De facto slavery was practiced in Scotland during the 17th century, according to this book. I've corrected the scanning errors and updated the spellings I could guess; otherwise I've left the puzzlers. Scots and the law are not my forte:
From "The Annals of Duddingston and Portobello" BY WILLIAM BAIRD, F.S.A. Scot.
The extent to which the trade with other countries was growing seems to have so alarmed the Government, lest the [COAL] supply should become exhausted, that by an Act passed in 1563 the transporting of coals "furth of the realm" was prohibited, but afterwards commuted so far by an Act of the Privy Council that "smiddy coal" was allowed to be exported.
In process of time these Acts came to be disregarded, until in 1609 a proposal was made by the Scottish Privy Council that the foreign coal trade should be legalized. King James would listen to nothing of the kind. In a long letter, dated Whitehall, 28 April 1609, he fully relates the reasons for his refusal, viz., his fear 'That as it is notorious that the coals both in that and this kingdom do daily decay, so that their is no hope of any sudden new growth; and as by the use of these coals the woods and growing timber throughout all the land shall be spared and uncut and undestroyed," and seeing "that coals are at this instant almost unbuyable for dearth," he considered it "a shameful thing that the private gain of some two or three individuals should be put in the balance, not only with the weele [WELFARE?] of the whole kingdom, bat even of this whole yle." [but even of this old earl?]
In all probability it was considerably before the reign of the Modern Solomon [KING JAMES VI AND I] who indited this sapient epistle that the coal pits of Duddingston were opened near to Joppa, as we find a charter of Kelso Abbey, dated 1538, by which the lands of Easter and Wester Duddingston were granted to Robert Barton, where mention is made of his right to the coal and coal-heughs on the Barony.
From an early period until 1790, coal had continued to be extracted, and that in considerable quantity from the 3 or 4 pits wrought in that neighborhood. At the end of the century 13 seams of coal had been discovered and partly wrought; several being of first-rate quality.
Prince Henry's Room is located on the first floor at the front of No. 17 Fleet Street in London. The iconic house is one of the few surviving buildings in London dating from before the Great Fire of London in 1666. A plaque used to state that it was ‘once the home or palace of Henry VIII.’
The room, on the first floor, contains one of the best-preserved Jacobian-enriched plaster ceilings in London. The main feature is the fine and rare highly decorated Jacobian-enriched plaster ceiling, with the Prince of Wale’s feathers and the initials "PH" in the centre.
There is one wall of original Jacobean wood panelling left; the other panelling is Georgian. There are also fine leaded lights with coats of arms and badges, best seen from within the room.
The unexceptional fireplace has a wood surround and panelling above, with an inscription recording the connection with the diarist and great naval administrator, Samuel Pepys.
The site was once owned by the Templars, but after the dissolution of the Order of St John, the building was rebuilt in 1610 and became a tavern called Prince's Arms. This coincided with the investiture of Prince Henry, son of James I, as Prince of Wales.
During the 17th century, the building was known as the Fountain Inn and was visited by Samuel Pepys on 14 October, 1661. He wrote "In the afternoon Captain Ferrers and I walked abroad to several places; among others, to Mr. Pim's my Lord's tailors and there he went out with us to the Fountain tavern and did give us store of wine."
On 28 November 1661, Pepys wrote "to the Fountain tavern and there stayed till 12 at night, drinking and singing, Mr. Symons and one Mr. Agar singing very well. Then Mr. Gauden, being almost drunk, had the wit to be gone; and so I took leave too."
A plaque used to state it was once the home or palace of Henry VIII; also Cardinal Wolsey lived there.
Once the Management of the Duchy of Cornwall held their sittings here in the time of King Charles, on or about 1619 (see Mrs. Green's "Calendar of State Papers").
From 1975, the room was a museum which hosted a Samuel Pepys exhibition — Pepys was born in Fleet Street in 1633.
The building now houses the offices of the Delegation of the Catalonian Regional Government to the UK, and Prince Henry's Room is only viewable when special events are held there: it was opened to the public for one day for the September 2023 London Open House Festival. The City of London Corporation has recently completed a consultation with interested parties regarding the room's usage. [NO DETAILS GIVEN - SDS]
L&M Companion: The Honywood family (who sometimes lodged at John Pepys Snr.'s house in Salisbury Court) were often mentioned in the diary of Ralph Josselin, vicar of Earls Colne, Essex. They owned Marks Hall near Colchester. Peter Honywood's eldest brother, Sir Thomas MP (1586-1666), was Josselin's particular friend, and a leading parliamentarian. ... he retired from public life in 1660. ... Peter spent more time at the Pepys' house than any other brother. The Elizabeth Wyld who accompanied him to Pepys' stone feast was his niece.
Peter Honywood born 11 December, 1589, at Petts Hall, Charing, Kent, and died in 1685 at the advanced age of 96, the longest-lived of all the brothers.
A pedigree list created by the Honywood family shows Peter as the fifth child (fourth surviving) of Robert Honeywood and his second wife. Elizabeth Browne:
"The saide Robert Honywood, by his second wife Elizabeth Browne, daughter to Sir Thomas Browne, of Beachworth Castle in Surrey, by his wife Mabell Fitz-Williams, one of the coheiress of Sir William Fitz-Williams, Lord Deputy of Ireland, had issue: I. Thomas. 2. Thomas. 3. Mathew. 4. Ann. 5. Peter. 6. Hester. 7. Henry. 8. Mabell. 9. Michall. 10. Isaack. These are grand-children of Mary Honywood."
