Sandwich wasn't away for long, so I guess he made a quick trip across the Narrow Sea either to The Hague or France, and brought back the trunk that Pepys had the honor of taking the last mile:
"To my Lord’s, who sent a great iron chest to White Hall; and I saw it carried, into the King’s closet,"
A gift from Charles II's cousin Louis or his mother? Things he had left behind, or sister Mary's belongings?
As a good secretary, Pepys keeps his secrets when he thinks he has to.
The day the plaster fell off the ceiling of Westminster Abbey -- a couple of weeks ago -- he was there to hear the farewell sermon of one of the two nonconforist ministers who had been meeting with their followers in the building during the Commonwealth. We discussed all the possible reasons they didn't use the old Book of Common Prayer.
Today Pepys is back "to see them at vespers". I.E. it was a performance in his mind, of a service by the Church of England. The music for Evensong can be lovely when "performed" with that in mind -- and Pepys is a musician.
Interestingly Pepys had met the new Dean of Westminster: EARLE, Dr. JOHN (1601?-1665), B.A. Merton College, Oxford, and fellow, 1619; M.A., 1624: rector of Bishopston, Wiltshire, 1639: tutor to Charles, prince of Wales, 1641; D.D. Oxford, 1640; unexpectedly appointed one of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, 1643; chancellor of Salisbury, 1643; deprived, as a 'malignant'; chaplain and clerk of the closet to Charles II in France; dean of Westminster, 1660; ...
"There dined with me in my cabin (that is, the carpenter’s) Dr. Earle and Mr. Hollis, the King’s Chaplins, Dr. Scarborough, Dr. Quarterman, and Dr. Clerke, Physicians, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Fox (both very fine gentlemen), the King’s servants, where we had brave discourse." https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
I didn't find an date for Dr. Earle being appointed Dean beyond it being in 1660.
L&M Companion: Capt. Robert Clarke, died by 1688. A friend of Pepys who had risen to captain's rank in the Commonwealth navy, He held 10 commands during the Diary period, and was rated 'very good' by Coventry. In May 1666, leading a squadron in The Gloucester, he captured 7 Dutch ships off Texel. He was criticized in 1667 for his conduct during the raid on the Medway for allowing The Monmouth to be towed away from the scene of the action.
During the second Anglo-Dutch war, Robert Scawen MP and Sir William D’oyley were chiefly responsible for organizing the transport of revenue from the provinces.
In January 1665 Robert Scawen MP was among those ordered to examine Exchequer fees.
Similarly, Scawen was given the responsibility for reducing the assessment on London after the Great Fire of 1666, although he was against authorizing the corporation to mark out streets for widening.
Robert Scawen MP helped to prepare reasons for conferences on the Canary Company patent and the charges against Lord Mordaunt.
Scawen was also among those entrusted with the bill for illegitimizing Lady Roos’ children (21 Jan. 1667). But his main concern in this session was a private bill to reverse his son, Francis’ attainder for stealing a widow’s horse on the grounds that the evidence was perjured. The bill was first introduced in the Lords, and passed the Commons without committal.
Despite his long experience in the revenue, Robert Scawen MP was one of the first to run afoul of the new Treasury commission in 1667, although it was probably his brother, William (with whom he shared responsibility for the Cornish hearth-tax under the 1664 Act) who improperly deducted from the receipts without formal certificates £337 10s. for empty houses and insolvent inhabitants. Scawen had been nominated the principal agent for taxes, and initially declared his willingness to accept the employment, but a few days later he declared himself unable to perform the service, and orders were given to commence proceedings against him. Scawen surrendered his receivership to Simon Smith MP, and an award of £350 on 23 Aug. 1667, for his services as wagon commissioner presumably obviated the worst consequences of the deficiency in the accounts, although they were never passed in his lifetime.
When Parliament met again after the fall of Chancellor Clarendon, Robert Scawen was appointed to the committee investigating restraints on juries, and complained that Sir John Kelyng MP (who had sentenced his son, Francis) had refused to tell Charles II that the evidence was not full, although he had procured a pardon for him.
