Sandwich's log of October 5, 1661 records that Capt. [EDWARD?] Rolt was with him in the Martin on the Tangier/Lisbon cruise.
With such an unusual last name, and given that Edward came from Brampton, I think we can assume that we have the right man. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Stuart Tiara is probably the Dutch royal family's showstopper. Its central diamond is almost 40 carats.
The central diamond is called The Stuart Diamond, and its first recorded owner was Mary II of England, who reigned jointly with her husband, William III.
Mary purchased the diamond after their wedding, and it was first set into a brooch. After Mary's death, William inherited the diamond. Following his death, the diamond returned to the Netherlands as part of his Dutch property.
Many years later, William V, Prince of Orange, fled to England, and while in exile, his wife reset the diamond into a pendant on a necklace. When their son became King in 1815, the diamond became part of the royal collection. The diamond briefly returned to England as it was on display in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The Stuart Diamond was finally placed in a tiara in 1897 when Queen Emma ordered a tiara for her daughter's inauguration. Queen Wilhelmina wore the tiara, including the Stuart Diamond, for her inauguration. She wore the tiara again, albeit without the top row of diamonds and the central Stuart diamond, for her wedding in 1901.
It was a favourite of Queen Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana, but Juliana's daughter Beatrix was never seen in the tiara. Queen Maxima has worn the tiara in several settings.
Mr. Myles with the Colonel of the horse in Tangier and his son and the Judge of the town and two other cavaliers of the town came and dined with me on board. In Tangier Bay riding with me the ships in the margin - James, Montagu, Newcastle, Waltham's and Blake's ketches.
Copied from The Journal of Edward Mountagu, First Earl of Sandwich Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson Printed for the Navy Records Society MDCCCCXXIX
L&M: Robert Pepys' Brampton estate included a 'little house' or 'cottage' occupied by a Mr. Barton, which Pepys was to sell with some land to William Prior in 1662. The sale provoked some difficulties with uncle Thomas Pepys, who had a reversionary interest in the estate … There would appear to have been further difficulty (not resolved by 1676) in determining Robert Pepys' title -- if this is the 'Barton business' referred to in Family Letters , pp. 12, 24, 45.
I stood in for Tangier Bay and in the way had a letter from Mr. Myles which signified that the Prince of Spain to be dead: and being at anchor in Tangier Bay at night Mr. Rolt came to me from Tarifa in the Martin and presently went off again for Gibraltar.
Copied from The Journal of Edward Mountagu, First Earl of Sandwich Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson Printed for the Navy Records Society MDCCCCXXIX
Edward Rolt was apparnetly one of the commanders with Sandwich in the Med. in 1661 -- or a relative of the same name because the log just calls him Mr. Rolt.
In the afternoon I weighted (the wind eastwardly) and put to sea, where I spoke with an Englishman that came out 18 days before from about Falmouth, but not out of the Downs until October the 1st. Little news. We also met the Newcastle coming in.
Copied from The Journal of Edward Mountagu, First Earl of Sandwich Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson Printed for the Navy Records Society MDCCCCXXIX
Falmouth is a beautiful town on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall. As a port town, Falmouth has a rich maritime history and a strong connection to the sea.
Henry VIII Built Pendennis Castle Perched upon the hillside, overlooking the bay stands Pendennis Castle- a strong and dramatic castle that adds an element of charm to the scenery around Gylly Beach.
However, its purpose couldn’t be further from adding scenic wonder. It was erected in 1540 to defend the Carrick Roads.
Together with the castle situated in St. Mawes to the east, the Falmouth estuary was well defended from potential attacks.
It wasn’t much time after the completion of the castle that the town of Falmouth was created in 1613 by Sir John Killigrew. (As I recall he's Sir Peter's grandfather -- but it was a big family so he may have been an great uncle.)
In 1665, the town was bestowed with a new church entitled the “King Charles the Martyr” and soon after, a few hundred homes were built around the area for church-goers.
With the development of Falmouth Docks in 1858 and the introduction of railway services to the area in 1863, the town was thriving with business and tourism.
Falmouth is noted as one of the key resorts in the UK’s number one tourist destination, with Cornwall attracting an average of 4,000,000 visitors a year!
In the morning the Forester frigate went off with that packet, first touching at Cadiz to convoy the merchants. And also the Princess went off to convoy a caravel to Faro. By him I wrote to the Conde da Ponte, Sir Richard Fanshawe and Mr. Maynard.