With his older brother Matthew, Peter entered Emmanuel College Cambridge in 1606 and the Inner Temple in 1605. He was called to the bar in 1618.
He did not marry and had no children, so that in his Will, proved 15 December 1685, in which he styled himself "Gentleman of London", he left bequests largely to nieces, nephews, and godchildren.
He was often called upon to act as executor to the Wills of his siblings as, one by one, they died before him.
Peter Honywood was buried in London on 12 December, in the Temple Church, where, according to Venn, there is a memorial inscription. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hon…
"Does Pepys choose this plate at the Jewell office? Is this like an advertisers’ showroom or the Home Shopping Channel? If so, I wonder if the items might be subtly made or chosen to weigh slightly larger than round-number amounts, in order to increase the number of small fees that various people might have to pay."
I love this question! The Home Shopping Channel?!?!?
Just as the monarch had The Wardrobe as a place to safely park currently out-of-season or ceremonial clothing, and unused furniture, tapestries, etc. they also had a Jewel Office. The monarch didn't keep the crown jewels in his closet -- they were supposedly under lock-and-key at the Tower (ask Col. Blood about that in 20 years.).
Obviously not eveything was at the Tower: but the ceremonial silver wasn't on open shelves in the kitchen either. The good stuff was locked up and inventories kept, and when something was needed, it was checked out and checked back in.
Now comes along New Years, and the traditional exchange of gifts.
Pepys tells us the gift situation had been standardized: there are stories about nobles giving Queen Elizabeth everything from knitted stockings onwards -- the more the noble wanted, the bigger their gift. By 1660, Earls are expected to hand over 20 gold coins in a purse.
Their exchange is a visit to the Jewel Office where something can be picked out which appeals to the Earl or his assign as in this case, from Charles II surplus. Did Charles stock the Jewel Office with suitable objects? I bet he did -- plus he let things go that he had received and didn't fit his needs (too small, too old fashioned, whatever).
Were they made to order? Probably -- I'm sure the goldsmiths knew the gift ratio requirements and had appropriate things in stock when the gift buying committee arrived in November.
Charles II is exchanging gifts with hundreds of nobles and ambassadors. This is a practical way of controlling his expenses (and making sure the exchange worked in his financial favor) while also guaranteeing everyone got something of value to them.
Stewart posted about Sterling Silver, Gold & Gilt:
English silver and gold have been tightly controlled since at least 1300 and this is probably the best system of consumer protection in history. The penalties were such that there were remarkably few abuses.
Sterling standard silver is and was an alloy of 925 parts per thousand of pure silver, with added or residual amounts of copper, etc.
Gold was generally 22 carat or 22/24 pure, until 18 carat was introduced in 1798, as pure gold is too soft to be worked usefully.
Gilt does mean sterling silver gilded with pure gold - this by coating the piece with an amalgam of gold and mercury and then burning the mercury off - very attractive but very deleterious to the health of the workmen involved breathing the poisonous mercury fumes.
A piece of (silver) plate was charged by weight with two amounts, one per (Troy) ounce for the actual weight of bullion used, and the second also per ounce for the workmanship, less for plainer, more for ornate.
Since the coinage passed at the actual bullion content of the coins (or close to it) we know what an ounce of silver was worth, so the "overage" was approximately eight shillings for the ounce and a half of bullion, and four shillings for the "making".
The relatively high value of the bullion to the wages of the craftsmen made silver plate an attractive way of storing value up against a rainy day, while enjoying both the use and display of the piece -- Pepys becomes something of an addict to fine plate. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Long after Diary days the Guinea (representing 1l. and 1 shilling) was used to standardize the payment of fees to professionals and auctioneers. At auctions, something was sold for 100l. but the purchaser was charged 100 guineas. The auctioneer cleared 100 shillings, or 5l.
According to the Wiki page, a guinea in Charles II's time was a 1l. gold piece.
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Fees in Charles II's time were explained by Sandwich to Pepys:
On Thursday, 16 August, 1660, “This morning my Lord … (in the way talking how good he did hope my place would be to me, and in general speaking that it was not the salary of any place that did make a man rich, but the opportunity of getting money while he is in the place) ..."
L&M: “For almost all government servants, from ministers of state to doorkeepers, the incidental profits of office - fees, gratuities and douceurs [OED: A conciliatory present or gift; a gratuity or "tip"; a bribe] - amounted to much more than the official salary. Hence the high price of offices: a secretaryship of state sold for 10,000l.; … a commissionership of the navy for 2,000l. ... Pepys’ own prospective purchaser at 1,000l. … (After Pepys’ tenure it was worth much more.) "The system, although open to abuse, served a useful purpose by bringing salaries (fixed before the 16th-century inflation) to a reasonable level at a minimal cost to the government, and it was common to all European states. Nor did it necessarily lead to corruption.”
Isn't that a marvelous website, MartinVT? -- I almost wish Pepys had lived in Nottingham. Thanks for sorting out my links and credit -- it took me years to master this, and fear there will be more mistakes to come!
Wassailing -- singing -- to fruit trees was apparently an English country tradition. (I'm surprised Pepys didn't take advantage of this idea -- I'm sure there were a couple of trees in the garden at Seething Lane.)
