday 10 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
Gin ... other theories (Sam needed some Dutch Courage in his lifetime):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin
The Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius is credited with the invention of gin. By the mid 17th C numerous Dutch and Flemish distillers (400 in Amsterdam by 1663) had popularized the re-distillation of malt spirit with juniper, anise, caraway, coriander, etc., which were sold in pharmacies to treat problems like kidney ailments, lumbago, stomach ailments, gallstones, and gout.
English troops who were fighting against the Spanish in Holland in the Eighty Years' War noticed its calming effects before battle, which is the origin of the term Dutch courage.
http://www.ginvodka.org/history/g…
The first confirmed date for the production of gin is the early 17th century in Holland, although claims have been made that it was produced prior to this in Italy.
British troops fighting in the Low Countries during the Thirty Years' War were given 'Dutch Courage' during the long campaigns in damp weather through the warming properties of gin.
The formation by King Charles of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, where members had the sole right to distill spirits in London and Westminster and up to 21 miles beyond improved both the quality of gin and its image; it also helped English agriculture by using surplus corn and barley.
http://www.southernwine.com/Offic…
The origins of Gin can be traced to 17th century Holland. Dr. Franciscus de LA Boie invented Gin in 1650. He was a medical professor at the University of Leyden and was known as Dr. Syivius.
Gin was intended to be a medicine. Dr. Sylvius sought an inexpensive, effective diuretic for the treatment of kidney disorders. He mixed oil of Juniper berries with grain alcohol, both of which have diuretic properties. He called his concoction 'genever', from the French word for Juniper. What made the recipe revolutionary was not the use of Juniper, but the grain alcohol.
Until Dr. Sylvius, most beverage alcohol was made from grapes or other fruit -- Brandies. The Scots and Irish made Whiskies from grain, but they tempered them with years of aging in wooded casks. Unaged grain spirits were considered too harsh for human consumption.
At the same time, English soldiers, who were fighting on the continent were introduced to what they termed, 'Dutch Courage'. They returned to England with a preference for this new drink, and the population at large soon grew fond of this inexpensive spirit, so it eventually became known as the national drink of England.
The dry Gin London distillers eventually developed is different from the Holland / Geneva Gin still made by the Dutch, which is heavy-bodied, strongly flavored with a pronounced malty taste and aroma.
About Strong water
San Diego Sarah • Link
A good discussion on the origins of gin can be found at
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Saturday 10 October 1663
About Saturday 10 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
In answer to Martin and Mart's thoughts on Sam's dirty house, I refer you to last Sunday:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Sunday 4 October 1663 (Lord’s day).
Up and to church, my house being miserably overflooded with rain last night, which makes me almost mad.
At home to dinner with my wife, and so to talk,
and to church again,
and so home, and all the evening most pleasantly passed the time in good discourse of our fortune and family till supper, and so to bed, in some pain below, through cold got.
The House of Office for two families is in the basement ... where did the rain go? So what's floating around besides dirty water? Yuck ... poor maids.
About Friday 9 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
In answer to Dirk's enquiry about Rev. Josselins' concerns, a good explanation of what's going on from last week:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
About Thursday 8 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
No one answered Miss Anne or In Aqua about why there was so much cleaning going on. Last Saturday night/Sunday morning there was a very heavy rain, and the house and cellar were flooded ... which of course includes The House Of Office for two families. Pepys gave us no specifics beyond it was nasty ... so he went to church twice and never mentions anyone cleaning up. Apparently the water in the cellar has subsided so things can be put to rights. It's not just the smell of Pepys' flatulence Bess, Will and the maids are putting up with!
About Monday 5 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
"So I to the office till night, about several businesses, and then went and sat an hour or two with Sir W. Pen, talking very largely of Sir J. Minnes’s simplicity and unsteadiness, and of Sir W. Batten’s suspicious dealings, wherein I was open, and he sufficiently, so that I do not care for his telling of tales, for he said as much, but whether that were so or no I said nothing but what is my certain knowledge and belief concerning him. "
Every annotation I have read of Pepys' relationship with Penn is that he really disliked him. Yet every couple of days he religiously visits the man, and here he is gossiping his way through another couple of hours,
My reading is that Pepys gives Penn an opening on Batten's business dealings, and Penn agreed "sufficiently" but for different reasons which information Pepys did not like. Since Pepys didn't know the details enough to judge, he refrained from saying anything further which he didn't know to be a fact.
Go to bed, Pepys. You're in pain, and sitting there playing politics and private eye isn't helping.