Copied from The Journal of Edward Mountagu, First Earl of Sandwich Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson Printed for the Navy Records Society MDCCCCXXIX
RLB -- Stephane and I have been tracking this one down, and have about 4 posts on the subject grouped at https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
I think the lack of qualified leadership stopped the angst of so many from going far. But they did have Henry Bishop, the Post Master, on their side, and when you control the mail, you can spread rumors and easily and inexpensively keeping things in turmoil ... if you read my link it talks about how much seditious literature was being printed by Commonwealth men in the Dutch Republic and smuggled over to England, and spread through the mail. Pepys never mentions seeing or reading newsletters/pamphlets. Had they been written in Latin he might have been interested?! (I think he's a bit of an intellectual snob in that way.)
But a week before Parliament met there came into Secretary Nicholas's hands information of the utmost importance. It was to the effect that on November 10 or 11 a certain Richard Churme, of Wichenford, Worcs., had come upon a stranger lying by the roadside sorting letters. When he had gone Churme found a package which had been acoidentally dropped, and secured it before the stranger discovered his loss and returned to look for it.
The package was sent to Sir John Packington, J.P. and M.P. for Worcestershire, and, after copies had been made and sent to neighboring magistrates, it was forwarded to London with several examinations taken in regard to it.
The two letters enclosed purported to have been written by “Ann Ba" to a Mr. Sparry, parson of Martley, and to Capt. Yarrington of the old army. They spoke of the need of money, of "the company" having increased to 300, of an oath taken November 1, of news sent to Hereford, Gloucester, Worcester and Shrewsbury, of "a fatal blow against their adversaries," of u hopes for merry days", and "that the business would soon be done ".
Two persons deposed further that Capt. Yarrington had said he "had a commission to eure people of the simples", that " there would be news ere long ", and that Col. Turton's man had said "they " were to rendezvous at Edgehill the night of November 9.
All this was confirmed and enlarged from apparently independent sources, and many circumstances combined to heighten the probability of the information. The West country and Midland loyalists were greatly excited. Alarms were sent in every direction. Neighboring towns, especially those named in the letters, were put in a state of defence. The militia was called out, and many suspicious characters seized. Sparry and Yarrington were secured, examined before the Worcester justices, and sent to London. There before the Secretary and the Council they "denied all", and no further results appeared. (Yarrington escaped, went to London, was recaptured, put in the Marshalsea and kept for some time as a prisoner or spy. In 1681 he published an account of this alleged plot, apparently in connection with the Exclusion agitation.)
Such was the story which made its way through England on the eve of the new session and met the members as they came up to London. It was not, on its face, wholly probable.
Careful investigation would have enabled the administration to establish its value without much question. But there was neither time, nor opportunity, nor, one may suspect, inclination, to look too closely into information which was so extremely useful to the dominant party. ...
More follows, all of which would be spoilers, so stay tuned. (This shows us just how miuch Pepys is out of the loop these days.)
FROM English Conspiracy and Dissent, 1660-1674 By Wilbur C. Abbott The American Historical Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Apr., 1909), pp. 503-528 (26 pages) www.jstor.org/stable/1836444?seq=…
IN the 1661 elections to Parliament, London had returned four strong dissenters, and letters then intercepted by the government revealed its hostility to unlimited monarchy and episcopacy.
The spies sent through its streets and environs now found their way into public houses to count the men and horses there, into churches and conventicles to note those present and the language used, into the jails to worm secrets from prisoners or enlist them as informers
They reported that men looked forward to "another bout," when Anabaptist joined Presbyterian, that dangerous men were coming to the city in large numbers, that even certain royal advisers were implicated in agitation, and that prayers were offered up for " a leader to come and redeem Zion", in such churches as All Hallows the Great and St. Sepulchre's.
City authorities were accordingly urged by the court to suppress sedition, to reform the militia and the night watch, and to ensure the return of churchmen and royalists to city offices in the ensuing elections, and these admonitions were accompanied by arrests and the dispersal of meetings on every hand.
The investigation soon developed the fact that the Post Office, which almost alone among the public offices had escaped reorganization, was a center of sedition.
The former headquarters of the republicans had been the Commonwealth Club in Bow Street. This under the same management but under a new name, the Nonsuch House, was the chief resort of the postmaster, Col. Bishop, and many of the clerks, who maintained the republican traditions of the place.
Reinforced by similar information against many postmasters throughout England,15 this news roused the administration to action.
After violent opposition, Col. Bishop was finally [IN 1663] replaced by Daniel O'Neale, a follower of the Duke of York, and many clerks and postmasters were dismissed and the service reorganized.