The House of Commons wasn't impressed, nor did they find 2 men who had lopped trees on Robert Scawen’s estate guilty of breach of privilege. [APRIL 7, 1668]
Robert Scawen MP was one who drafted the impeachment of (Sir) William Penn. At the report stage, he protested against the impeachment by the Commons of one of themselves, and insisted it should be preceded by expulsion from the House.
He played little further part in Parliament.
Robert Scawen MP’s will was proved on 21 Mar. 1670.
He married Catherine, daughter of Cavendish Alsopp, merchant, of London, and they had 7 sons and 2 daughters.
Robert Scawen’s ancestors lived in a "rural and tranquil situation the descendants passed their days in genteel retirement, and we hear little of their appearance in the busy world until the time of Charles I."
Robert Scawen, a younger son, became a London attorney, and succeeded his kinsman, John Pym MP, in a revenue post on a life patent in 1638.
Scawen also became the man of business to Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, under whom he acquired the basics of military administration during the Bishops’ Wars.
He was elected in 1640 to represent Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Robert Scawen’s older brother, William, who sat for St. Germans in the Short Parliament, was a Royalist in the first Civil War, serving as second-in-command to Piers Edgcumbe. Robert followed his patron, Northumberland, into the parliamentarian camp, holding the important chairmanship of the Army Committee until Pride’s Purge.
Robert lost his other office without compensation when the crown lands were sold off by the Commonwealth, but his affairs had prospered so he was able to buy the manor of Horton in 1658, although he still continued to advise Northumberland on legal matters.
Robert Scawen MP was again appointed to office in 1659.
At the Restoration, the Convention Parliament nominated Robert Scawen to the disbandment commission, and he was given a post in the Exchequer.
Scawen succeeded Northumberland’s factor, Hugh Potter, at a by-election for Cockermouth in 1662.
A moderately active Member of the Cavalier Parliament, he was appointed to 48 committees, included for expediting public accounts outstanding from the former regimes, and the additional corporations bill.
In 1663 Robert Scawen MP was named to the sub-committee to inspect the excise and to the committee for the bill for collecting arrears, on 23 July attending a conference on the subject.
Robert Scawen MP was listed as a court dependent in 1664.
"Does anyone else think it odd that Mrs. Hunt asks Sam to speak for her husband, John? Why doesn't John ask Sam to speak for him?"
My guess is John Hunt is out of town. The last mention we have of him was a week ago, when Mrs. Hunt was also doing things on his behalf:
"Wednesday 26 September 1660 Office day. That done to the church, to consult about our gallery. So home to dinner, where I found Mrs. Hunt, who brought me a letter for me to get my Lord to sign for her husband, which I shall do for her."
Robert Scawen (M.P. for Cockermouth), whom Pepys knew well as a commissioner for disbanding the forces in late 1660, was also appointed one of the commissioners for regulating the Excise. John Hunt held a sub-commissionership under him. https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Walmer Castle is close enough to Deal to be considered to part of the town today.
After it was no longer considered to be a defensive position, Walmer Castle became a home for the (now honorary) Lords Wardens of the Cinque Ports -- among them the Duke of Wellington, William Pitt the Younger, and the Queen Mother. The garden named after the latter is a combination of ‘still water, rich planting and cool shade’, and the whole complex is open to visitors.
Parliament defeated the insurgency at the Battle of Maidstone at the start of June 1648, and then sent a force under the command of Col. Nathaniel Rich to retake the Downs castles.
Walmer Castle was the first to be besieged and surrendered on 12 July.
Deal, which had been resupplied by the Royalists from the sea, was besieged in July. A Royalist fleet bombarded the Parliamentarian positions and temporarily landed a force of 1,500 Flemish mercenaries in support of the revolt, but a shortage of money forced their return to the Continent. The garrison then carried out a surprise attack on their besiegers but were fought back.
The fleet, under the command of Prince Charles, attempted to land a fresh force in August, but despite 3 attempts the operation failed and suffered heavy losses. After news arrived of the Royalist defeat at Preston, Deal surrendered on 20 August.
Artillery assaults then began on Sandown Castle, leading the remaining garrisons to surrender.
Adm. Rich reported the castle had been badly damaged during the conflict, being "much torn and spoiled with the granades", and he estimated repairs work would cost at least £500.