"Traditionally, wassailing involves singing to the trees, beating them with sticks, toasting them with cider or putting bits of ale-soaked bread in their branches. The original rationale behind this custom isn’t clear; the idea might have been to waken the trees after the dead season of midwinter, although some people claim it is about driving away evil spirits or appeasing the spirits of the trees themselves.
"Wassailing is often popularly said to be a Medieval custom because the word has Medieval roots: it goes back to the phrase ‘wæs hail’, ‘be well’, a toast used to wish someone health when presenting them with a drink. Once a formal greeting, in Medieval England ‘wassail’ became a general word for drinking and feasting, and a name for the alcoholic drink itself.
"In Medieval sources, wassailing is not connected to crops. The first recorded wassailing of fruit trees at Twelfth Night dates from the late 16th century. There are no exact Medieval precedents.
"From the Early Modern period onwards it was a well-attested custom across southern England. It was always a tradition with great regional diversity, reflecting the crops and culture of different areas: in the West Country cider played an important role, while in the Weald there would be costumes, horn-blowing and trees splashed with ale." https://www.historytoday.com/arch…
The article is about an easy and enjoyable way to transform an old traditions into a new traditions which helps to integrate newcomers into the community. There are a few trees around here which could benefit from some Twelth Night attention ... the singing bit will be helped by the alcohol.
Phil has linked many Diary pages to the relevant day's events from the Records of Earls Colne website (top right). Pepys has no direct connection to this Essex village, which is about 40 miles northeast of London.
L&M Companion: The Honywood family (who sometimes lodged at John Pepys Snr.'s house in Salisbury Court) were often mentioned in the diary of the village's vicar, Ralph Josselin. They owned Marks Hall near Colchester.
FROM: J. Holland Walker, An itinerary of Nottingham: Thornhaughs' town house and communications, Transactions of the Thoroton Society, 31 (1927) http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/ar…
By the 17th century, wheels were coming into general use, and huge cumbrous waggons of immensely strong construction were dragged about the country by teams of 6 horses and more. In addition to conveying goods, these waggons had great baskets slung at their rear for the accommodation of passengers, and their usual rate of progress was 3 miles an hour, 4 miles an hour being looked upon as extraordinarily rapid. But the wheels of these monsters played havoc with the already dreadful surface of the roads, and all manner of plans were devised to remedy the evil. Instead of improving the roads, our forefathers tried to stop the waggons, and they also introduced regulations encouraging the use of wide wheels, until eventually rollers were tried instead of ordinary ... wheels.
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As we see from the minutes of the Royal Society during the last half of the 1660s, making transportation more comfortable was an on-going concern. I think experiments with rollers came much later.
L&M Companion: Bird/Beard arrived at his London terminus, an inn in Cripplegate, every Wednesday and returned to Huntingdon the following morning. During the period of the diary there were between 200 and 300 carrier services operating to and from London. Mostly they carried goods and letters, but also took passengers when need arose. Probably not a very comfortable journey.
Hampton Court Palace is a few miles from Kingston-on-Thames, so it's not far out of the Queen Mother and Minette's way.
I suspect Sandwich plans on being aboard and settled before their Royal Highnesses arrive. (I think he's cutting it a bit fine, since the roads must be in dreadful condition.) He'll probably spend the night at Guildford, putting him about 25 miles ahead of them (that's about half a day).
"Thence back with my father home, where he and I spoke privately in the little room to my sister Pall about stealing of things as my wife’s scissars and my maid’s book, at which my father was much troubled." https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
And in November:
"My father and I took occasion to go forth, and went and drank at Mr. Standing’s, and there discoursed seriously about my sister’s coming to live with me, which I have much mind for her good to have, and yet I am much afeard of her ill-nature.
"Coming home again, he and I, and my wife, my mother and Pall, went all together into the little room, and there I told her plainly what my mind was, to have her come not as a sister in any respect, but as a servant, which she promised me that she would, and with many thanks did weep for joy, which did give me and my wife some content and satisfaction." https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Clearly Pepys hasn't shared with us all the shenanigans this resentful, bad-tempered truant has been up to. She is no longer welcome in her parents' home, and she feared she would be out on the street. Pepys is giving her a last chance to redeem herself. No doubt, if she behaves herself and shows some maturity, good things might happen in time. It's up to Pall now. Pepys has made her position crystal clear, not only to Pall but to Jane, Wayneman and Will Hewer. It's tough love, 17th century style.
RLB, since LKvM probably won't find your question now ["@LKvM (are you Dutch, too?"], and I've also wondering that, so I clicked on his blue initials (all current annotators names are in blue -- it's a quick link to finding one of your efforts when you want to refer back). I found he had answered the question a couple of years ago: https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Also Phil has created "Roll Call" where annotators can write about their involvement and background. LKvM's post is at https://www.pepysdiary.com/news/2…
I may have done you a disservice by making the answers too easy to find -- poke around: there's more gold in the search than in the exact finding.
"A more optimistic theme to emerge in the diaries was the ability to find positivity amid the chaos. Pepys and modern diarists were thankful for the blessings of health, family and security. They praised those who went the extra mile to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on those around them, despite the risk to their own health. An entry from New Year’s Eve in 1665 reads: "'My whole family hath been well all this while, and all my friends I know of, saving my aunt Bell, who is dead, and some children of my cozen Sarah’s, of the plague … yet, to our great joy, the town fills apace, and shops begin to open again. Pray God continue the plague’s decrease!'