Through the Post Office passed all manner of political information, of peaceful and warlike opposition to the administration. The inspired cordwainer in Reading who was defended against the county authorities, and even against a King's messenger by the corporation; the new mayor of Coventry, a dissenting butcher, formerly Lambert's recruiting agent; and the prospective mayor of Preston, a "decimator and sequestrator", whom the loyalists urged the government to arrest or "otherwise handsomely frighten", personified the more peaceful endeavors of the rejected party to entrench themselves in the boroughs.
507 Of more violent designs the administration in this summer of 1661 found little definite trace. Reports of secret meetings, night ridings, fanaticism attendant on the news of the regicide executions, rumors of risings, were the most that could be unearthed.
"... the Sir Williams were both loth to go, because of the crowd, ..."
The Sir Williams have apparently seen their fill of violence and prefer to avoid crowds while sedition is abroad. Pepys clearly doesn't take the current upheaval seriously, so he hasn't told us much about it. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
The most valuable part of the beaver is its inner fur whose many minute barbs make it excellent for felting, especially for hats. In Canada a 'made beaver' or castor gras that an Indian had worn or slept on was more valuable than a fresh skin since this tended to wear off the outer guard hairs.
Beaver pelts were used for barter by Native Americans in the 17th century to gain European goods. They were then shipped back to Great Britain and France where they were made into clothing items. Widespread hunting and trapping of beavers led to their endangerment. Eventually, the fur trade declined due to decreasing demand in Europe and the takeover of trapping grounds to support the growing agriculture sector. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/beav…
In the 17th century, based on a question raised by the Bishop of Quebec, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that the beaver was a fish (beaver flesh was a part of the indigenous peoples' diet, prior to the Europeans' arrival) for purposes of dietary law. Therefore, the general prohibition on the consumption of meat on Fridays during Lent did not apply to beaver meat.
The legal basis for the decision probably rests with the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, which bases animal classification as much on habit as anatomy. This is similar to the Church's classification of the capybara, another semi-aquatic rodent.
The demand for beaver pelts in Europe ultimately drove the animal to near-extinction. Its popularity contributed to the dwindling of the population of the animal in the New World and fuelled colonial expansion as more people sought the fortunes of the trade.
In 1624 (the year New York was first settled) Dutch settlers were recorded having shipped 1,500 beaver and 500 otter skins to Europe.
Used winter coats worn by Native Americans were a prized commodity for hat making because their wear helped prepare the skins; separating out the coarser hairs from the pelts.
The Hudson's Bay Company, which was founded in the early 17th century and is still in existence, made its fortune through this trade.
To make felt, the underhairs were shaved from the beaver pelt and mixed with a vibrating hatter's bow. The matted fabric was pummeled and boiled repeatedly, resulting in a shrunken and thickened felt. Filled over a hat-form block, the felt was pressed and steamed into shape. The hat maker then brushed the outside surface to a sheen. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/beav…
King Charles I had a hat for every day -- one was so large it was made from 12 beavers.
Found throughout most of the United States and Canada, the beaver (Castor canadensis) is the largest rodent in North America. From 30 to 40 inches long and weighing as much as 60 lbs., the beaver is unique among rodents in possessing webbed rear feet and a broad, flat tail.
Historically, it was eaten as a delicacy by many Native American tribes, a custom adopted by colonial Americans and early frontier residents. Water and wood dependent, the beaver is herbaceous, preferring the bark of deciduous trees along with a variety of aquatic plants and grasses. Its propagation is guaranteed by pond-building activity associated with damming of streams in the process of creating lodges. Once described by naturalist Enos A. Mills as "the original conservationist," beaver-engineered dams and diversion ponds serve to prevent floods and loss of surface soils during spring thaws and summer rainstorms.
Since the 16th century, the beaver has been the target of Indians and European immigrants alike for its luxurious pelt. Also, its underwool — prized for its suppleness and water resistance — has been commercially valuable in the felting industry for the making of hats.
The earliest European efforts to settle colonies along the St. Lawrence River and in New England were funded by a beaver trade that soon spread into the interior of North America, generating intense intertribal and international rivalries among competing groups.
French, English, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, and Spanish fur trading companies were organized to tap the wealth that beaver skins afforded on the European fur market based in London and Leipzig.
Two types of pelts were sought. One was coat beaver, or castor gras — pelts that had been worn by Indians for at least one winter, so that the outer or "guard" hairs were loosened for easier processing by felters. The other was parchment beaver or castor sec — those pelts trapped, skinned, and flattened for easy storage and shipment in bales.
In 1638, King Charles decreed that all fur hats manufactured in England be made of North American beaver, fueling a series of beaver wars between the Iroquois and their English allies and the French and their Indian allies. Towns such as Albany (1624) and Montreal (1642) were established as fur trade entrepôts, servicing large hinterlands.
