Monday 12 April 1669

Up, and by water to White Hall, where I of the whole Office attended the Duke of York at his meeting with Sir Thomas Allen and several flag-officers, to consider of the manner of managing the war with Algiers; and, it being a thing I was wholly silent in, I did only observe; and find that; their manner of discourse on this weighty affair was very mean and disorderly, the Duke of York himself being the man that I thought spoke most to the purpose. Having done here, I up and down the house, talking with this man and that, and: then meeting Mr. Sheres, took him to see the fine flower-pot I saw yesterday, and did again offer 20l. for it; but he [Verelst] insists upon 50l.. Thence I took him to St. James’s, but there was no musique, but so walked to White Hall, and, by and by to my wife at Unthanke’s, and with her was Jane, and so to the Cocke, where they, and I, and Sheres, and Tom dined, my wife having a great desire to eat of their soup made of pease, and dined very well, and thence by water to the Bear-Garden, and there happened to sit by Sir Fretcheville Hollis, who is still full of his vain-glorious and prophane talk. Here we saw a prize fought between a soldier and country fellow, one Warrell, who promised the least in his looks, and performed the most of valour in his boldness and evenness of mind, and smiles in all he did, that ever I saw and we were all both deceived and infinitely taken with him. He did soundly beat the soldier, and cut him over the head. Thence back to White Hall, mightily pleased, all of us, with this sight, and particularly this fellow, as a most extraordinary man for his temper and evenness in fighting. And there leaving Sheres, we by our own coach home, and after sitting an hour, thrumming upon my viall, and singing, I to bed, and left my wife to do something to a waistcoat and petticoat she is to wear to-morrow.

This evening, coming home, we overtook Alderman Backewell’s coach and his lady, and followed them to their house, and there made them the first visit, where they received us with extraordinary civility, and owning the obligation. But I do, contrary to my expectation, find her something a proud and vain-glorious woman, in telling the number of her servants and family and expences: he is also so, but he was ever of that strain. But here he showed me the model of his houses that he is going to build in Cornhill and Lumbard Street; but he hath purchased so much there, that it looks like a little town, and must have cost him a great deal of money.

10 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Alderman Backwell’s housing development [ -- Real estate speculation? -- ] that "looks like a little town, and must have cost him a great deal of money."

"The stoppage of the Exchequer in 1672 badly damaged him financially. He and his son John were appointed comptroller of customs in the port of London in 1671, and with his old master Vyner, he was from 1671 to 1675 a commissioner of the customs and farmer of the customs revenue. He went bankrupt in 1682."

Robert Gertz  •  Link

Ah, a prize fight. I wonder if Bess screamed for blood.

"Don't let him get up! Kill him!! Finish the miserable so-and-so off!!"

"Bess, didn't you say the soldier looks rather like me?"

"Slam him down!! Kill him!!! My thumb's down!!!"

Australian Susan  •  Link

The Cock Tavern had obviously become one of THE places to eat!

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Pepys noted Backwell's plans and the field of play in 1666

Shortly previous to the Great Fire, Backwell, whose shop was at the Unicorn, in Lombard Street, next door to the Grasshopper, conceived the idea of developing the considerable block of property over which he had acquired an interest, by opening passages through it from Lombard Street to Cornhill. Pepys says (2nd July, 1636), "Thence to the Change, and meeting Sir J. Minnes there, he and I walked to look upon Backwell's design of making another Alley from his shop through over against the Exchange door which will be very noble, and quite put down the other two." Possibly the other two " here mentioned may mean Pope's Head Alley to the west, and the alley opposite Abchurch Lane to the east. Backwell's designs had suffered delay by the occurrence of the Plague,

A little more than a year afterwards, the Great Fire of London, 2nd of September, 1666, involved the whole of Backwells estate in utter ruin. Pepys records, under date of the 5th of September, that " I walked into the town, and find Fanchurch-streete, Gracious-streete, and Lumbard-streete all in dust The Exchange a sad sight, nothing standing there, of all the statues or pillars, but Sir Thomas Gresham's picture in the corner." [ ready to be built upon]
"The Grasshopper" in Lombard Street by John Biddulph Martin (1892)
https://archive.org/details/grass… pp. 185, 186.

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Here we saw a prize fought between a soldier and country fellow, one Warrell, who promised the least in his looks, and performed the most of valour in his boldness and evenness of mind, and smiles in all he did, that ever I saw and we were all both deceived and infinitely taken with him. He did soundly beat the soldier, and cut him over the head."

L&M: For prize-fighting, see https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"Alderman Backwell’s housing development [ -- Real estate speculation? -- ] that "looks like a little town, and must have cost him a great deal of money.""

L&M: On 9 December 1670 Backwell obtained from the heirs od the late Charles Everard a 51 years' lease of 6576 sq. ft of ground intermingled with his holdings at £130 p.a. rent, and by July 11672 had rebuilt a number of houses: BS, Add 5091 (11), 5100 (55). He enlarged his own house from 13 hearths to 21: PRO, E 179/252/23, n.f. For the purchases he had made before the Fire, see https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

Gerald Berg  •  Link

For some reason Terry's link on prize fighting is unhinged. 96/01?

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

A contemporary view of London is given by Cosmo, the future Grand Duke of Turin, who visited in the Spring of 1669.

I've standardized the spelling of names I know, corrected scanning errors I could figure out, and increased the number of paragraphs. I apologize if I guessed incorrectly:

@@@

On 12/22 April, 1669 his highness, having first heard mass, went out to begin to view the city, and the most remarkable things contained in it. He took with him, Signors Castiglioni and Gascoyne, with only a single lackey, a form which he determined to continue for the future in order to preserve his incog, more strictly;

and having rode through London, he returned home; and there were at his highness' house, my Lord James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, lord steward of the king's household, who was also viceroy of Ireland; my Lord Andover, son of the Earl of Berkshire; my Lord Edward Montagu, Earl of Manchester; my Lord Baltimore; and Sir Gouldrie.

[ Lord Steward JAMES BUTLER, 1st DUKE OF ORMONDE https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
[ CHARLES HOWARD, later 2nd Earl of Berkshire KB, was styled Viscount Andover from 1626 to 1669. See https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/e…
[ Chamberlain EDWARD MONTAGU, 2nd EARL OF MANCHESTER, see https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
[ CHARLES CALVERT, 2rd BARON BALTIMORE https://www.britannica.com/biogra…
[ and Sir Gouldrie???? any nominations? ]

174

Signor Dante went the same morning to arrange an audience with the duke, which was fixed for after dinner at four o'clock.

As soon as he had dined, he took measures to have his audience in the evening, with the duchess, but finding her indisposed, it was fixed for the day following, at three, in case her indisposition should not oblige her to send notice to the contrary. His highness, therefore, waited upon the duke,

and then walked in Hyde Park, where were the king and queen. His highness went in a carriage and pair, that he might avoid, by this delicate caution, every appearance of publicity.

For Cosmo’s first visit to The Ring in Hyde Park, see: https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

@@@

In Cosmo's travelogue, “incognito” is generally shortened to "incog." and I think the meaning was "unofficial, informal", as opposed to "having one's true identity concealed" which is more today's definition.

From:
TRAVELS OF COSMO THE THIRD, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY,
THROUGH ENGLAND,
DURING THE REIGN OF KING CHARLES THE SECOND (1669)
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN MANUSCRIPT
https://archive.org/stream/travel…

His highness, Cosmo, must be considered only as a traveler. Under his direction, the narrator of the records was Count Lorenzo Magalotti, afterwards Secretary to the Academy del Cimento, and one of the most learned and eminent characters of the court of Ferdinand II.

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