About Newmarket, Suffolk
San Diego Sarah • Link
Hinchingbrooke is about 34 miles from Newmarket by road today ... who knows what route they would have to take back then. Quite a round trip to see some horse racing. King James' and King Charles' palaces had been wrecked after the Civil War, so Charles II would have needed to stay off site for a year or two during reconstruction.
For more information see http://www.olivercromwell.org/new…
A perpetual round of gaiety continued during the reign of King Charles, who spent as much time as he could in Newmarket. The king would ride around the countryside boasting he never enjoyed such good health as he did in Newmarket. But this was interrupted by the civil war, and with the downfall of the monarchy, Newmarket underwent a serious decline.
The conflict which engulfed England in 1642 began in Newmarket, in the palace in early March when King Charles had a confrontation with a parliamentary deputation demanding he surrender control of the army. ‘By God not for an hour’, he angrily retorted. ‘You have asked such of me that was never asked of a King!’
During the ensuing confrontation Newmarket took the royal side. In 1642 some townspeople tried to raise troops for the king, and six years later, at the height of the second civil war, there was an abortive rising which led to serious fighting in the market place.
Then in June 1647 King Charles was seized at Holdenby House and brought as a prisoner to Newmarket. Here the entire New Model Army massed, and surrounded by this ring of steel, he was kept under house arrest in his palace for nearly two weeks. But his stay was not totally unpleasant, for he was allowed to ride in his coach on Newmarket Heath. And many people, including the local gentry, flocked to see him, especially when he ‘was at Dinner or Supper’ in the Presence Chamber which echoed with prayers for his safety.
King Charles' execution spelled the doom of the royal palace in Newmarket. As is evident from a 1649 survey, it fell into disrepair and was sold off in 1650 to a consortium of 7 men including the regicide Col. John Okey, who pulled down most of the buildings with relish.
By the end of the Interregnum the Jacobean palace was a shadow of its former self: the Prince’s Lodgings had been razed. Parts of the palace still standing (the brew house and stables) were dilapidated. Only the garden ‘was not much altered’. Newmarket’s link with the monarchy seemed broken forever.
Newmarket must have thrilled to hear of the Restoration ...
About Monday 5 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
http://www.olivercromwell.org/new…
A perpetual round of gaiety continued during the reign of King Charles, who spent as much time as he could in Newmarket. The king would ride around the surrounding countryside boasting that he never enjoyed such good health as he did in Newmarket.
But this was interrupted by the civil war, and with the downfall of the monarchy, Newmarket underwent a serious decline.
The fratricidal conflict which engulfed England in 1642 began in Newmarket, in the royal palace in early March when King Charles had a confrontation with a parliamentary deputation demanding he surrender control of the armed forces. ‘By God not for an hour’, he angrily retorted. ‘You have asked such of me that was never asked of a King!’
The die was cast. During the ensuing confrontation Newmarket took the royal side, In 1642 some of the townsfolk tried to raise troops for the king, while six years later, at the height of the second civil war, there was an abortive rising which saw serious fighting in the market place.
Then in June 1647 King Charles was seized at Holdenby House and brought prisoner to Newmarket. Here he found the entire New Model Army massed, and surrounded by this ring of steel, he was kept under house arrest in his own palace for nearly a fortnight. However, his stay was not altogether unpleasant, for he was permitted to go riding in his coach on Newmarket Heath. And many people, including gentry, flocked to see the king, especially when he ‘was at Dinner or Supper’ in the Presence Chamber which reverberated with their prayers for his safety.
To no avail, for King Charles execution spelt the doom of the royal palace in Newmarket. As is evident from a 1649 survey, it fell into disrepair and was sold off in 1650 to a consortium of 7 men including the regicide Col. John Okey, who pulled down most of the buildings in an orgy of vandalism.
By the end of the Interregnum the Jacobean palace was a shadow of its former self: the Prince’s Lodgings had been razed. Parts of the palace still standing (the brew house and stables) were dilapidated. Only the garden ‘was not much altered’. Newmarket’s link with the monarchy seemed broken forever.
‘When the King enjoys his own again!’ How Newmarket must have reveled in the first fine, careless rapture of Restoration England! ...
About Monday 5 October 1663
San Diego Sarah • Link
Hinchingbrooke is about 34 miles from Newmarket today ... who knows what route they would have to take back then. Quite a daily ride to see some horse racing.
As I'll post next, King James' and King Charles' palaces had been wrecked after the Civil War, so Charles II would need to stay off site for a while during reconstruction.