The French dominated the fur trade until 1763, with beaver replacing cod as New France's primary staple export. After the fall of New France, the fur industry was dominated by the London-based Hudson's Bay Company, chartered in 1670 with the exclusive right to trade and trap the lands that drain into Hudson Bay. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/beav…
Hats, like other forms of dress, played a large role in reflecting one’s social identity. The shape and style of one’s hat indicated to a passerby one’s profession, wealth, and social rank and position. Color, shape, and material all carried specific meaning.
In Ecclesiastical heraldry, for example, a red, wide-brimmed hat indicated that its wearer was a cardinal, and interactions required a specific social protocol.
In 17th century England, the shape and style of one’s hat reflected political and religious affiliation. Due to the expense of a beaver hat, being able to purchase one made a visual statement about one’s wealth and social status. https://humwp.ucsc.edu/cwh/feinst…
Felt is made by applying heat and pressure to a collection of fibers, and beaver fur is particularly suited for felting because of the way the strands of fur stick together. It was much harder to make felt by hand when the guard hairs were plucked from the pelt by hand, then mercury was brushed over the pelt to roughen the fiber and help each hair to stick to the next. The pelt was dried and then shaved.
The resulting fluff was mixed and then carded. Carding is a process of raking to get all the fibers running in the same direction. Next, the hatter weighed out the quantity of fluff he needed for a particular style of hat. The fluff then went through a process called bowing to begin the process of sticking all the fibres together. The object was to create two large oval sheets about 4 ft long, 3 ft wide and 6 to 12 inches high, called batts. Now the hatter used heat, pressure (from his hands), and moisture to compress this batt. The process released mercury, which the hatter absorbed.
Over time, hatters developed mercury poisoning, which is where we get the phrase 'mad as a hatter'. At the end of this process, the two batts have been put back together into a large cone.
Then comes planking -– dipping the cone into a hot solution of diluted sulfuric acid, beer-grounds and wine sediments, then working it by hand on planks around the kettle and doing it all over again until the felt was half its size.
After that came blocking, dying, stiffening, brushing, and lining, until the hat was ready for the market. The shape of hats changed according to fashion.
The process remains much the same today, except without the mercury poisoning and with machines doing the work https://judeknightauthor.com/2021…
L&M: In Clarendon’s Essay, “On the decay of respect paid to Age,” he says that in his younger days he never kept his hat on before those older than himself, except at dinner. Men normally wore hats at meals.
This day I wrote a packet for England, viz. to R.H., Ld. Chancellor, Mr. Coventry, L.D., L.W., Mr. Parker of Mark Lane, S.P., Sir W.W.
Copied from The Journal of Edward Mountagu, First Earl of Sandwich Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson Printed for the Navy Records Society MDCCCCXXIX
Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62
@@@
Puzzles -- ideas? R.H. - His Royal Highness James Duke of York Ld. Chancellor - Sir Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon Mr. Coventry - presumably Secretary William Coventry https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… -- Bill has a typo; he was knighted in 1665 not 1605. L.D., -- ? L.W., -- ? Mr. Parker of Mark Lane -- an idea: Pepys mentions a Capt. John Parker??? https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… S.P. -- our Sam! Sir W.W. -- The book's Index has no suggestions as to whom this might be. But I do see an entry for a Capt. Walter Wood later on ...?
Packets of correspondence explains the name of ships dedicated to the work of the post office -- packet ships.
Comments
Third Reading
About Tuesday 5 November 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:
November 5, Tuesday.
The Martin with Capt. Rolt came in to us from Gibraltar.
Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX
Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62
@@@
The Martin
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Capt. Rolt
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Gibraltar
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Martin
San Diego Sarah • Link
Sandwich's log of October 5, 1661 records that Capt. [EDWARD?] Rolt was with him in the Martin on the Tangier/Lisbon cruise.
With such an unusual last name, and given that Edward came from Brampton, I think we can assume that we have the right man.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Diamonds
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Stuart Tiara is probably the Dutch royal family's showstopper. Its central diamond is almost 40 carats.
The central diamond is called The Stuart Diamond, and its first recorded owner was Mary II of England, who reigned jointly with her husband, William III.
Mary purchased the diamond after their wedding, and it was first set into a brooch. After Mary's death, William inherited the diamond. Following his death, the diamond returned to the Netherlands as part of his Dutch property.