"DW’s diary from April 2020 expressed appreciation for time out in nature, as well as sympathy for others living in more difficult situations: "'It was lovely walking through the wood. The air was filled with birdsong. It made me realise how lucky I am to live in a village where I can walk from my front door into fields and woods along defined paths. It must be awful to live ten floors up in a high rise block with two children, and not be allowed out except for once per day.'
"Comparing COVID with historical events such as plague, the Spanish flu epidemic and the second world war was a core element of the pandemic narrative, and for good reason. History connects.
"It is easy to look around us and see the vast differences between the world we live in now, and that which Pepys traversed almost 400 years ago. But by exploring the innermost thoughts of people with an element of shared experience, we see that fundamental aspects of the human condition endure. When faced with uncertainty and upheaval, our instincts are to record, find answers, and reclaim joy."
Unsurprisingly, researchers are now comparing Pepys' Diary with modern COVID diaries. An except from one report":
"Diaries written during the Great Plague are not so numerous. Of the few available, the most valuable is that of naval administrator Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), whose exceptionally detailed and candid journals form by far the most comprehensive firsthand account of plague-stricken London.
"I have been reading Pepys’s diaries alongside the modern COVID diaries, and have been struck by the common themes in how people navigated their pandemic experiences.
"Throughout the COVID pandemic, statistics of cases and deaths were everywhere, and were key to how we judged the impact of the virus. As diarist JF wrote on June 5 2020: "'It was time to watch the Corona Virus update and I was shocked to find that over 40,000 people have now died from the disease in this country and it’s not over yet!'
"Relatively accurate information was also widely circulated in 17th-century London via the 'bills of mortality' – weekly lists of deaths according to cause and location. Pepys wrote on September 7 1665: "'Sent for the Weekely Bill and find 8252 dead in all, and of them, 6978 of the plague - which is a most dreadful Number - and shows reason to fear that the plague hath got that hold that it will yet continue among us.'
"All of the modern and historical diaries I have looked at include these statistics – some sparingly, others with meticulous regularity. As cases rose, restrictions were enforced and the effects of plague and COVID loomed large in the lives of our diarists, narratives shifted to confusion and blame. Pepys was largely sympathetic to the government’s handling of the plague and, in February 1666, criticised those who flouted the rules and endangered others: "'In the heighth of it, how bold people there were to go in sport to one another’s burials. And in spite to well people, would breathe in the faces … of well people going by.'
"COVID diarists reacted to those who didn’t follow guidelines in a very similar way, as DR wrote in March 2020: "'Not everyone is playing it very well, though, with panic-buying, one last night at the pub and a mass exodus to the coast. Stupid and selfish in equal measure.'
"The response and actions of the UK government, and individual members of parliament, also afforded much attention. An anonymous diarist wrote in May 2020: "'People are being allowed out more but the illness is still out there & there’s no treatment or vaccine yet … There are fewer deaths because of social distancing. If they let everyone get on with the ‘new normal’ surely more people will get sick?'
"You might be surprised to hear that “going for a walk” wasn’t really a thing until the late 1700s. ...
"Walking as a leisure activity came about around the 1780s. Until this point walking had been an act of necessity, associated with poverty, vagrancy and even criminal intent. Many individuals would live and die never having seen beyond a few square miles of bleak cityscape and only slightly further for those in the country. ...
"In the 1800s, when pavements were in their infancy, taking a walk was a whole different experience. An estimated 300,000 horses traversed the London streets, depositing over 1,000 tonnes of manure every day. Worse matter was also regularly tipped into the rat-ridden gutters of the slums – the word “loo” itself is suggested to be derived from the pre-warning “gardyloo”, or French “regardez l’eau” (watch out for the water) heralding the emptying of a chamber pot from an upper storey.:
"The sorry state of city streets created a demand for all sorts of workers, including “pure finders” who would have scooped up dog poo and sold it in bulk to local tanneries (places where leather skins were processed). This was just one of the unappealing occupations that social historian Henry Mayhew referred to as “street cleansers” – a motley crew of crossing sweepers, night soil men and mudlarks (people who sifted anything that they could sell from the banks of the Thames) who made their living from street waste.
"Thankfully, social reform and urban planning has moved on dramatically, and going on an urban walk is a much more pleasant experience now."
Comments
Third Reading
About Samuel Pepys and Slaves
San Diego Sarah • Link
De facto slavery was practiced in Scotland during the 17th century, according to this book. I've corrected the scanning errors and updated the spellings I could guess; otherwise I've left the puzzlers. Scots and the law are not my forte:
From "The Annals of Duddingston and Portobello"
BY WILLIAM BAIRD, F.S.A. Scot.
EDINBURGH: ANDREW ELLIOT, 17 Princes Street.
1898.
http://archive.org/stream/annalsd…
The extent to which the trade with other countries was growing seems to have so alarmed the Government, lest the [COAL] supply should become exhausted, that by an Act passed in 1563 the transporting of coals "furth of the realm" was prohibited, but afterwards commuted so far by an Act of the Privy Council that "smiddy coal" was allowed to be exported.
