L&M: Thomas Whitton (died 1661). Clerk and accountant to the Chathem Chest 1656 - 1660. Afterwards clerk in the Navy Office, first to Commissioner Pett, and later to the Comptroller.
Later Samuel Pepys included him among the Presbyterians commissioned to raise troops of horse after the Dutch raid on the Medway; but he must have conformed to the Church of England, at least until the Conventicles Act, when he lost his place on the commission of the peace.
When Osborne took office as Lord Treasurer Danby, Ingoldsby, doubtless under Lee’s important committee was for the liberty of the subject (13 Nov. 1675). [SIC] He was included on the working lists among Members to be influenced by the King in person; but Sir Richard Wiseman saw ‘little cause to hope well’ of him.
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Earl of Shafterbury marked Ingoldsby as ‘worthy’ in 1677, and he was appointed to the committee for the recall of British subjects from the French service. During the Popish Plot alarm, he was among those Members appointed to investigate the sounds of knocking heard in Old Palace Yard, and on the proposal to call out the militia he made his only recorded speech: "I think the horse of the militia are most convenient to be employed. That charge lies upon the gentlemen only. The foot are useless, and mostly lying upon the poorer sort. The horse can be everywhere in the county."
Ingoldsby was re-elected to the Exclusion Parliaments, and again marked ‘worthy’ on the Shaftesbury’s list. He was given leave to go into the country for 2 weeks on 1 May 1679, but returned in time to vote for the Exclusion bill. But he was named to no committees and made no speeches.
He was defeated in 1685, but did not join in Lee’s petition, although it was reported that they had a majority of 6-to-1 over the Tories.
On the news of Monmouth’s landing, James II sent Ingoldsby to the Tower, but he was released later in the month.
Col. Richard Ingoldsby MP and a gentleman of the privy chamber 1661-85, died on 9 Sept. 1685 and was buried with his wife, Elizabeth Croke Lee Ingoldsby (d.1675 -- she was the widow of Thomas Lee Snr. of Hartwell, Bucks.), at Hartwell. https://www.historyofparliamenton…
Excerpted from Richard Ingoldsby's Parliamentary bio:
Col. Richard Ingoldsby (1617 - 1685). His ancestors had held the manor of Lenborough since the 15th century, but he was the first to sit in Parliament. His father and at least 6 of his brothers were active on the parliamentarian side during the Civil Wars and Interregnum. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Oliver Cromwell MP of Hinchingbroke, Hunts., and this kinship with the Cromwells earned him a regiment in the New Model Army, and he was able to purchase Waldridge, 5 miles from Aylesbury, in 1650. He sat in Cromwell’s ‘Other House’, but became an active Royalist when the Rump deprived him of his regiment in I659. He claimed his signature on King Charles’ death-warrant had been procured by force, but was told that, as a regicide, he would have to earn his pardon. As ‘the most popular man in the army’ when restored to his command by George Monck, he soon was able to earn earn his reprieve.
Ingoldsby was returned to the 1660 Convention Parliament for Aylesbury on the interest of his step-son, Thomas Lee, defeating the unrepentant regicide, Thomas Scott. He was entitled to the sole credit for the recapture of Col. Lambert, and received a vote of thanks from the House on 26 Apr. 1660. Two weeks later he appeared, bathed in tears, to express his penitence for the King’s execution. He did not speak again, and was appointed to only 2 unimportant committees. Nevertheless Lord Wharton marked him as a friend reserved for his own management. Sir George Booth obtained leave for Ingoldsby to petition the Lords for a debt owed to him by his fellow-regicide, Sir Hardress Waller (whose daughter had married his brother) and on 7 Dec. Francis, Lord Aungier presented a proviso to the indemnity bill on his behalf.
Ingoldsby was re-elected in 1661, given a place at Court, and made a knight of the Bath for Charles II's coronation.
An active Member of the Cavalier Parliament, Ingoldsby was appointed to 27 committees. He was still listed among Wharton’s friends, but also remained in favor at Court.
Sir Henry Bennet wrote to Ormonde to support his case before the commissioners of settlement in Ireland, while on his behalf the claims of a devoted Royalist to a lease of the Lincolnshire manor of Ingleby, bought ‘during the late times’, were overridden. He was named to the committees for the private bills on behalf of the younger children of Bulstrode Whitelocke, and to enable Ingleby to be sold.