Many years later, William V, Prince of Orange, fled to England, and while in exile, his wife reset the diamond into a pendant on a necklace. When their son became King in 1815, the diamond became part of the royal collection. The diamond briefly returned to England as it was on display in the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The Stuart Diamond was finally placed in a tiara in 1897 when Queen Emma ordered a tiara for her daughter's inauguration. Queen Wilhelmina wore the tiara, including the Stuart Diamond, for her inauguration. She wore the tiara again, albeit without the top row of diamonds and the central Stuart diamond, for her wedding in 1901.
It was a favourite of Queen Wilhelmina's daughter Juliana, but Juliana's daughter Beatrix was never seen in the tiara. Queen Maxima has worn the tiara in several settings.
For a picture of the tiara, with the Stuart Diamond at the peak, see
https://www.historyofroyalwomen.c…
It's huge.
About Friday 1 November 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:
November 1, Friday.
Mr. Myles with the Colonel of the horse in Tangier and his son and the Judge of the town and two other cavaliers of the town came and dined with me on board.
In Tangier Bay riding with me the ships in the margin - James, Montagu, Newcastle, Waltham's and Blake's ketches.
Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX
Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62
@@@
Mr. Myles
The Colonel of the horse in Tangier and his son and the Judge of the town and two other cavaliers of the town -- who knows. Interesting use of the word "cavalier" -- I assume all these men were Portuguese administrators, not Moroccans.
Tangier's situation at this time
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Royal James
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Montagu -- no info yet
The Newcastle
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Waltham's ketch
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Blake's ketch -- I wonder if Blake is Capt. Robert Blake
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About William Prior
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M: Robert Pepys' Brampton estate included a 'little house' or 'cottage' occupied by a Mr. Barton, which Pepys was to sell with some land to William Prior in 1662.
The sale provoked some difficulties with uncle Thomas Pepys, who had a reversionary interest in the estate … There would appear to have been further difficulty (not resolved by 1676) in determining Robert Pepys' title -- if this is the 'Barton business' referred to in Family Letters , pp. 12, 24, 45.
William Prior paid £268 in installments by 1664.
About Thursday 31 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:
October 31, Thursday.
I stood in for Tangier Bay and in the way had a letter from Mr. Myles which signified that the Prince of Spain to be dead: and being at anchor in Tangier Bay at night Mr. Rolt came to me from Tarifa in the Martin and presently went off again for Gibraltar.
Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX
Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62
@@@
Mr. Myles -- he came aboard Sandwich's ship on September 22
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
The Prince of Spain
Prince Philip, the infant son of Philip IV
Mr. Rolt
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Tarifa
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
The Martin
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Gibraltar
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Capt. Edward Rolt
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M: Edward Rolt had been a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Oliver Cromwell.
About Capt. Edward Rolt
San Diego Sarah • Link
Edward Rolt was apparnetly one of the commanders with Sandwich in the Med. in 1661 -- or a relative of the same name because the log just calls him Mr. Rolt.
About Wednesday 30 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:
October 30, Wednesday.
In the afternoon I weighted (the wind eastwardly) and put to sea, where I spoke with an Englishman that came out 18 days before from about Falmouth, but not out of the Downs until October the 1st. Little news.
We also met the Newcastle coming in.
Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX
Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62
@@@
Falmouth, Cornwall
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Downs
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Newcastle
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Falmouth, Cornwall
San Diego Sarah • Link
Falmouth is a beautiful town on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall. As a port town, Falmouth has a rich maritime history and a strong connection to the sea.
Henry VIII Built Pendennis Castle
Perched upon the hillside, overlooking the bay stands Pendennis Castle- a strong and dramatic castle that adds an element of charm to the scenery around Gylly Beach.
However, its purpose couldn’t be further from adding scenic wonder. It was erected in 1540 to defend the Carrick Roads.
Together with the castle situated in St. Mawes to the east, the Falmouth estuary was well defended from potential attacks.
It wasn’t much time after the completion of the castle that the town of Falmouth was created in 1613 by Sir John Killigrew. (As I recall he's Sir Peter's grandfather -- but it was a big family so he may have been an great uncle.)
In 1665, the town was bestowed with a new church entitled the “King Charles the Martyr” and soon after, a few hundred homes were built around the area for church-goers.
With the development of Falmouth Docks in 1858 and the introduction of railway services to the area in 1863, the town was thriving with business and tourism.
Falmouth is noted as one of the key resorts in the UK’s number one tourist destination, with Cornwall attracting an average of 4,000,000 visitors a year!
Falmouth’s harbour is the third deepest natural harbour in the world. It measures up to 34 metres in depth. It is only beaten by Sydney Harbour and The Port of Mahon.
https://www.thevalleycornwall.co.… and
https://www.falmouth.co.uk/
About Tuesday 29 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:
October 29, Tuesday.