In light of the Dutch threat, Deal Castle was maintained and kept equipped with powder, and was reinforced with earthworks and soldiers at the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652.
Following the Restoration, the garrison was reduced in size and their pay reduced, but Deal Castle continued to play an important role in defending the Downs during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars, supported by local trained bands.
Following the December 1688 Glorious Revolution which removed James II, the townsfolk of Deal seized the castle in support of William of Orange, and took steps to defend the Downs against a feared Irish invasion which never materialised.
Deal Castle continued to be used as a military fortification throughout the 18th century and saw service in WWII until it was bombed.
It was larger than its sister castles at Walmer and Sandown, measuring approximately 234 x 216 ft (71 x 66 m) across and covering 0.85 acres (0.34 ha). They all suffered from design problems requiring too many guns to ever be fully equipped; their curved surfaces were vulnerable to attack; and despite attempts to keep the walls low and thick, their relatively high profiles, driven by the requirement to support several tiers of defences, exposed them to attack.
Deal and the adjacent castles of Walmer and Sandown were constructed by Henry VIII to protect the Downs off east Kent, a vital anchorage formed by the Goodwin Sands which gave access to Deal Beach, on which enemy soldiers could easily be landed.
The stone castles were supported by a line of 4 earthwork forts, known as the Great Turf, the Little Turf Bulwark, the Great White Bulwark of Clay and the Walmer Bulwark, and a 2.5-mile-long defensive ditch and bank.
Collectively the 3 castles became known as the "castles of the Downes".
The Downs fortifications cost the Crown £27,092 to build, much of which came from the proceeds of the dissolution of the monasteries. Lead, timber and stone from local monasteries were also recycled for use in Deal Castle.
During the first decade of the 1600s, England was at peace with France and Spain and coastal defences received little attention. By 1615, Deal Castle was in a poor state, its outer walls damaged by storms and coastal erosion, while a survey suggested repairs estimated at £396 were necessary.
The Capt. William Byng, wrote numerous letters claiming winter storms had filled the moat with water and stones from the beach and undermined the castle foundations. By 1618, he reported most of the garrison were living in the nearby town, with only a small guard force manning the castle at night.
As it deteriorated, fighting between Dutch, French and Spanish ships in the Downs became common, increasing the strategic importance of fortifications along the Kent coast.
A 1624 survey estimated the cost of repairs at £1,243 and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, suggested nearby Camber Castle be demolished to provide materiel for the work.
This did not happen, but some repairs were completed in the late 1630s.
Deal castle was seized by Parliamentarian forces at the start of the First English Civil War in August 1642, and William Batten replacing William Byng, who was suspected of Royalist sympathies, although the castle played little part in this conflict.
When the Second English Civil War broke out in 1648, the Parliamentarian navy was based in the Downs, protected by the Downs castles, but by May a Royalist insurrection was under way across Kent.
The previous year, Batten was forced to resign as Commander of the Fleet and he now encouraged elements of the navy to switch sides. Sir Henry Palmer, a former sailor, and other members of the Kentish gentry also called on the fleet to revolt, taking advantage of the many fellow Kentish men in the crews.
The 3 castles declared for King Charles.
With the coastal fortresses and the navy now under Royalist control, Parliament feared foreign forces would land along the coast or provide aid to the Scots.
Prayers every night with the family and servants before bed? They would have to stay up to midnight before his drunken self rolled in through the front door. I find this unlikely -- maybe that's how Pepys liked to see himself, but really????
If you are trying to avoid SPOILERS, don't follow this link.
Sue Nicholson, one of the first round annotators, wrote a story about having Sunday lunch with Sam and Elizabeth, during which they gave her a tour of the house. Sue doesn't specify which year this could have taken place, and SPOILER, these are not the last of Pepys' improvements to the Seething Lane property, so this may not match how the house is at this point of the story: https://www.pepysdiary.com/indept…
"29: Mich. day. Tibbald severed my sheep and his, put them on the ground he held, and I now enter on, and he put on the other ground(,) the lord command his blessing and favor upon us both, and all that appertains to us, etc."