In process of time these Acts came to be disregarded, until in 1609 a proposal was made by the Scottish Privy Council that the foreign coal trade should be legalized.
King James would listen to nothing of the kind.
In a long letter, dated Whitehall, 28 April 1609, he fully relates the reasons for his refusal, viz., his fear 'That as it is notorious that the coals both in that and this kingdom do daily decay, so that their is no hope of any sudden new growth; and as by the use of these coals the woods and growing timber throughout all the land shall be spared and uncut and undestroyed," and seeing "that coals are at this instant almost unbuyable for dearth," he considered it "a shameful thing that the private gain of some two or three individuals should be put in the balance, not only with the weele [WELFARE?] of the whole kingdom, bat even of this whole yle." [but even of this old earl?]
In all probability it was considerably before the reign of the Modern Solomon [KING JAMES VI AND I] who indited this sapient epistle that the coal pits of Duddingston were opened near to Joppa, as we find a charter of Kelso Abbey, dated 1538, by which the lands of Easter and Wester Duddingston were granted to Robert Barton, where mention is made of his right to the coal and coal-heughs on the Barony.
From an early period until 1790, coal had continued to be extracted, and that in considerable quantity from the 3 or 4 pits wrought in that neighborhood. At the end of the century 13 seams of coal had been discovered and partly wrought; several being of first-rate quality.
About Fountain (The Strand)
San Diego Sarah • Link
Prince Henry's Room is located on the first floor at the front of No. 17 Fleet Street in London. The iconic house is one of the few surviving buildings in London dating from before the Great Fire of London in 1666. A plaque used to state that it was ‘once the home or palace of Henry VIII.’
The room, on the first floor, contains one of the best-preserved Jacobian-enriched plaster ceilings in London. The main feature is the fine and rare highly decorated Jacobian-enriched plaster ceiling, with the Prince of Wale’s feathers and the initials "PH" in the centre.
There is one wall of original Jacobean wood panelling left; the other panelling is Georgian. There are also fine leaded lights with coats of arms and badges, best seen from within the room.
The unexceptional fireplace has a wood surround and panelling above, with an inscription recording the connection with the diarist and great naval administrator, Samuel Pepys.
The site was once owned by the Templars, but after the dissolution of the Order of St John, the building was rebuilt in 1610 and became a tavern called Prince's Arms. This coincided with the investiture of Prince Henry, son of James I, as Prince of Wales.
During the 17th century, the building was known as the Fountain Inn and was visited by Samuel Pepys on 14 October, 1661. He wrote "In the afternoon Captain Ferrers and I walked abroad to several places; among others, to Mr. Pim's my Lord's tailors and there he went out with us to the Fountain tavern and did give us store of wine."
On 28 November 1661, Pepys wrote "to the Fountain tavern and there stayed till 12 at night, drinking and singing, Mr. Symons and one Mr. Agar singing very well. Then Mr. Gauden, being almost drunk, had the wit to be gone; and so I took leave too."
A plaque used to state it was once the home or palace of Henry VIII; also Cardinal Wolsey lived there.
Once the Management of the Duchy of Cornwall held their sittings here in the time of King Charles, on or about 1619 (see Mrs. Green's "Calendar of State Papers").
From 1975, the room was a museum which hosted a Samuel Pepys exhibition — Pepys was born in Fleet Street in 1633.
The building now houses the offices of the Delegation of the Catalonian Regional Government to the UK, and Prince Henry's Room is only viewable when special events are held there: it was opened to the public for one day for the September 2023 London Open House Festival. The City of London Corporation has recently completed a consultation with interested parties regarding the room's usage. [NO DETAILS GIVEN - SDS]
Excerpted from https://www.exploringgb.co.uk/blo…
This site has wonderful photos of Prince Henry's Room.
About Peter Honywood
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M Companion: The Honywood family (who sometimes lodged at John Pepys Snr.'s house in Salisbury Court) were often mentioned in the diary of Ralph Josselin, vicar of Earls Colne, Essex. They owned Marks Hall near Colchester.
Peter Honywood's eldest brother, Sir Thomas MP (1586-1666), was Josselin's particular friend, and a leading parliamentarian. ... he retired from public life in 1660. ...
Peter spent more time at the Pepys' house than any other brother. The Elizabeth Wyld who accompanied him to Pepys' stone feast was his niece.
About Peter Honywood
San Diego Sarah • Link
Peter Honywood born 11 December, 1589, at Petts Hall, Charing, Kent, and died in 1685 at the advanced age of 96, the longest-lived of all the brothers.
A pedigree list created by the Honywood family shows Peter as the fifth child (fourth surviving) of Robert Honeywood and his second wife. Elizabeth Browne:
"The saide Robert Honywood, by his second wife Elizabeth Browne, daughter to Sir Thomas Browne, of Beachworth Castle in Surrey, by his wife Mabell Fitz-Williams, one of the coheiress of Sir William Fitz-Williams, Lord Deputy of Ireland, had issue:
I. Thomas.
2. Thomas.
3. Mathew.
4. Ann.
5. Peter.
6. Hester.
7. Henry.
8. Mabell.
9. Michall.
10. Isaack.
These are grand-children of Mary Honywood."
With his older brother Matthew, Peter entered Emmanuel College Cambridge in 1606 and the Inner Temple in 1605. He was called to the bar in 1618.
