Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
Visited this morning by my old friend Mr. Ch. Carter, who staid and went to Westminster with me, and there we parted, and I to the Wardrobe and dined with my Lady. So home to my painters, who are now about painting my stairs. So to the office, and at night we all went to Sir W. Pen’s, and there sat and drank till 11 at night, and so home and to bed.
Tuesday 18 June 1661Sunday 16 June 1661
14°C / 57°F
(monthly average for June 1661) About
“and there sat and drank till 11” Summertime and the Living is easy…
Admiral Sir Will P seems rather generous as a host. Is his Quaker hippie son still off in France?
“So home to my painters, who are now about painting my stairs…” Did they have much choice of colour in those days? Restoration red maybe…?
…drank till 11…
A Monday we should all be so lucky to enjoy…
William Penn’s “Quaker hippie son” was sent off to France in 1662 to complete his education, since he apparently kept getting kicked out of colleges in England for questioning authority. His father figured that his son would stay in school if he went to a Protestant college in France.
The younger William Penn later went to Italy, and returned to England in 1664.
Lazy Monday, continued…
Sam seems fairly well at ease after yesterday’s tizzy culminating in the hire of the Margate hoy…which was to have gotten underway this morning, was it not?
What was it that was so important to deliver? And is it confidence in the reliability of the Margate hoy that allows Sam to take it easy today after fretting so yesterday? High tides, fair winds, and delivery made?
Ruben, I think you are right about the varnish, as the stairs were constructed by naval carpenters & joiners, it is most likely that a varnished finish was employed.
“Linseed oil, derived from flax, is a major ingredient in many fine oil paints, varnishes and stains. However, because coatings’ labels seldom carry ingredient lists, the linseed oil content may not be visible on these products. Nevertheless, linseed oil preserves and beautifies, providing superior protection on wooden surfaces, from decks to marine products.”
Tc, I believe Sam sent off the valuable cloth in the Hoy, of which he has been very concerned these last few days.
40 miles NE of the City.
As Vincente has not mentioned it.
The Rev Josselin says “..our lower meadows overflown, the flood was considerably great.” Perhaps some heavy thunderstorms during the current period of hot weather?
“linseed oil preserves and beautifies”
And the only oil to be used on the good old English willow cricket bat.
By the 17th century the game was quite popular as a rough rural pastime.
“Did they have much choice of colour in those days?” - re Redbean
It wasn’t all dull and colourless.
This was discussed to some extent ref the entry for Thursday 13 December 1660.
Two sites with pics mentioned there:
http://www.martin.reed.clara.net/houses/houses33.html
http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/virtualtour/interior/
“…And is it confidence in the reliability of the Margate hoy that allows Sam to take it easy today after fretting so yesterday…” Some of us worry, and get the ulcers and others place it in their belief system [and on to other shoulders] and forget about it. Depend’s on ones stomache acid.
Ah ! that linseed oil, a square leg shot every time, over the line far far away, tanners worth.
House Interiors
The second website which dirk gives us above has a photo of a piece of furniture made for John Evelyn! Fascinating. Thanks, Dirk.
House Interiors
Actually thanks are due to Glyn, who came up with the second website. I merely quoted it here.
Thanks are actually due to the Geffrye Museum, which is one of the hidden gems of London. Well worth a visit, especially if you can combine it with a Sunday visit to the Columbia Road flower market or Hackney City Farm. The Geffrye Museum is housed in a row of 17th-century alms houses built by a contemporary of Pepys.