What does the "etc." tell us? His religion is rote at this point?
He's been mentioning his questioning and heavy heart, which I took to be his reflecting on the loss of Presbyterian principles and rule, and the return of the CofE and the monarchy, and how and where he would/could draw the line, considering his large family and lack of any other way of earning a living. Maybe he's just too tired to finish writing the line, and hopes God will accept "etc."
Today is Michaelmas Day -- which marks the new year in legal, agricultural, educational, and civic affairs in England. It's also a Quarter Day.
About this time almanacs were also becoming popular, and in 1661 one was printed called: "The twelve moneths, or, A pleasant and profitable discourse of every action, whether of labour or recreation, proper to each particular moneth branched into directions relating to husbandry, as plowing, sowing, gardening, planting, transplanting ... as also, of recreations as hunting, hawking, fishing, fowling, coursing, cockfighting: to which likewise is added a necessary advice touching physick ...: lastly, every moneth is shut up with an epigrame: with the fairs of every month"
This says farmers calculated the number of floods that would occur in the coming year: “They say, so many dayes old the Moon is, on Michaelmas Day, so many Floods after.”
Hopefully this year there aren't many days between the last full moon and September 29.
Comments
Third Reading
About Wednesday 3 October 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Stephane, do Sandwich's logs say where he went and what he did?
About Wednesday 3 October 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Sandwich wasn't away for long, so I guess he made a quick trip across the Narrow Sea either to The Hague or France, and brought back the trunk that Pepys had the honor of taking the last mile:
"To my Lord’s, who sent a great iron chest to White Hall; and I saw it carried, into the King’s closet,"
A gift from Charles II's cousin Louis or his mother? Things he had left behind, or sister Mary's belongings?
As a good secretary, Pepys keeps his secrets when he thinks he has to.
About Tuesday 2 October 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
I wonder if Elizabeth bought the bed, just in case brother Tom is forced to come to stay for a while?
About Tuesday 2 October 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
The day the plaster fell off the ceiling of Westminster Abbey -- a couple of weeks ago -- he was there to hear the farewell sermon of one of the two nonconforist ministers who had been meeting with their followers in the building during the Commonwealth. We discussed all the possible reasons they didn't use the old Book of Common Prayer.
Today Pepys is back "to see them at vespers". I.E. it was a performance in his mind, of a service by the Church of England. The music for Evensong can be lovely when "performed" with that in mind -- and Pepys is a musician.
Interestingly Pepys had met the new Dean of Westminster:
EARLE, Dr. JOHN (1601?-1665), B.A. Merton College, Oxford, and fellow, 1619; M.A., 1624: rector of Bishopston, Wiltshire, 1639: tutor to Charles, prince of Wales, 1641; D.D. Oxford, 1640; unexpectedly appointed one of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, 1643; chancellor of Salisbury, 1643; deprived, as a 'malignant'; chaplain and clerk of the closet to Charles II in France; dean of Westminster, 1660; ...
"There dined with me in my cabin (that is, the carpenter’s) Dr. Earle and Mr. Hollis, the King’s Chaplins, Dr. Scarborough, Dr. Quarterman, and Dr. Clerke, Physicians, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Fox (both very fine gentlemen), the King’s servants, where we had brave discourse."
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
I didn't find an date for Dr. Earle being appointed Dean beyond it being in 1660.
About Capt. Robert Clarke
San Diego Sarah • Link
L&M Companion: Capt. Robert Clarke, died by 1688. A friend of Pepys who had risen to captain's rank in the Commonwealth navy, He held 10 commands during the Diary period, and was rated 'very good' by Coventry. In May 1666, leading a squadron in The Gloucester, he captured 7 Dutch ships off Texel. He was criticized in 1667 for his conduct during the raid on the Medway for allowing The Monmouth to be towed away from the scene of the action.
About Robert Scawen
San Diego Sarah • Link
PART 2
During the second Anglo-Dutch war, Robert Scawen MP and Sir William D’oyley were chiefly responsible for organizing the transport of revenue from the provinces.
In January 1665 Robert Scawen MP was among those ordered to examine Exchequer fees.