He did not marry and had no children, so that in his Will, proved 15 December 1685, in which he styled himself "Gentleman of London", he left bequests largely to nieces, nephews, and godchildren.
He was often called upon to act as executor to the Wills of his siblings as, one by one, they died before him.
Peter Honywood was buried in London on 12 December, in the Temple Church, where, according to Venn, there is a memorial inscription.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hon…
About Friday 4 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
A while back I posted that we should not think of John Pepys Snr. as being horribly poor. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Here's another example of the senior Pepys' social standing: The Honywood family are well-to-do and minor gentry. They wouldn't be staying in a slum.
About Friday 4 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Does Pepys choose this plate at the Jewell office? Is this like an advertisers’ showroom or the Home Shopping Channel? If so, I wonder if the items might be subtly made or chosen to weigh slightly larger than round-number amounts, in order to increase the number of small fees that various people might have to pay."
I love this question! The Home Shopping Channel?!?!?
Just as the monarch had The Wardrobe as a place to safely park currently out-of-season or ceremonial clothing, and unused furniture, tapestries, etc. they also had a Jewel Office.
The monarch didn't keep the crown jewels in his closet -- they were supposedly under lock-and-key at the Tower (ask Col. Blood about that in 20 years.).
Obviously not eveything was at the Tower: but the ceremonial silver wasn't on open shelves in the kitchen either. The good stuff was locked up and inventories kept, and when something was needed, it was checked out and checked back in.
Now comes along New Years, and the traditional exchange of gifts.
Pepys tells us the gift situation had been standardized: there are stories about nobles giving Queen Elizabeth everything from knitted stockings onwards -- the more the noble wanted, the bigger their gift.
By 1660, Earls are expected to hand over 20 gold coins in a purse.
Their exchange is a visit to the Jewel Office where something can be picked out which appeals to the Earl or his assign as in this case, from Charles II surplus.
Did Charles stock the Jewel Office with suitable objects? I bet he did -- plus he let things go that he had received and didn't fit his needs (too small, too old fashioned, whatever).
Were they made to order? Probably -- I'm sure the goldsmiths knew the gift ratio requirements and had appropriate things in stock when the gift buying committee arrived in November.
Charles II is exchanging gifts with hundreds of nobles and ambassadors. This is a practical way of controlling his expenses (and making sure the exchange worked in his financial favor) while also guaranteeing everyone got something of value to them.
Plus no gift wrapping is involved.
About Plate
San Diego Sarah • Link
Stewart posted about Sterling Silver, Gold & Gilt:
English silver and gold have been tightly controlled since at least 1300 and this is probably the best system of consumer protection in history. The penalties were such that there were remarkably few abuses.
Sterling standard silver is and was an alloy of 925 parts per thousand of pure silver, with added or residual amounts of copper, etc.
Gold was generally 22 carat or 22/24 pure, until 18 carat was introduced in 1798, as pure gold is too soft to be worked usefully.
Gilt does mean sterling silver gilded with pure gold - this by coating the piece with an amalgam of gold and mercury and then burning the mercury off - very attractive but very deleterious to the health of the workmen involved breathing the poisonous mercury fumes.
A piece of (silver) plate was charged by weight with two amounts, one per (Troy) ounce for the actual weight of bullion used, and the second also per ounce for the workmanship, less for plainer, more for ornate.
Since the coinage passed at the actual bullion content of the coins (or close to it) we know what an ounce of silver was worth, so the "overage" was approximately eight shillings for the ounce and a half of bullion, and four shillings for the "making".
The relatively high value of the bullion to the wages of the craftsmen made silver plate an attractive way of storing value up against a rainy day, while enjoying both the use and display of the piece -- Pepys becomes something of an addict to fine plate.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Guineas
San Diego Sarah • Link
Long after Diary days the Guinea (representing 1l. and 1 shilling) was used to standardize the payment of fees to professionals and auctioneers. At auctions, something was sold for 100l. but the purchaser was charged 100 guineas.
The auctioneer cleared 100 shillings, or 5l.
According to the Wiki page, a guinea in Charles II's time was a 1l. gold piece.
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Fees in Charles II's time were explained by Sandwich to Pepys:
On Thursday, 16 August, 1660, “This morning my Lord … (in the way talking how good he did hope my place would be to me, and in general speaking that it was not the salary of any place that did make a man rich, but the opportunity of getting money while he is in the place) ..."
L&M: “For almost all government servants, from ministers of state to doorkeepers, the incidental profits of office - fees, gratuities and douceurs [OED: A conciliatory present or gift; a gratuity or "tip"; a bribe] - amounted to much more than the official salary. Hence the high price of offices: a secretaryship of state sold for 10,000l.; … a commissionership of the navy for 2,000l. ... Pepys’ own prospective purchaser at 1,000l. … (After Pepys’ tenure it was worth much more.)
"The system, although open to abuse, served a useful purpose by bringing salaries (fixed before the 16th-century inflation) to a reasonable level at a minimal cost to the government, and it was common to all European states. Nor did it necessarily lead to corruption.”
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Friday 4 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
Isn't that a marvelous website, MartinVT? -- I almost wish Pepys had lived in Nottingham.
Thanks for sorting out my links and credit -- it took me years to master this, and fear there will be more mistakes to come!
About Twelfth Night
San Diego Sarah • Link
Wassailing -- singing -- to fruit trees was apparently an English country tradition. (I'm surprised Pepys didn't take advantage of this idea -- I'm sure there were a couple of trees in the garden at Seething Lane.)