In the morning the Forester frigate went off with that packet, first touching at Cadiz to convoy the merchants. And also the Princess went off to convoy a caravel to Faro. By him I wrote to the Conde da Ponte, Sir Richard Fanshawe and Mr. Maynard.
Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX
Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62
@@@
The Forester frigate
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Cadiz
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
The Princess
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Faro is a municipality, the southernmost city and capital of the district of the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far…
Amb. Francisco de Mello e Torres, Conde da Ponte
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Sir Richard Fanshawem English Ambassador to Portugal
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Thomas Maynard, English Consul at Lisbon, see the second letter at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Wednesday 30 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
RLB -- Stephane and I have been tracking this one down, and have about 4 posts on the subject grouped at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
I think the lack of qualified leadership stopped the angst of so many from going far. But they did have Henry Bishop, the Post Master, on their side, and when you control the mail, you can spread rumors and easily and inexpensively keeping things in turmoil ... if you read my link it talks about how much seditious literature was being printed by Commonwealth men in the Dutch Republic and smuggled over to England, and spread through the mail.
Pepys never mentions seeing or reading newsletters/pamphlets. Had they been written in Latin he might have been interested?! (I think he's a bit of an intellectual snob in that way.)
About Thursday 24 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONTINUED
But a week before Parliament met there came into Secretary Nicholas's hands information of the utmost importance. It was to the effect that on November 10 or 11 a certain Richard Churme, of Wichenford, Worcs., had come upon a stranger lying by the roadside sorting letters. When he had gone Churme found a package which had been acoidentally dropped, and secured it before the stranger discovered his loss and returned to look for it.
The package was sent to Sir John Packington, J.P. and M.P. for Worcestershire, and, after copies had been made and sent to neighboring magistrates, it was forwarded to London with several examinations taken in regard to it.
The two letters enclosed purported to have been written by “Ann Ba" to a Mr. Sparry, parson of Martley, and to Capt. Yarrington of the old army. They spoke of the need of money, of "the company" having increased to 300, of an oath taken November 1, of news sent to Hereford, Gloucester, Worcester and Shrewsbury, of "a fatal blow against their adversaries," of u hopes for merry days", and "that the business would soon be done ".
Two persons deposed further that Capt. Yarrington had said he "had a commission to eure people of the simples", that " there would be news ere long ", and that Col. Turton's man had said "they " were to rendezvous at Edgehill the night of November 9.
All this was confirmed and enlarged from apparently independent sources, and many circumstances combined to heighten the probability of the information.
The West country and Midland loyalists were greatly excited.
Alarms were sent in every direction.
Neighboring towns, especially those named in the letters, were put in a state of defence.
The militia was called out, and many suspicious characters seized.
Sparry and Yarrington were secured, examined before the Worcester justices, and sent to London. There before the Secretary and the Council they "denied all", and no further results appeared. (Yarrington escaped, went to London, was recaptured, put in the Marshalsea and kept for some time as a prisoner or spy. In 1681 he published an account of this alleged plot, apparently in connection with the Exclusion agitation.)
Such was the story which made its way through England on the eve of the new session and met the members as they came up to London. It was not, on its face, wholly probable.
Careful investigation would have enabled the administration to establish its value without much question. But there was neither time, nor opportunity, nor, one may suspect, inclination, to look too closely into information which was so extremely useful to the dominant party. ...
More follows, all of which would be spoilers, so stay tuned. (This shows us just how miuch Pepys is out of the loop these days.)
FROM English Conspiracy and Dissent, 1660-1674
By Wilbur C. Abbott
The American Historical Review, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Apr., 1909), pp. 503-528 (26 pages)
www.jstor.org/stable/1836444?seq=…
About Thursday 24 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
I found more on this plot:
IN the 1661 elections to Parliament, London had returned four strong dissenters, and letters then intercepted by the government revealed its hostility to unlimited monarchy and episcopacy.
The spies sent through its streets and environs now found their way into public houses to count the men and horses there, into churches and conventicles to note those present and the language used, into the jails to worm secrets from prisoners or enlist them as informers
They reported that men looked forward to "another bout," when Anabaptist joined Presbyterian, that dangerous men were coming to the city in large numbers, that even certain royal advisers were implicated in agitation, and that prayers were offered up for " a leader to come and redeem Zion", in such churches as All Hallows the Great and St. Sepulchre's.
City authorities were accordingly urged by the court to suppress sedition, to reform the militia and the night watch, and to ensure the return of churchmen and royalists to city offices in the ensuing elections, and these admonitions were accompanied by arrests and the dispersal of meetings on every hand.
The investigation soon developed the fact that the Post Office, which almost alone among the public offices had escaped reorganization, was a center of sedition.