Similarly, Scawen was given the responsibility for reducing the assessment on London after the Great Fire of 1666, although he was against authorizing the corporation to mark out streets for widening.
Robert Scawen MP helped to prepare reasons for conferences on the Canary Company patent and the charges against Lord Mordaunt.
Scawen was also among those entrusted with the bill for illegitimizing Lady Roos’ children (21 Jan. 1667).
But his main concern in this session was a private bill to reverse his son, Francis’ attainder for stealing a widow’s horse on the grounds that the evidence was perjured. The bill was first introduced in the Lords, and passed the Commons without committal.
Despite his long experience in the revenue, Robert Scawen MP was one of the first to run afoul of the new Treasury commission in 1667, although it was probably his brother, William (with whom he shared responsibility for the Cornish hearth-tax under the 1664 Act) who improperly deducted from the receipts without formal certificates £337 10s. for empty houses and insolvent inhabitants.
Scawen had been nominated the principal agent for taxes, and initially declared his willingness to accept the employment, but a few days later he declared himself unable to perform the service, and orders were given to commence proceedings against him.
Scawen surrendered his receivership to Simon Smith MP, and an award of £350 on 23 Aug. 1667, for his services as wagon commissioner presumably obviated the worst consequences of the deficiency in the accounts, although they were never passed in his lifetime.
When Parliament met again after the fall of Chancellor Clarendon, Robert Scawen was appointed to the committee investigating restraints on juries, and complained that Sir John Kelyng MP (who had sentenced his son, Francis) had refused to tell Charles II that the evidence was not full, although he had procured a pardon for him.
The House of Commons wasn't impressed, nor did they find 2 men who had lopped trees on Robert Scawen’s estate guilty of breach of privilege. [APRIL 7, 1668]
Robert Scawen MP was one who drafted the impeachment of (Sir) William Penn. At the report stage, he protested against the impeachment by the Commons of one of themselves, and insisted it should be preceded by expulsion from the House.
He played little further part in Parliament.
Robert Scawen MP’s will was proved on 21 Mar. 1670.
He married Catherine, daughter of Cavendish Alsopp, merchant, of London, and they had 7 sons and 2 daughters.
https://www.historyofparliamenton…
About Robert Scawen
San Diego Sarah • Link
Robert Scawen’s ancestors lived in a "rural and tranquil situation the descendants passed their days in genteel retirement, and we hear little of their appearance in the busy world until the time of Charles I."
Robert Scawen, a younger son, became a London attorney, and succeeded his kinsman, John Pym MP, in a revenue post on a life patent in 1638.
Scawen also became the man of business to Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, under whom he acquired the basics of military administration during the Bishops’ Wars.
He was elected in 1640 to represent Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Robert Scawen’s older brother, William, who sat for St. Germans in the Short Parliament, was a Royalist in the first Civil War, serving as second-in-command to Piers Edgcumbe.
Robert followed his patron, Northumberland, into the parliamentarian camp, holding the important chairmanship of the Army Committee until Pride’s Purge.
Robert lost his other office without compensation when the crown lands were sold off by the Commonwealth, but his affairs had prospered so he was able to buy the manor of Horton in 1658, although he still continued to advise Northumberland on legal matters.
Robert Scawen MP was again appointed to office in 1659.
At the Restoration, the Convention Parliament nominated Robert Scawen to the disbandment commission, and he was given a post in the Exchequer.
Scawen succeeded Northumberland’s factor, Hugh Potter, at a by-election for Cockermouth in 1662.
A moderately active Member of the Cavalier Parliament, he was appointed to 48 committees, included for expediting public accounts outstanding from the former regimes, and the additional corporations bill.
In 1663 Robert Scawen MP was named to the sub-committee to inspect the excise and to the committee for the bill for collecting arrears, on 23 July attending a conference on the subject.
Robert Scawen MP was listed as a court dependent in 1664.
About Tuesday 2 October 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Does anyone else think it odd that Mrs. Hunt asks Sam to speak for her husband, John? Why doesn't John ask Sam to speak for him?"