"Traditionally, wassailing involves singing to the trees, beating them with sticks, toasting them with cider or putting bits of ale-soaked bread in their branches. The original rationale behind this custom isn’t clear; the idea might have been to waken the trees after the dead season of midwinter, although some people claim it is about driving away evil spirits or appeasing the spirits of the trees themselves.
"Wassailing is often popularly said to be a Medieval custom because the word has Medieval roots: it goes back to the phrase ‘wæs hail’, ‘be well’, a toast used to wish someone health when presenting them with a drink. Once a formal greeting, in Medieval England ‘wassail’ became a general word for drinking and feasting, and a name for the alcoholic drink itself.
"In Medieval sources, wassailing is not connected to crops. The first recorded wassailing of fruit trees at Twelfth Night dates from the late 16th century. There are no exact Medieval precedents.
"From the Early Modern period onwards it was a well-attested custom across southern England. It was always a tradition with great regional diversity, reflecting the crops and culture of different areas: in the West Country cider played an important role, while in the Weald there would be costumes, horn-blowing and trees splashed with ale."
https://www.historytoday.com/arch…
The article is about an easy and enjoyable way to transform an old traditions into a new traditions which helps to integrate newcomers into the community. There are a few trees around here which could benefit from some Twelth Night attention ... the singing bit will be helped by the alcohol.
About Peter Honywood
San Diego Sarah • Link
Phil has linked many Diary pages to the relevant day's events from the Records of Earls Colne website (top right). Pepys has no direct connection to this Essex village, which is about 40 miles northeast of London.
L&M Companion: The Honywood family (who sometimes lodged at John Pepys Snr.'s house in Salisbury Court) were often mentioned in the diary of the village's vicar, Ralph Josselin. They owned Marks Hall near Colchester.
About Mr Beard
San Diego Sarah • Link
FROM: J. Holland Walker, An itinerary of Nottingham: Thornhaughs' town house and communications, Transactions of the Thoroton Society, 31 (1927)
http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/ar…
By the 17th century, wheels were coming into general use, and huge cumbrous waggons of immensely strong construction were dragged about the country by teams of 6 horses and more. In addition to conveying goods, these waggons had great baskets slung at their rear for the accommodation of passengers, and their usual rate of progress was 3 miles an hour, 4 miles an hour being looked upon as extraordinarily rapid.
But the wheels of these monsters played havoc with the already dreadful surface of the roads, and all manner of plans were devised to remedy the evil.
Instead of improving the roads, our forefathers tried to stop the waggons, and they also introduced regulations encouraging the use of wide wheels, until eventually rollers were tried instead of ordinary ... wheels.
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As we see from the minutes of the Royal Society during the last half of the 1660s, making transportation more comfortable was an on-going concern. I think experiments with rollers came much later.
About Mr Beard
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M Companion: Bird/Beard arrived at his London terminus, an inn in Cripplegate, every Wednesday and returned to Huntingdon the following morning. During the period of the diary there were between 200 and 300 carrier services operating to and from London. Mostly they carried goods and letters, but also took passengers when need arose. Probably not a very comfortable journey.
About Wednesday 2 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
"There stood a man at our door, when I carried it in, and saw me, which made me a little afeard."
I think I'd be more worried about the light-fingered Pall being IN the house than a man OUTSIDE the house.
About Wednesday 2 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
Vincent gives us the 17th century route to Portsmouth at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Hampton Court Palace is a few miles from Kingston-on-Thames, so it's not far out of the Queen Mother and Minette's way.
I suspect Sandwich plans on being aboard and settled before their Royal Highnesses arrive. (I think he's cutting it a bit fine, since the roads must be in dreadful condition.) He'll probably spend the night at Guildford, putting him about 25 miles ahead of them (that's about half a day).
About Wednesday 2 January 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
Poor Pall the mistreated and misunderstood? Bah!
At the start of the Diary:
"Thence back with my father home, where he and I spoke privately in the little room to my sister Pall about stealing of things as my wife’s scissars and my maid’s book, at which my father was much troubled."
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
And in November:
"My father and I took occasion to go forth, and went and drank at Mr. Standing’s, and there discoursed seriously about my sister’s coming to live with me, which I have much mind for her good to have, and yet I am much afeard of her ill-nature.
"Coming home again, he and I, and my wife, my mother and Pall, went all together into the little room, and there I told her plainly what my mind was, to have her come not as a sister in any respect, but as a servant, which she promised me that she would, and with many thanks did weep for joy, which did give me and my wife some content and satisfaction."
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Clearly Pepys hasn't shared with us all the shenanigans this resentful, bad-tempered truant has been up to. She is no longer welcome in her parents' home, and she feared she would be out on the street. Pepys is giving her a last chance to redeem herself.
No doubt, if she behaves herself and shows some maturity, good things might happen in time. It's up to Pall now.
Pepys has made her position crystal clear, not only to Pall but to Jane, Wayneman and Will Hewer.
It's tough love, 17th century style.