He was reckoned a court dependant in 1664 and a friend of Ormonde, and in 1669 Sir Thomas Osborne included him among those to be engaged for the Court by the Duke of York. ‘Honest Dick Ingoldsby’ (in Oliver’s unfortunate phrase) could ‘neither pray nor preach’, and for some time he maintained an Independent chaplain in his household for these purposes.
The House of Commons blog has published an account of Col. Richard Ingoldsby MP's career, doubting that he attended the trial of King Charles, but confirming that he was one of the signers of the death warrent. They conclude that his allegance was to the Cromwell family: as soon as Richard stepped down, Ingoldsby was in touch with royalists aiding the restoration of Charles II.
Charles II must have believed Ingoldsby's story of being coerced into signing by his cousin, as not only was he reprieved from punishment, but he was appointed as one of Charles II’s gentlemen of the privy chamber. I.E. Charles trusted Ingoldsby enough to have him in the working and social parts of the Palace, interacting with him daily in vulnerable settings. https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/…
"Pepys saw this play at the Apothecaries' hall, which is indeed in Black Friars Lane. Don't ask why the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries would put up a play like this, or indeed any play at all."
"Mr. Moore making up accounts with me all this morning till Lieut. Lambert came, and so with them ... and there after great patience and little expectation, from so poor beginning, I saw three acts of “The Mayd in ye Mill” acted to my great content."
RLB, assuming Wiki is correct, it sounds as if an amateur company or school put on this show (calling for patience and low expectations), and rented Apothecaries' Hall as a suitable venue. So it could have been a fund-raiser for a cause near to Mr. Moore and/or Lt. Lambert's heart, and Pepys tagged along as he was having such an enjoyable day with his friends. OR the Apothecaries were running a fundraiser for a charity they were involved in -- a school, almshouses, church renovation, etc. -- and they sponsored some amateur performers.
Children's shows then as now were used as a way of building confidence, teamwork, discipline, self-esteem, etc., and showcasing their charges to future employers -- or marriage partners. For instance, "In December 1674, when she was 17, Baroness Henrietta Wentworth was presented at the court of Charles II, when she took part in a masque called ‘Calisto, or the chaste Nymph,’ by John Crowne, where she, 'Personated Jupiter in love with Calisto'. Also taking part were the princesses Mary and Anne (daughters of James, Duke of York), and Sarah Jennings (future wife of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough)." http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogs… https://blog.hrp.org.uk/curators/… https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_…
The purpose of the masque? To entertain William of Orange (the Stuart brothers' Protestant nephew), so he would see how accomplished and desireable the Princess Mary was. And to give young people something to do together for 6 months which was fun and comparitively harmless.
"I believe the diary must be written down in 1661?"
You are correct. Pepys didn't always write his Diary on the same day, but kept notes from which he'd spend a few hours on a quiet day catching up. It's not unusual to see him say something like "I went to my office to write the last 5 days of my journal". This is his record of activities for Monday, 28 January, 1661.
"Mr. Davis’s eldest son took up my old Lady Slingsby in his arms, and carried her to the coach, ..."
Dorothy Slingsby Nightingale tells us that her brother, Sir Robert Slingsby, was lived with their widowed mother, Margaret Walter Slingsby (no birth or death dates cited) at York before the Restoration. Robert was described as being "infirm and wounded, and not likely to live long".
Turns out Sir Robert Slingsby had a Naval background before he joined the army:
He entered the Navy as a boy and when he was only 22 was given his first command, the Eighth Lyon's Whelp; in 1636 he commanded the Third Lyon's Whelp, and then the Expedition, in which he transported arms from the Tower of London to Edinburgh in 1640. He then commanded a small squadron in the English Channel, and in 1642 escorted the Portuguese Ambassador to Lisbon in the Garland.
On the outbreak of the first Civil War, Robert Slingsby declared for King Charles, but his men mutinied and he was imprisoned.
On his release he joined the King at Oxford and in 1644 went to the Continent to raise funds.
He returned to England: he and his brother Walter were with Prince Rupert when he surrendered Bristol, then they went to Brussels to join their brother Arthur, who in 1658 was created first of the Slingsby baronets of Bifrons.
Robert later returned to England alone, and in 1650, like so many defeated Royalists, he compounded i.e. paid a fine in return for being left with sufficient means to live on.