My guess is John Hunt is out of town. The last mention we have of him was a week ago, when Mrs. Hunt was also doing things on his behalf:
"Wednesday 26 September 1660
Office day. That done to the church, to consult about our gallery. So home to dinner, where I found Mrs. Hunt, who brought me a letter for me to get my Lord to sign for her husband, which I shall do for her."
About Robert Scawen
San Diego Sarah • Link
Robert Scawen (M.P. for Cockermouth), whom Pepys knew well as a commissioner for disbanding the forces in late 1660, was also appointed one of the commissioners for regulating the Excise.
John Hunt held a sub-commissionership under him.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Sunday 30 September 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
How about the days where he wrote nothing at all, Scube? But that won't happen again for a few years.
About Deal Castle, Kent
San Diego Sarah • Link
Walmer Castle is close enough to Deal to be considered to part of the town today.
After it was no longer considered to be a defensive position, Walmer Castle became a home for the (now honorary) Lords Wardens of the Cinque Ports -- among them the Duke of Wellington, William Pitt the Younger, and the Queen Mother. The garden named after the latter is a combination of ‘still water, rich planting and cool shade’, and the whole complex is open to visitors.
Pictures and more info at:
https://www.kentlive.news/whats-o…
About Deal Castle, Kent
San Diego Sarah • Link
PART 2
Parliament defeated the insurgency at the Battle of Maidstone at the start of June 1648, and then sent a force under the command of Col. Nathaniel Rich to retake the Downs castles.
Walmer Castle was the first to be besieged and surrendered on 12 July.
Deal, which had been resupplied by the Royalists from the sea, was besieged in July. A Royalist fleet bombarded the Parliamentarian positions and temporarily landed a force of 1,500 Flemish mercenaries in support of the revolt, but a shortage of money forced their return to the Continent. The garrison then carried out a surprise attack on their besiegers but were fought back.
The fleet, under the command of Prince Charles, attempted to land a fresh force in August, but despite 3 attempts the operation failed and suffered heavy losses.
After news arrived of the Royalist defeat at Preston, Deal surrendered on 20 August.
Artillery assaults then began on Sandown Castle, leading the remaining garrisons to surrender.
Adm. Rich reported the castle had been badly damaged during the conflict, being "much torn and spoiled with the granades", and he estimated repairs work would cost at least £500.
In light of the Dutch threat, Deal Castle was maintained and kept equipped with powder, and was reinforced with earthworks and soldiers at the start of the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652.
Following the Restoration, the garrison was reduced in size and their pay reduced, but Deal Castle continued to play an important role in defending the Downs during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars, supported by local trained bands.
Following the December 1688 Glorious Revolution which removed James II, the townsfolk of Deal seized the castle in support of William of Orange, and took steps to defend the Downs against a feared Irish invasion which never materialised.
Deal Castle continued to be used as a military fortification throughout the 18th century and saw service in WWII until it was bombed.
It was larger than its sister castles at Walmer and Sandown, measuring approximately 234 x 216 ft (71 x 66 m) across and covering 0.85 acres (0.34 ha). They all suffered from design problems requiring too many guns to ever be fully equipped; their curved surfaces were vulnerable to attack; and despite attempts to keep the walls low and thick, their relatively high profiles, driven by the requirement to support several tiers of defences, exposed them to attack.
excerpted from https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Deal Castle, Kent
San Diego Sarah • Link
Deal and the adjacent castles of Walmer and Sandown were constructed by Henry VIII to protect the Downs off east Kent, a vital anchorage formed by the Goodwin Sands which gave access to Deal Beach, on which enemy soldiers could easily be landed.
The stone castles were supported by a line of 4 earthwork forts, known as the Great Turf, the Little Turf Bulwark, the Great White Bulwark of Clay and the Walmer Bulwark, and a 2.5-mile-long defensive ditch and bank.
Collectively the 3 castles became known as the "castles of the Downes".
The Downs fortifications cost the Crown £27,092 to build, much of which came from the proceeds of the dissolution of the monasteries. Lead, timber and stone from local monasteries were also recycled for use in Deal Castle.
During the first decade of the 1600s, England was at peace with France and Spain and coastal defences received little attention. By 1615, Deal Castle was in a poor state, its outer walls damaged by storms and coastal erosion, while a survey suggested repairs estimated at £396 were necessary.