About Sunday 30 December 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
RLB, since LKvM probably won't find your question now ["@LKvM (are you Dutch, too?"], and I've also wondering that, so I clicked on his blue initials (all current annotators names are in blue -- it's a quick link to finding one of your efforts when you want to refer back). I found he had answered the question a couple of years ago:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Also Phil has created "Roll Call" where annotators can write about their involvement and background. LKvM's post is at
https://www.pepysdiary.com/news/2…
I may have done you a disservice by making the answers too easy to find -- poke around: there's more gold in the search than in the exact finding.
About Plague
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONCLUSION:
"A more optimistic theme to emerge in the diaries was the ability to find positivity amid the chaos. Pepys and modern diarists were thankful for the blessings of health, family and security. They praised those who went the extra mile to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on those around them, despite the risk to their own health. An entry from New Year’s Eve in 1665 reads:
"'My whole family hath been well all this while, and all my friends I know of, saving my aunt Bell, who is dead, and some children of my cozen Sarah’s, of the plague … yet, to our great joy, the town fills apace, and shops begin to open again. Pray God continue the plague’s decrease!'
"DW’s diary from April 2020 expressed appreciation for time out in nature, as well as sympathy for others living in more difficult situations:
"'It was lovely walking through the wood. The air was filled with birdsong. It made me realise how lucky I am to live in a village where I can walk from my front door into fields and woods along defined paths. It must be awful to live ten floors up in a high rise block with two children, and not be allowed out except for once per day.'
"Comparing COVID with historical events such as plague, the Spanish flu epidemic and the second world war was a core element of the pandemic narrative, and for good reason. History connects.
"It is easy to look around us and see the vast differences between the world we live in now, and that which Pepys traversed almost 400 years ago. But by exploring the innermost thoughts of people with an element of shared experience, we see that fundamental aspects of the human condition endure. When faced with uncertainty and upheaval, our instincts are to record, find answers, and reclaim joy."
https://theconversation.com/what-…
About Plague
San Diego Sarah • Link
Unsurprisingly, researchers are now comparing Pepys' Diary with modern COVID diaries. An except from one report":
"Diaries written during the Great Plague are not so numerous. Of the few available, the most valuable is that of naval administrator Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), whose exceptionally detailed and candid journals form by far the most comprehensive firsthand account of plague-stricken London.
"I have been reading Pepys’s diaries alongside the modern COVID diaries, and have been struck by the common themes in how people navigated their pandemic experiences.
"Throughout the COVID pandemic, statistics of cases and deaths were everywhere, and were key to how we judged the impact of the virus. As diarist JF wrote on June 5 2020:
"'It was time to watch the Corona Virus update and I was shocked to find that over 40,000 people have now died from the disease in this country and it’s not over yet!'
"Relatively accurate information was also widely circulated in 17th-century London via the 'bills of mortality' – weekly lists of deaths according to cause and location. Pepys wrote on September 7 1665:
"'Sent for the Weekely Bill and find 8252 dead in all, and of them, 6978 of the plague - which is a most dreadful Number - and shows reason to fear that the plague hath got that hold that it will yet continue among us.'
"All of the modern and historical diaries I have looked at include these statistics – some sparingly, others with meticulous regularity. As cases rose, restrictions were enforced and the effects of plague and COVID loomed large in the lives of our diarists, narratives shifted to confusion and blame. Pepys was largely sympathetic to the government’s handling of the plague and, in February 1666, criticised those who flouted the rules and endangered others:
"'In the heighth of it, how bold people there were to go in sport to one another’s burials. And in spite to well people, would breathe in the faces … of well people going by.'
"COVID diarists reacted to those who didn’t follow guidelines in a very similar way, as DR wrote in March 2020:
"'Not everyone is playing it very well, though, with panic-buying, one last night at the pub and a mass exodus to the coast. Stupid and selfish in equal measure.'
"The response and actions of the UK government, and individual members of parliament, also afforded much attention. An anonymous diarist wrote in May 2020:
"'People are being allowed out more but the illness is still out there & there’s no treatment or vaccine yet … There are fewer deaths because of social distancing. If they let everyone get on with the ‘new normal’ surely more people will get sick?'
About Saturday 14 January 1659/60
San Diego Sarah • Link
Walking in London:
"You might be surprised to hear that “going for a walk” wasn’t really a thing until the late 1700s. ...
"Walking as a leisure activity came about around the 1780s. Until this point walking had been an act of necessity, associated with poverty, vagrancy and even criminal intent. Many individuals would live and die never having seen beyond a few square miles of bleak cityscape and only slightly further for those in the country. ...
"In the 1800s, when pavements were in their infancy, taking a walk was a whole different experience. An estimated 300,000 horses traversed the London streets, depositing over 1,000 tonnes of manure every day. Worse matter was also regularly tipped into the rat-ridden gutters of the slums – the word “loo” itself is suggested to be derived from the pre-warning “gardyloo”, or French “regardez l’eau” (watch out for the water) heralding the emptying of a chamber pot from an upper storey.:
"The sorry state of city streets created a demand for all sorts of workers, including “pure finders” who would have scooped up dog poo and sold it in bulk to local tanneries (places where leather skins were processed). This was just one of the unappealing occupations that social historian Henry Mayhew referred to as “street cleansers” – a motley crew of crossing sweepers, night soil men and mudlarks (people who sifted anything that they could sell from the banks of the Thames) who made their living from street waste.
"Thankfully, social reform and urban planning has moved on dramatically, and going on an urban walk is a much more pleasant experience now."
Excerpts from
https://theconversation.com/going…