Saturday 1 June 1661

Having taken our leaves of Sir W. Batten and my Lady, who are gone this morning to keep their Whitsuntide, Sir W. Pen and I and Mr. Gauden by water to Woolwich, and there went from ship to ship to give order for and take notice of their forwardness to go forth, and then to Deptford and did the like, having dined at Woolwich with Captain Poole at the tavern there. From Deptford we walked to Redriffe, calling at the half-way house, and there come into a room where there was infinite of new cakes placed that are made against Whitsuntide, and there we were very merry. By water home, and there did businesses of the office. Among others got my Lord’s imprest of 1000l. and Mr. Creed’s of 10,000l. against this voyage their bills signed. Having wrote letters into the country and read some things I went to bed.

Sunday 2 June 1661Friday 31 May 1661

Also on this day

Temperature: 14°C / 57°F

(Average for June 1661)

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Annotations

N Rick Ansell on Wed 2 Jun 2004, 12:41am. Flagged

Here we have the ‘top team’ from the Navy and Victualling Boards doing a readiness inspection. I picture them up and down the sides of ships out and in to their boat like regular yo-yos.

Once aboard they would be in conference with the Captain, Purser, Bosun etc. checking what was aboard and what still had to be delivered. They may have made a few spot checks on the figures they were being given
N Xjy on Wed 2 Jun 2004, 08:29am. Flag this

Ablative absolute
Short sharp entry today. Lots of things subordinated that he might normally make a meal of — like having a meal :-) Having taken leave, having dined, having wrote…
But it was a very full day — Woolwich and Deptford doing Rick’s yo-yo inspection, making merry among an infinitude of cakes, big money transactions at the office, lots of letters at home. Phew…
I like “having wrote” — the living vernacular.
N Wim van der Meij on Wed 2 Jun 2004, 10:24am. Flag this

Quite a walk they had from Deptford to Redriffe!
Would they have followed the road (path) along the river, or cut across the land? If they did the latter they might have passed the place which is now Pepys Park (a bit to the right of Deptford Park)
N steve h on Wed 2 Jun 2004, 06:57pm. Flag this

Whitsuntide cakes

He’re a recipe for traditonal Whitsuntide , or Banbury cakes:

http://englishculture.allinfoabout.com/recipes/banbury.html

Whitsuntide is Pentecost for some of us.
N tc on Wed 2 Jun 2004, 09:57pm. Flag this

…ship to ship…

One wonders how much, at this early stage in his career, Sam is able to contribute to these inspections. He is still relatively new to the job, after all. Likely at this early point in a lifetime of such inspections he relies on Sir Penn and Mr. Gauden to see that the physical requirements are met for the forthcoming journeys: cordage, spare spars, spare sailcloth, all the nuts and bolts of the Navy.

And hopefully Penn & Gauden have the experience to pick up on some of the scams and cons of life aboard ship: as Rick points out, bosuns and pursers worked some amazing schemes!

Sam, one assumes, is still “learning the ropes”, studying his “Seaman’s Grammar and Dictionary” and picking up important knowledge through osmosis and observation.

Rick pictures the scene well; there must have been some nervous times for some ships when the boat containing the inspection committee came alongside!
N Alan Bedford on Wed 2 Jun 2004, 09:58pm. Flagged

“…got my Lord
N Gus on Thu 3 Jun 2004, 02:05pm. Flag this

It’s an awfully busy day. Let’s see ..
- by boat to Woolwich,
- inspect ships (how many are in port?),
- dine with Captain Poole,
- by boat to Deptford,
- inspect ships (again how many?),
- walk to Redriffe,
- stop at the halfway house,
- make merry,
- by boat to the office
- do business, including
— signature for Montague’s 1000 L imprest
— signature for Creeds 10000 L imprest
- write letters
- read
- go to bed
That’s a lot of activity in one day, no?

Gus
N Australian Susan on Fri 4 Jun 2004, 10:44am. Flag this

Whit Cakes
See Steve H’s recipe: these were pretty stolid affairs, Sindy, maybe not what we would want to eat many of. Soul Cakes (made for All Souls’ Day on Novemeber 2nd) are also rib-sticking dough with the odd currant or two. Mind you, I think Sam would have tucked merrily into today’s mud cake or baked cheesecake or carrot cake or date and walnut cake or…sorry have to go and have a sugar fix……