Wednesday 16 December 1668

I did the like all day long, only a little at dinner, and so to work again, and were at it till 2 in the morning, and so W. Hewer, who was with me all day, home to his lodging, and I to bed, after we had finished it.


9 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

"and so W. Hewer, who was with me all day, home to his lodging"

Does anyone know where Hewer lodges now?

Katherine  •  Link

I always imagined the people who lived by candlelight to be early to bed and early to rise, so I'm continually surprised that Sam's work day seems to have no end to it. Up till 2 in the morning! No wonder his eyesight is shot.

sue nicholson  •  Link

Will Hewer moved into lodgings on Crutched Friars, a couple of minutes' walk away, in November 1663. There was a falling out between Sam and Will, who he accused of "corrupting the maids by his idle talk and carriage" (31.10.1663). A bit rich in the light of Sam's own behaviour.

Robert Gertz  •  Link

“corrupting the maids by his idle talk and carriage”

Like surrogate father, like surrogate son...Though Will always seems a rather inept ladies' man with a strong boyish attachment to Bess. I can't help feeling we'd see mucho grumpings plus not a little voyuerish interest on Sam's part if Will were more successful in l'amour regardless of whether he lives a few blocks away.

Naturally given Sam's platonic and touching love for his divine Lady Jemina, I could be totally wrong...And Hewer the worst of rakes in the bad old city, corrupting the new clerks in his turn until the Naval Office has become known as the YWNA, with only poor Hayter and Gibson and the clueless Minnes avoiding the sink of office iniquity.

"Pardon sir...Short for my lodgings, could you help a poor girl from the country with no friend or family?"

"Indeed..." Dashing sweep of cloak...I don't care, what Mr. P doesn't see, doesn't matter... "Young girl, there's a place you can go..."

"Truly, sir...?" wide-eyed...

"I say, young woman there's a place you can go...Go now to the Naval Office...We have everything you need, just go there..."

Cut to Naval Office, chorus of Commissioners, Admiral Sir Will, clerks...Sam...

Hayter, Gibson sighing at desks...Not again...

"YWNA...You're always welcome at the YWNA...We have everything that you need to get by...You can flirt with all us guys now. (Excepting reformed me, Sam notes carefully) Woo...Woo...Woo...Woo..."

(I think I'm really going to like that we extended our grasping grip here, Buckingham...Arlington notes to Villiers in chorus line)

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Yesterday:
I with W. Hewer all the afternoon till night beginning to draw up our answer to Middleton.
Today:
I did the like all day long, only a little at dinner, and so to work again, and were at it till 2 in the morning, and so W. Hewer, who was with me all day, home to his lodging, and I to bed, after we had finished it.

L&M: Pepys to Navy Board, 16 December: copy (in Gibson's hand) in NMM, PLA/19, n.p. For Middleton's allegations against Hewer, see https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/… and https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Does anyone know where Hewer lodges now?"

"Hewer also received payments from those doing business with the Navy, but suspicions of illicit payments were never proved and he did not hold a lucrative office for any length of time. He probably also inherited from his father, who was a merchant, as Pepys' diary mentions his increased expenditures after his father's death in 1665."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wil…

"Thursday 21 September 1665
Up between five and six o’clock; and by the time I was ready, my Lord’s coach comes for me; and taking Will Hewer with me, who is all in mourning for his father, who is lately dead of the plague, ..."
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

So 1665 is probably when Hewer established his first household, possibly with his mother, Ann, overseeing its smooth running. While I doubt he still lived in lodgings on Crutched Friars, I bet he didn't move far from the Navy Offices: the hours he keeps with Pepys makes that a must. 'Live Where You Work' sounds like a solid policy to me.
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…

"According to Robert Latham, Hewer may have inherited money from his father, who died in 1665 (Diary, 10:183). His uncle, Robert Blackborne (d.1701), became secretary to the East India Company in December 1666 (ODNB), and Hewer amassed a large fortune built on trade as a result. His gift in January 1668 of a diamond necklace to Elisabeth Pepys worth £40 is evidence enough ... (10:183)."
http://antipodeanfootnotes.blogsp…

Hewer was a wealthy man, and ended up owning several estates, and in 1674, was wealthy enough to finance the construction of three warships.

I wonder why he never married. Educated, eligible young men need to do that after wars. Momma's boy? Unrequited love? Homosexual? None of these reasons stood in the way of siring an heir to your fortune in the 17th century. They were much more pragmatic.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

YESTERDAY: "I with W. Hewer all the afternoon till night beginning to draw up our answer to Middleton, and it proves troublesome, because I have so much in my head at a time to say, but I must go through with it. So at night to supper and to bed."

TODAY: "I did the like all day long, only a little at dinner, and so to work again, and were at it till 2 in the morning, ... after we had finished it."

Pepys must be so tired of these mammoth reports. Considering the "Storms of winds and rain" he's probably happy to have an excuse to stay inside.
What's the betting he wakes up in the morning with more ideas necessitating a rewrite?

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Does anyone know where Hewer lodges now?"

I found this note: "Perhaps Robert Blackborne’s most valuable service to Pepys was to introduce his nephew, Will Hewer, to him in 1660. By then Robert Blackburne was living in the parish of St. Bartholomew-the-Less by the Exchange, and was, possibly, still employed in the customs service."

Since Hewer was his heir, possibly he is living in Blackborne's old house (if it didn't burn down in the Great Fire)? The Exchange is in walking distance to the Navy Office, as well know Pepys sometimes strolls up there before lunch to hear the gossip.

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Ignore this thought about Blackborne's house ... it was Hewer's father who died, not his uncle who is alive and well and making a fortune over at the East India Company. DUH!

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