According to his sister, Dorothy Slingsby Nightingale, Robert was then living with their widowed mother, Margaret Walter Slingsby (no birth or death dates cited) at York. Robert was then described as being "infirm and wounded, and not likely to live long".
At the Restoration, he was given his father's old office of Comptroller of the Navy, and was created the first and last of the Slingsby baronets of Newcells. https://military-history.fandom.c…
Costly I think we understand, but what constituted genteel in 1660s was summed up by Cosmo and some other thinkers: https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
This links to another entry on the “The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,” a 16th century code of conduct. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Genteel enough for you? They were pretty uncivilized times.
Hi Christopher -- I'm going to field your question for Phil. These annotations are supposed to be for comments about today's episode of Pepys' Diary only. Background information goes into the Encyclopedia.
For personal stuff, debates, links to current events, etc, are supposed to go on our group email blasts: pepysdiary-groups.io
For instance, someone has posted pictures of last Sunday's memorial march for King Charles I.
In the heat of the moment it's hard to remember what to post where. We all fail from time to time!
February 2 is Candlemas Day. Revealingly neither Pepys nor Rev. Ralph (Presbyterian/Commonwealth area) mention it, while Rev. Robert Herrick down in Devonshire (Anglican/Catholic/Royalist area) probably acknowledged this essentially Roman celebration of Juno's purification ceremonies, and so Juno Februa — Juno Purifier — became simply the goddess Februa, which bring us the name of the month. Juno's purification morphed into the purification of Mary, and the Catholics adopted and adapted Juno's traditions. Herrick left us a lovely poem on the subject.
This poem may say more about Elizabeth's instincts today as she grew up in Devonshire, than they do Sam's who grew up in London, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire (all Presbyterian like Josselin).
On Candlemas Eve was kindled the yule-brand, which was allowed to burn until sunset, when it was quenched and carefully laid by to light the Christmas log at the next return of the season.
Thus Robert Herrick in "Hesperides" says:
Kindle the Christmas Brand, and then Till sunne-set let it burne; Which quencht, then lay it up agen Till Christmas next returne. Part must be kept wherewith to teend The Christmas Log next yeare; And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend Can do no mischiefe there.
[The rosemary, bay, ivy, holly, and mistletoe, the Christmas decorations of hall and cottage, were now pulled down, because, according to popular superstition, not a branch, nor a leaf, should be allowed to remain. Since Puritans hadn't celebrated Christmas for 15 plus years, the Pepys had no decorations that we know of to remove. But I suspect the Evelyns may have some.]
Down with the Rosemary and so Down with the Baies and the Misleto: Down with the Holly, Ivie, all Wherewith ye dress the Christmas hall: That so the superstitious find No one least branch there left behind; For look, how many leaves there be Neglected there (maids trust to me), How many goblins you shall see.
Having lived in Devon, I can atest that the goblins are still a problem, They often live under bridges up on the moors, and at night go about making mischief.
Daniel asked: "how important would the hanging of criminals' corpes be in the eyes of all the people of London at this time, I wonder?"
I suspect it was done for the shock value more than anything. If the corpses had been left buried at St. Margaret's, Pepys and company would have had nothing to talk about. This was a further reminder that the Stuarts were not happy about the execution of their father; people will be asked to remember that on the Fast Day on the anniversary of his death at the end of the month. Church services are planned to memorialize "St." Charles the Martyr, who was killed for defending the Church of England (from Charles II's point-of-view).
Pepys' friend from the start of the Diary, Lt. David LAMBERT, was the subject of a letter written by Lord High Adm. James, Duke of York to George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, on this date. James mentions Capt. Lambert as having been a passenger in a ketch tender belonging to the Royal Charles, at the time one of her men was killed by a shot fired from Landguard fort. Albemarle is requested to investigate the incident, and the cause to be properly punished. -- Biographia navalis. J. Charnock, 1794. https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
From the same book, the salt makers were similarly treated.
Salt was known to the Romans, and was made by evaporating sea water. This required a lot of fuel. Scotland's supply of timber for firewood began to fail as early as the 13th centiry, and the discovery of coal in Midlothian made the production of salt possible.
Hugh Miller's comments above regarding the Act of 1606, and the conditions endured by these endentured serfs apply to the makers of salt as much as they do to the coal miners.
