Saturday 5 April 1662
At the office till almost noon, and then broke up. Then came Sir G. Carteret, and he and I walked together alone in the garden, taking notice of some faults in the office, particularly of Sir W. Batten’s, and he seemed to be much pleased with me, and I hope will be the ground of a future interest of mine in him, which I shall be glad of. Then with my wife abroad, she to the Wardrobe and there dined, and I to the Exchange and so to the Wardrobe, but they had dined. After dinner my wife and the two ladies to see my aunt Wight, and thence met me at home. From thence (after Sir W. Batten and I had viewed our houses with a workman in order to the raising of our roofs higher to enlarge our houses) I went with them by coach first to Moorfields and there walked, and thence to Islington and had a fine walk in the fields there, and so, after eating and drinking, home with them, and so by water with my wife home, and after supper to bed.
14 Annotations
First Reading
vicenzo • Link
'Tis nice when one walks around the quad with the leader, and he tells how he be pleased with ye.
skutch • Link
I bet this really said "Then with my wife, a broad..."
roboto • Link
"taking notice of some faults in the office, particularly of Sir W. Batten's, and he seemed to be much pleased with me” Sam, Sam, playing at office politics?
vicenzo • Link
To-day, the House of Commons wants to reduce the No. of Hackneys from 400 to 300. It will be a little harder for our Sam to get a Cabby. There be other restrictions too, max HP be Seven. must use lay stalls for ****? Unloading only at designated unloading Zones. He does not keep us up todate with these little inconveniences.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
Mary • Link
"to enlarge our houses"
According to the L&M notes, this was the most extensive work undertaken to Pepys' house during the time that he lived there. The roof extension resulted in the provision of four extra rooms, including a new, wainscotted dining-room (so handy, when the kitchen is on the ground floor!) The main timber structures were made in the Deptford dockyard and the total cost (for both Pepys and Batten lodgings) rose above £320.
JohnT • Link
A fascinating take on a Sam Saturday. Work in the morning ( which the UK civil service did until the 1970s.) Then a wide trip round the villages north of London. The distances are not slight but on a human walking scale it could all be done in 3 hours. But how home by water from Islington ? Now it could be done by canal but by what now defunct rivers then?
Mary • Link
"and so by water...."
The journey home to Seething Lane by water only takes place after the ladies have already been escorted to their home at the Wardrobe. No boats from Islington to the Navy office, just from the Wardrobe.
JWB • Link
And tomorrow Sir G. walks in the garden with Batten and notes some faults in the office, particularly of Mr. Samuel Pepys'?
Robert Gertz • Link
Sounds like Sir G.C. is striving to make Sandwich's boy in the Naval Office, his...
Carolina • Link
All this walking Sam does - do we know what he wears on his feet?
I am aware of the pattens they used to wear to rise above the filth in the streets but imagine these were no good for the field walking and other strolling that our man does.
Thanks Dirk and Mr. Vincent for anwering my recent query about the guns.
dirk • Link
what he wears on his feet?
For some modern replicas, see:
http://www.baboucha.com/17_Centur…
Fashionable boots were mostly made of soft, well-fitting leather, so they probably were rather comfortable - even if they looked rather fancy.
Jackie • Link
And of course, like all people aspiring to be gentlemen of quality, Sam has a servant or two to keep his boots nicely cleaned and polished.
So, the muck wan't really his problem.
Second Reading
Sasha Clarkson • Link
Sam's determined diligence in the office is being noticed where it matters.
San Diego Sarah • Link
I just discovered that John Evelyn's first appointment to public office was in 1662, when he became a Commissioner for reforming the buildings, ways, streets, and encumbrances, and the regulation of hackney coaches in London.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41…