The Capt. William Byng, wrote numerous letters claiming winter storms had filled the moat with water and stones from the beach and undermined the castle foundations. By 1618, he reported most of the garrison were living in the nearby town, with only a small guard force manning the castle at night.
As it deteriorated, fighting between Dutch, French and Spanish ships in the Downs became common, increasing the strategic importance of fortifications along the Kent coast.
A 1624 survey estimated the cost of repairs at £1,243 and George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, suggested nearby Camber Castle be demolished to provide materiel for the work.
This did not happen, but some repairs were completed in the late 1630s.
Deal castle was seized by Parliamentarian forces at the start of the First English Civil War in August 1642, and William Batten replacing William Byng, who was suspected of Royalist sympathies, although the castle played little part in this conflict.
When the Second English Civil War broke out in 1648, the Parliamentarian navy was based in the Downs, protected by the Downs castles, but by May a Royalist insurrection was under way across Kent.
The previous year, Batten was forced to resign as Commander of the Fleet and he now encouraged elements of the navy to switch sides. Sir Henry Palmer, a former sailor, and other members of the Kentish gentry also called on the fleet to revolt, taking advantage of the many fellow Kentish men in the crews.
The 3 castles declared for King Charles.
With the coastal fortresses and the navy now under Royalist control, Parliament feared foreign forces would land along the coast or provide aid to the Scots.
About Monday 1 October 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
"Hangings" were either curtains or tapestries.
We have a page about them:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Sunday 30 September 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Prayers every night with the family and servants before bed?
They would have to stay up to midnight before his drunken self rolled in through the front door.
I find this unlikely -- maybe that's how Pepys liked to see himself, but really????
About Sunday 30 September 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
If you are trying to avoid SPOILERS, don't follow this link.
Sue Nicholson, one of the first round annotators, wrote a story about having Sunday lunch with Sam and Elizabeth, during which they gave her a tour of the house.
Sue doesn't specify which year this could have taken place, and SPOILER, these are not the last of Pepys' improvements to the Seething Lane property, so this may not match how the house is at this point of the story:
https://www.pepysdiary.com/indept…
About Saturday 29 September 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
The Rev. Ralph stumps me again:
"29: Mich. day. Tibbald severed my sheep and his, put them on the ground he held, and I now enter on, and he put on the other ground(,) the lord command his blessing and favor upon us both, and all that appertains to us, etc."
What does the "etc." tell us? His religion is rote at this point?
He's been mentioning his questioning and heavy heart, which I took to be his reflecting on the loss of Presbyterian principles and rule, and the return of the CofE and the monarchy, and how and where he would/could draw the line, considering his large family and lack of any other way of earning a living.
Maybe he's just too tired to finish writing the line, and hopes God will accept "etc."
About Michaelmas
San Diego Sarah • Link
'The agricultural, educational and religious years follow the “terms” as well.'
To annotate my own annotation, the religious year starts at Advent -- 4 weeks before Christmas. Sorry 'bout that.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/…
I should have used the word 'civic' instead.
About Saturday 29 September 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Lots of visits to The Ordinary for me, Gillian!
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
Happy Michaelmas Day, everyone -- time for Pepys to pay his bills.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
About Sunday 29 September 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
Today is Michaelmas Day -- which marks the new year in legal, agricultural, educational, and civic affairs in England. It's also a Quarter Day.
About this time almanacs were also becoming popular, and in 1661 one was printed called:
"The twelve moneths, or, A pleasant and profitable discourse of every action, whether of labour or recreation, proper to each particular moneth branched into directions relating to husbandry, as plowing, sowing, gardening, planting, transplanting ... as also, of recreations as hunting, hawking, fishing, fowling, coursing, cockfighting: to which likewise is added a necessary advice touching physick ...: lastly, every moneth is shut up with an epigrame: with the fairs of every month"
This says farmers calculated the number of floods that would occur in the coming year: “They say, so many dayes old the Moon is, on Michaelmas Day, so many Floods after.”
Hopefully this year there aren't many days between the last full moon and September 29.
More about Michaelmas Day at https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…