The degraded condition of the laboring population of the district, and especially of the salt workers and colliers of Joppa has already been referred to; but it is rather startling in this 19th century to have the evidence of slavery existing within 4 miles of the capital [EDINBURGH] told us by an eyewitness of the fact:
William Chambers' evidence is remarkable. “The small smoke-dried community of these Salt Pans," he says, "was socially interesting. Along with the colliers in the neighboring tiled hamlets, the salt makers — at least the elderly among them — had at one time been serfs, and in that condition they had been legally sold along with the property on which they dwelt. I conversed with some of them on the subject. They and their children had been heritable fixtures to the spot. They could neither leave at will, nor change their profession. In short, they were in a sense slaves.
"I feel it to be curious," he continues, ''that I should have seen and spoken to persons in this country who remembered being legally in a state of serfdom; and such they were till 1799, when an Act of Parliament abolished this last remnant of slavery in the British Islands."
Thanks, SDS, I had forgotten about that location. I have posted elsewhere about the conditions endured by the coal miners in Scotland -- and now I find the salt "makers" (i.e. the people laboring in the salt flats) were similarly enslaved. (Regular salt -- and pepper -- notations can otherwise be found in our Encyclopedia at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… -- "Other" under Food - Spices.)
I think Thomas Hayer was Pepys' "trainer" as he had been clerking in this role during the Commonwealth.
His job: Chief Clerks to Clerks of the Acts 1664-1796 In 1664 an annual allowance of £30, in addition to his salary of £30, was made available to one of the Clerks to the Clerk of the Acts. The Clerk in receipt of this allowance effectively filled the position of Chief Clerk to the Clerk of the Acts, although it is not always possible to distinguish from the Treasurer's accounts to which Clerk the allowance was paid. https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
Last Saturday, "Here the Treasurer did tell me that he did suspect Thos. Hater to be an informer of them in this work [PAYING OFF THE NAVY WITH IOUs], which we do take to be a diminution of us, which do trouble me, and I do intend to find out the truth." https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
"So, Thomas, here's last quarter's salary. No IOUs for us! And what do you think about revising Lord Northumberland's job descriptions? I think we need to specify the security aspect."
"mumble mumble isn't that self-evident?"
"Talking about the IOUs, do you have problems with this policy, since you know the treasury's current shortcomings?"
"mumble mumble better than being captive on board."
"Exactly my thoughts, Thomas. But we've found that the men know about the accommodation before the Pay arrives, and are riled up, making the Pay more difficult -- nay, dangerous -- than it should be. Do you have any idea how the word is reaching them?"
"mumble mumble oh shit!"
"Yes, Thomas. Loose lips sink ships. This is a position of trust, and you are privy to blah blah blah."
Presumably Hater had bared his misgivings to his Quaker/non-conformist friends who had in turn relayed the information to the men on board.
Or had he? Pepys doesn't tell us the outcome. My apologies to Mr. Hater if he was innocent.
In those days you worked for as long as you had to. The Navy Board had 4 Commissioners and had to meet 2x a week; a quorum was 2 Commissioners. Since business people stopped in to conduct business, a Commissioner or 2 would need to be there during working hours, whatever they were (Pepys has not told us), just in case a decision was needed. Every Commissioner had 2 clerks, so they probably handled most of the walk-in business. My guess is they had a schedule so every Commissioner was "on first" equally. Batten and Penn are now also MPs., and Parliament usually sat in the morning, so the Navy Board "sitting" was generally in the afternoon to accommodate them. A project comes in, and Pepys will respond until it's done. Including Sundays.
As the Dowager Countess of Grantham famously said, "What's a weekend?" Trades Unions have not been invented yet. People were desperate for these jobs and benefits.
Comments
Third Reading
About Thomas Whitton
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M: Thomas Whitton (died 1661). Clerk and accountant to the Chathem Chest 1656 - 1660. Afterwards clerk in the Navy Office, first to Commissioner Pett, and later to the Comptroller.
About Col. Richard Ingoldsby
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONCLUSION:
Later Samuel Pepys included him among the Presbyterians commissioned to raise troops of horse after the Dutch raid on the Medway;
but he must have conformed to the Church of England, at least until the Conventicles Act, when he lost his place on the commission of the peace.
When Osborne took office as Lord Treasurer Danby, Ingoldsby, doubtless under Lee’s important committee was for the liberty of the subject (13 Nov. 1675). [SIC]
He was included on the working lists among Members to be influenced by the King in person; but Sir Richard Wiseman saw ‘little cause to hope well’ of him.