The former headquarters of the republicans had been the Commonwealth Club in Bow Street. This under the same management but under a new name, the Nonsuch House, was the chief resort of the postmaster, Col. Bishop, and many of the clerks, who maintained the republican traditions of the place.
Reinforced by similar information against many postmasters throughout England,15 this news roused the administration to action.
After violent opposition, Col. Bishop was finally [IN 1663] replaced by Daniel O'Neale, a follower of the Duke of York, and many clerks and postmasters were dismissed and the service reorganized.
Through the Post Office passed all manner of political information, of peaceful and warlike opposition to the administration. The inspired cordwainer in Reading who was defended against the county authorities, and even against a King's messenger by the corporation; the new mayor of Coventry, a dissenting butcher, formerly Lambert's recruiting agent; and the prospective mayor of Preston, a "decimator and sequestrator", whom the loyalists urged the government to arrest or "otherwise handsomely frighten", personified the more peaceful endeavors of the rejected party to entrench themselves in the boroughs.
507
Of more violent designs the administration in this summer of 1661 found little definite trace. Reports of secret meetings, night ridings, fanaticism attendant on the news of the regicide executions, rumors of risings, were the most that could be unearthed.
About Tuesday 29 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... the Sir Williams were both loth to go, because of the crowd, ..."
The Sir Williams have apparently seen their fill of violence and prefer to avoid crowds while sedition is abroad. Pepys clearly doesn't take the current upheaval seriously, so he hasn't told us much about it.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Beaver
San Diego Sarah • Link
The most valuable part of the beaver is its inner fur whose many minute barbs make it excellent for felting, especially for hats. In Canada a 'made beaver' or castor gras that an Indian had worn or slept on was more valuable than a fresh skin since this tended to wear off the outer guard hairs.
Beaver pelts were used for barter by Native Americans in the 17th century to gain European goods. They were then shipped back to Great Britain and France where they were made into clothing items. Widespread hunting and trapping of beavers led to their endangerment. Eventually, the fur trade declined due to decreasing demand in Europe and the takeover of trapping grounds to support the growing agriculture sector.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/beav…
In the 17th century, based on a question raised by the Bishop of Quebec, the Roman Catholic Church ruled that the beaver was a fish (beaver flesh was a part of the indigenous peoples' diet, prior to the Europeans' arrival) for purposes of dietary law. Therefore, the general prohibition on the consumption of meat on Fridays during Lent did not apply to beaver meat.
The legal basis for the decision probably rests with the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, which bases animal classification as much on habit as anatomy.
This is similar to the Church's classification of the capybara, another semi-aquatic rodent.
The demand for beaver pelts in Europe ultimately drove the animal to near-extinction. Its popularity contributed to the dwindling of the population of the animal in the New World and fuelled colonial expansion as more people sought the fortunes of the trade.
In 1624 (the year New York was first settled) Dutch settlers were recorded having shipped 1,500 beaver and 500 otter skins to Europe.
Used winter coats worn by Native Americans were a prized commodity for hat making because their wear helped prepare the skins; separating out the coarser hairs from the pelts.
The Hudson's Bay Company, which was founded in the early 17th century and is still in existence, made its fortune through this trade.
To make felt, the underhairs were shaved from the beaver pelt and mixed with a vibrating hatter's bow. The matted fabric was pummeled and boiled repeatedly, resulting in a shrunken and thickened felt. Filled over a hat-form block, the felt was pressed and steamed into shape. The hat maker then brushed the outside surface to a sheen.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/beav…
About Beaver
San Diego Sarah • Link
King Charles I had a hat for every day -- one was so large it was made from 12 beavers.
Found throughout most of the United States and Canada, the beaver (Castor canadensis) is the largest rodent in North America. From 30 to 40 inches long and weighing as much as 60 lbs., the beaver is unique among rodents in possessing webbed rear feet and a broad, flat tail.
Historically, it was eaten as a delicacy by many Native American tribes, a custom adopted by colonial Americans and early frontier residents.
Water and wood dependent, the beaver is herbaceous, preferring the bark of deciduous trees along with a variety of aquatic plants and grasses. Its propagation is guaranteed by pond-building activity associated with damming of streams in the process of creating lodges.
Once described by naturalist Enos A. Mills as "the original conservationist," beaver-engineered dams and diversion ponds serve to prevent floods and loss of surface soils during spring thaws and summer rainstorms.
Since the 16th century, the beaver has been the target of Indians and European immigrants alike for its luxurious pelt. Also, its underwool — prized for its suppleness and water resistance — has been commercially valuable in the felting industry for the making of hats.