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Earl of Shafterbury marked Ingoldsby as ‘worthy’ in 1677, and he was appointed to the committee for the recall of British subjects from the French service.
During the Popish Plot alarm, he was among those Members appointed to investigate the sounds of knocking heard in Old Palace Yard, and on the proposal to call out the militia he made his only recorded speech:
"I think the horse of the militia are most convenient to be employed. That charge lies upon the gentlemen only. The foot are useless, and mostly lying upon the poorer sort. The horse can be everywhere in the county."
Ingoldsby was re-elected to the Exclusion Parliaments, and again marked ‘worthy’ on the Shaftesbury’s list.
He was given leave to go into the country for 2 weeks on 1 May 1679, but returned in time to vote for the Exclusion bill.
But he was named to no committees and made no speeches.
He was defeated in 1685, but did not join in Lee’s petition, although it was reported that they had a majority of 6-to-1 over the Tories.
On the news of Monmouth’s landing, James II sent Ingoldsby to the Tower, but he was released later in the month.
Col. Richard Ingoldsby MP and a gentleman of the privy chamber 1661-85, died on 9 Sept. 1685 and was buried with his wife, Elizabeth Croke Lee Ingoldsby (d.1675 -- she was the widow of Thomas Lee Snr. of Hartwell, Bucks.), at Hartwell.
https://www.historyofparliamenton…
About Col. Richard Ingoldsby
San Diego Sarah • Link
Excerpted from Richard Ingoldsby's Parliamentary bio:
Col. Richard Ingoldsby (1617 - 1685). His ancestors had held the manor of Lenborough since the 15th century, but he was the first to sit in Parliament. His father and at least 6 of his brothers were active on the parliamentarian side during the Civil Wars and Interregnum.
His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Oliver Cromwell MP of Hinchingbroke, Hunts., and this kinship with the Cromwells earned him a regiment in the New Model Army, and he was able to purchase Waldridge, 5 miles from Aylesbury, in 1650.
He sat in Cromwell’s ‘Other House’, but became an active Royalist when the Rump deprived him of his regiment in I659.
He claimed his signature on King Charles’ death-warrant had been procured by force, but was told that, as a regicide, he would have to earn his pardon. As ‘the most popular man in the army’ when restored to his command by George Monck, he soon was able to earn earn his reprieve.
Ingoldsby was returned to the 1660 Convention Parliament for Aylesbury on the interest of his step-son, Thomas Lee, defeating the unrepentant regicide, Thomas Scott.
He was entitled to the sole credit for the recapture of Col. Lambert, and received a vote of thanks from the House on 26 Apr. 1660.
Two weeks later he appeared, bathed in tears, to express his penitence for the King’s execution.
He did not speak again, and was appointed to only 2 unimportant committees. Nevertheless Lord Wharton marked him as a friend reserved for his own management.
Sir George Booth obtained leave for Ingoldsby to petition the Lords for a debt owed to him by his fellow-regicide, Sir Hardress Waller (whose daughter had married his brother) and on 7 Dec. Francis, Lord Aungier presented a proviso to the indemnity bill on his behalf.
Ingoldsby was re-elected in 1661, given a place at Court, and made a knight of the Bath for Charles II's coronation.
An active Member of the Cavalier Parliament, Ingoldsby was appointed to 27 committees. He was still listed among Wharton’s friends, but also remained in favor at Court.
Sir Henry Bennet wrote to Ormonde to support his case before the commissioners of settlement in Ireland, while on his behalf the claims of a devoted Royalist to a lease of the Lincolnshire manor of Ingleby, bought ‘during the late times’, were overridden.
He was named to the committees for the private bills on behalf of the younger children of Bulstrode Whitelocke, and to enable Ingleby to be sold.
He was reckoned a court dependant in 1664 and a friend of Ormonde, and in 1669 Sir Thomas Osborne included him among those to be engaged for the Court by the Duke of York.
‘Honest Dick Ingoldsby’ (in Oliver’s unfortunate phrase) could ‘neither pray nor preach’, and for some time he maintained an Independent chaplain in his household for these purposes.
About Col. Richard Ingoldsby
San Diego Sarah • Link
The House of Commons blog has published an account of Col. Richard Ingoldsby MP's career, doubting that he attended the trial of King Charles, but confirming that he was one of the signers of the death warrent. They conclude that his allegance was to the Cromwell family: as soon as Richard stepped down, Ingoldsby was in touch with royalists aiding the restoration of Charles II.
Charles II must have believed Ingoldsby's story of being coerced into signing by his cousin, as not only was he reprieved from punishment, but he was appointed as one of Charles II’s gentlemen of the privy chamber. I.E. Charles trusted Ingoldsby enough to have him in the working and social parts of the Palace, interacting with him daily in vulnerable settings.
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/…
About Tuesday 29 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Pepys saw this play at the Apothecaries' hall, which is indeed in Black Friars Lane. Don't ask why the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries would put up a play like this, or indeed any play at all."
"Mr. Moore making up accounts with me all this morning till Lieut. Lambert came, and so with them ... and there after great patience and little expectation, from so poor beginning, I saw three acts of “The Mayd in ye Mill” acted to my great content."
RLB, assuming Wiki is correct, it sounds as if an amateur company or school put on this show (calling for patience and low expectations), and rented Apothecaries' Hall as a suitable venue. So it could have been a fund-raiser for a cause near to Mr. Moore and/or Lt. Lambert's heart, and Pepys tagged along as he was having such an enjoyable day with his friends.
OR the Apothecaries were running a fundraiser for a charity they were involved in -- a school, almshouses, church renovation, etc. -- and they sponsored some amateur performers.
Children's shows then as now were used as a way of building confidence, teamwork, discipline, self-esteem, etc., and showcasing their charges to future employers -- or marriage partners. For instance,
"In December 1674, when she was 17, Baroness Henrietta Wentworth was presented at the court of Charles II, when she took part in a masque called ‘Calisto, or the chaste Nymph,’ by John Crowne, where she, 'Personated Jupiter in love with Calisto'. Also taking part were the princesses Mary and Anne (daughters of James, Duke of York), and Sarah Jennings (future wife of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough)."
http://hoydensandfirebrands.blogs…
https://blog.hrp.org.uk/curators/…
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_…
The purpose of the masque? To entertain William of Orange (the Stuart brothers' Protestant nephew), so he would see how accomplished and desireable the Princess Mary was. And to give young people something to do together for 6 months which was fun and comparitively harmless.
About Monday 28 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"I believe the diary must be written down in 1661?"
You are correct. Pepys didn't always write his Diary on the same day, but kept notes from which he'd spend a few hours on a quiet day catching up. It's not unusual to see him say something like "I went to my office to write the last 5 days of my journal". This is his record of activities for Monday, 28 January, 1661.
About Tuesday 29 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Mr. Davis’s eldest son took up my old Lady Slingsby in his arms, and carried her to the coach, ..."
Dorothy Slingsby Nightingale tells us that her brother, Sir Robert Slingsby, was lived with their widowed mother, Margaret Walter Slingsby (no birth or death dates cited) at York before the Restoration. Robert was described as being "infirm and wounded, and not likely to live long".
Sounds to me as if Lady Slingsby Snr. is visiting.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
There is no reason for the current Lady Elizabeth Slingsby to leave the house where she lives after dinner.
About Col. Robert Slingsby (Comptroller of the Navy, 1660-1)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Turns out Sir Robert Slingsby had a Naval background before he joined the army:
He entered the Navy as a boy and when he was only 22 was given his first command, the Eighth Lyon's Whelp; in 1636 he commanded the Third Lyon's Whelp, and then the Expedition, in which he transported arms from the Tower of London to Edinburgh in 1640.
He then commanded a small squadron in the English Channel, and in 1642 escorted the Portuguese Ambassador to Lisbon in the Garland.
On the outbreak of the first Civil War, Robert Slingsby declared for King Charles, but his men mutinied and he was imprisoned.
On his release he joined the King at Oxford and in 1644 went to the Continent to raise funds.
He returned to England: he and his brother Walter were with Prince Rupert when he surrendered Bristol, then they went to Brussels to join their brother Arthur, who in 1658 was created first of the Slingsby baronets of Bifrons.
Robert later returned to England alone, and in 1650, like so many defeated Royalists, he compounded i.e. paid a fine in return for being left with sufficient means to live on.
According to his sister, Dorothy Slingsby Nightingale, Robert was then living with their widowed mother, Margaret Walter Slingsby (no birth or death dates cited) at York. Robert was then described as being "infirm and wounded, and not likely to live long".