The earliest European efforts to settle colonies along the St. Lawrence River and in New England were funded by a beaver trade that soon spread into the interior of North America, generating intense intertribal and international rivalries among competing groups.
French, English, Dutch, Swedish, Russian, and Spanish fur trading companies were organized to tap the wealth that beaver skins afforded on the European fur market based in London and Leipzig.
Two types of pelts were sought. One was coat beaver, or castor gras — pelts that had been worn by Indians for at least one winter, so that the outer or "guard" hairs were loosened for easier processing by felters. The other was parchment beaver or castor sec — those pelts trapped, skinned, and flattened for easy storage and shipment in bales.
In 1638, King Charles decreed that all fur hats manufactured in England be made of North American beaver, fueling a series of beaver wars between the Iroquois and their English allies and the French and their Indian allies.
Towns such as Albany (1624) and Montreal (1642) were established as fur trade entrepôts, servicing large hinterlands.
The French dominated the fur trade until 1763, with beaver replacing cod as New France's primary staple export. After the fall of New France, the fur industry was dominated by the London-based Hudson's Bay Company, chartered in 1670 with the exclusive right to trade and trap the lands that drain into Hudson Bay.
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/beav…
About Beaver
San Diego Sarah • Link
Hats, like other forms of dress, played a large role in reflecting one’s social identity. The shape and style of one’s hat indicated to a passerby one’s profession, wealth, and social rank and position. Color, shape, and material all carried specific meaning.
In Ecclesiastical heraldry, for example, a red, wide-brimmed hat indicated that its wearer was a cardinal, and interactions required a specific social protocol.
In 17th century England, the shape and style of one’s hat reflected political and religious affiliation. Due to the expense of a beaver hat, being able to purchase one made a visual statement about one’s wealth and social status.
https://humwp.ucsc.edu/cwh/feinst…
Felt is made by applying heat and pressure to a collection of fibers, and beaver fur is particularly suited for felting because of the way the strands of fur stick together. It was much harder to make felt by hand when the guard hairs were plucked from the pelt by hand, then mercury was brushed over the pelt to roughen the fiber and help each hair to stick to the next. The pelt was dried and then shaved.
The resulting fluff was mixed and then carded. Carding is a process of raking to get all the fibers running in the same direction. Next, the hatter weighed out the quantity of fluff he needed for a particular style of hat.
The fluff then went through a process called bowing to begin the process of sticking all the fibres together. The object was to create two large oval sheets about 4 ft long, 3 ft wide and 6 to 12 inches high, called batts. Now the hatter used heat, pressure (from his hands), and moisture to compress this batt. The process released mercury, which the hatter absorbed.
Over time, hatters developed mercury poisoning, which is where we get the phrase 'mad as a hatter'. At the end of this process, the two batts have been put back together into a large cone.
Then comes planking -– dipping the cone into a hot solution of diluted sulfuric acid, beer-grounds and wine sediments, then working it by hand on planks around the kettle and doing it all over again until the felt was half its size.
After that came blocking, dying, stiffening, brushing, and lining, until the hat was ready for the market. The shape of hats changed according to fashion.
The process remains much the same today, except without the mercury poisoning and with machines doing the work
https://judeknightauthor.com/2021…
About Sunday 20 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M: In Clarendon’s Essay, “On the decay of respect paid to Age,” he says that in his younger days he never kept his hat on before those older than himself, except at dinner. Men normally wore hats at meals.
About Monday 28 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
From Sandwich's log, at anchor in Tangier Bay:
October 28, Monday.
This day I wrote a packet for England, viz. to R.H., Ld. Chancellor, Mr. Coventry, L.D., L.W., Mr. Parker of Mark Lane, S.P., Sir W.W.
Copied from
The Journal of Edward Mountagu,
First Earl of Sandwich
Admiral and General-at-Sea 1659 - 1665
Edited by RC Anderson
Printed for the Navy Records Society
MDCCCCXXIX
Section III - Mediterranean 1661/62
@@@
Puzzles -- ideas?
R.H. - His Royal Highness James Duke of York
Ld. Chancellor - Sir Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon
Mr. Coventry - presumably Secretary William Coventry
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… -- Bill has a typo; he was knighted in 1665 not 1605.
L.D., -- ?
L.W., -- ?
Mr. Parker of Mark Lane -- an idea: Pepys mentions a Capt. John Parker???
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
S.P. -- our Sam!
Sir W.W. -- The book's Index has no suggestions as to whom this might be. But I do see an entry for a Capt. Walter Wood later on ...?
Packets of correspondence explains the name of ships dedicated to the work of the post office -- packet ships.