At the Restoration, he was given his father's old office of Comptroller of the Navy, and was created the first and last of the Slingsby baronets of Newcells.
https://military-history.fandom.c…
About Tuesday 29 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"A costly and genteel supper"?
Costly I think we understand, but what constituted genteel in 1660s was summed up by Cosmo and some other thinkers:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
This links to another entry on the “The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,” a 16th century code of conduct.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Genteel enough for you? They were pretty uncivilized times.
About Monday 28 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
Hi Christopher -- I'm going to field your question for Phil. These annotations are supposed to be for comments about today's episode of Pepys' Diary only. Background information goes into the Encyclopedia.
For personal stuff, debates, links to current events, etc, are supposed to go on our group email blasts:
pepysdiary-groups.io
For instance, someone has posted pictures of last Sunday's memorial march for King Charles I.
In the heat of the moment it's hard to remember what to post where. We all fail from time to time!
About Saturday 2 February 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
February 2 is Candlemas Day. Revealingly neither Pepys nor Rev. Ralph (Presbyterian/Commonwealth area) mention it, while Rev. Robert Herrick down in Devonshire (Anglican/Catholic/Royalist area) probably acknowledged this essentially Roman celebration of Juno's purification ceremonies, and so Juno Februa — Juno Purifier — became simply the goddess Februa, which bring us the name of the month. Juno's purification morphed into the purification of Mary, and the Catholics adopted and adapted Juno's traditions. Herrick left us a lovely poem on the subject.
This poem may say more about Elizabeth's instincts today as she grew up in Devonshire, than they do Sam's who grew up in London, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire (all Presbyterian like Josselin).
On Candlemas Eve was kindled the yule-brand, which was allowed to burn until sunset, when it was quenched and carefully laid by to light the Christmas log at the next return of the season.
Thus Robert Herrick in "Hesperides" says:
Kindle the Christmas Brand, and then
Till sunne-set let it burne;
Which quencht, then lay it up agen
Till Christmas next returne.
Part must be kept wherewith to teend
The Christmas Log next yeare;
And where 'tis safely kept, the fiend
Can do no mischiefe there.
[The rosemary, bay, ivy, holly, and mistletoe, the Christmas decorations of hall and cottage, were now pulled down, because, according to popular superstition, not a branch, nor a leaf, should be allowed to remain. Since Puritans hadn't celebrated Christmas for 15 plus years, the Pepys had no decorations that we know of to remove. But I suspect the Evelyns may have some.]
Down with the Rosemary and so
Down with the Baies and the Misleto:
Down with the Holly, Ivie, all
Wherewith ye dress the Christmas hall:
That so the superstitious find
No one least branch there left behind;
For look, how many leaves there be
Neglected there (maids trust to me),
How many goblins you shall see.
Having lived in Devon, I can atest that the goblins are still a problem, They often live under bridges up on the moors, and at night go about making mischief.
About Monday 28 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
Daniel asked: "how important would the hanging of criminals' corpes be in the eyes of all the people of London at this time, I wonder?"
I suspect it was done for the shock value more than anything. If the corpses had been left buried at St. Margaret's, Pepys and company would have had nothing to talk about.
This was a further reminder that the Stuarts were not happy about the execution of their father; people will be asked to remember that on the Fast Day on the anniversary of his death at the end of the month. Church services are planned to memorialize "St." Charles the Martyr, who was killed for defending the Church of England (from Charles II's point-of-view).
About Sunday 27 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
And to "Merry Christmas"!
About Thursday 20 April 1665
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pepys' friend from the start of the Diary, Lt. David LAMBERT, was the subject of a letter written by Lord High Adm. James, Duke of York to George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, on this date.
James mentions Capt. Lambert as having been a passenger in a ketch tender belonging to the Royal Charles, at the time one of her men was killed by a shot fired from Landguard fort. Albemarle is requested to investigate the incident, and the cause to be properly punished. -- Biographia navalis. J. Charnock, 1794.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Saturday 26 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Value of pound?
See Background - Money"
I don't find any part of our Encyclopedia called "Money" -- but lots of smaller subjects on the topic. E.G. Pepys' Wealth, Tokens, Jacobus, etc.
I think PHE means to refer to "VALUE TODAY" at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
or "PRICES" at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Samuel Pepys and Slaves
San Diego Sarah • Link
From the same book, the salt makers were similarly treated.
Salt was known to the Romans, and was made by evaporating sea water. This required a lot of fuel. Scotland's supply of timber for firewood began to fail as early as the 13th centiry, and the discovery of coal in Midlothian made the production of salt possible.
Hugh Miller's comments above regarding the Act of 1606, and the conditions endured by these endentured serfs apply to the makers of salt as much as they do to the coal miners.
The degraded condition of the laboring population of the district, and especially of the salt workers and colliers of Joppa has already been referred to; but it is rather startling in this 19th century to have the evidence of slavery existing within 4 miles of the capital [EDINBURGH] told us by an eyewitness of the fact:
William Chambers' evidence is remarkable. “The small smoke-dried community of these Salt Pans," he says, "was socially interesting. Along with the colliers in the neighboring tiled hamlets, the salt makers — at least the elderly among them — had at one time been serfs, and in that condition they had been legally sold along with the property on which they dwelt. I conversed with some of them on the subject. They and their children had been heritable fixtures to the spot. They could neither leave at will, nor change their profession. In short, they were in a sense slaves.
"I feel it to be curious," he continues, ''that I should have seen and spoken to persons in this country who remembered being legally in a state of serfdom; and such they were till 1799, when an Act of Parliament abolished this last remnant of slavery in the British Islands."
About Thursday 17 October 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
Thanks, SDS, I had forgotten about that location. I have posted elsewhere about the conditions endured by the coal miners in Scotland -- and now I find the salt "makers" (i.e. the people laboring in the salt flats) were similarly enslaved.
(Regular salt -- and pepper -- notations can otherwise be found in our Encyclopedia at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl… -- "Other" under Food - Spices.)
About Friday 25 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
I think Thomas Hayer was Pepys' "trainer" as he had been clerking in this role during the Commonwealth.
His job: Chief Clerks to Clerks of the Acts 1664-1796
In 1664 an annual allowance of £30, in addition to his salary of £30, was made available to one of the Clerks to the Clerk of the Acts. The Clerk in receipt of this allowance effectively filled the position of Chief Clerk to the Clerk of the Acts, although it is not always possible to distinguish from the Treasurer's accounts to which Clerk the allowance was paid.
https://www.british-history.ac.uk…
Last Saturday, "Here the Treasurer did tell me that he did suspect Thos. Hater to be an informer of them in this work [PAYING OFF THE NAVY WITH IOUs], which we do take to be a diminution of us, which do trouble me, and I do intend to find out the truth."
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
"So, Thomas, here's last quarter's salary. No IOUs for us! And what do you think about revising Lord Northumberland's job descriptions? I think we need to specify the security aspect."
"mumble mumble isn't that self-evident?"
"Talking about the IOUs, do you have problems with this policy, since you know the treasury's current shortcomings?"
"mumble mumble better than being captive on board."
"Exactly my thoughts, Thomas. But we've found that the men know about the accommodation before the Pay arrives, and are riled up, making the Pay more difficult -- nay, dangerous -- than it should be. Do you have any idea how the word is reaching them?"
"mumble mumble oh shit!"
"Yes, Thomas. Loose lips sink ships. This is a position of trust, and you are privy to blah blah blah."
Presumably Hater had bared his misgivings to his Quaker/non-conformist friends who had in turn relayed the information to the men on board.
Or had he? Pepys doesn't tell us the outcome. My apologies to Mr. Hater if he was innocent.
About Thursday 24 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"... evidently he is not a foodie,no mention of the menu; ..."
Of yes he is. But you're right, no mention of the menu. Perhaps John Slater shouldn't quit his day job of being a messenger?
About Thursday 24 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"What exactly is Pepys' working week?"
In those days you worked for as long as you had to.
The Navy Board had 4 Commissioners and had to meet 2x a week; a quorum was 2 Commissioners.
Since business people stopped in to conduct business, a Commissioner or 2 would need to be there during working hours, whatever they were (Pepys has not told us), just in case a decision was needed.
Every Commissioner had 2 clerks, so they probably handled most of the walk-in business.
My guess is they had a schedule so every Commissioner was "on first" equally.
Batten and Penn are now also MPs., and Parliament usually sat in the morning, so the Navy Board "sitting" was generally in the afternoon to accommodate them.
A project comes in, and Pepys will respond until it's done. Including Sundays.
As the Dowager Countess of Grantham famously said, "What's a weekend?"
Trades Unions have not been invented yet.
People were desperate for these jobs and benefits.