2 Annotations

First Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

Arthur Squibb, jun. ((d. 1679/80). Lawyer, republican and Fifth Monarchist. He had sat in Barebone's Parliament in 1653 and was associated with the extremists. In 1656 he was involved in a Fifth Monarchist uprising. He had been a Commissioner for Compounding 1650-4 and 1659-60, and in early 1660 successfully claimed Downing's tellership in the Exchequer, together with the house that went with it, by virtue of a reversion granted him in 1640. In 1671 he was briefly imprisoned for a Fifth Monarchy sermon but thereafter lived quietly in Chertsey, Surrey. His Royalist brother Laurence (d. 1674) held a tellership in the '60s. (L&M Companion)

Third Reading

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

L&M explains that the court case at the beginning of the Diary concerned possession of a HOUSE [my emphasis] in Westminster owned by Arthur Squibb (once Teller of the Exchequer) and occupied by William Swan. William Beaver, Squibb's tenant, brought an action of trespass and ejection: PRO, E13/637, m.25; E 12/19, p.21.

It sounds as if Downing became the Teller, and discovered that a house appeared to go with the office, and evicted William Beaver -- maybe he had sublet from William Swan? Squibb sued, claiming he owns the house

The Court ruling could imply they thought Squibb should still be the Teller, and therefore gave him his house back with damages. The on-lookers disagreed, and Downing continues to act as Teller, but still lost the house.

Or it could just mean they agreed that Squibb owned the house, and Downing was mistaken of his understanding about what went with the position.

As Downing promptly leaves for the Netherlands and takes his belongings with him, the housing situation is mute. If Squibb was claiming to be the Teller -- which is why Pepys fears for his job -- he must know that a Fifth Monarchist isn't going to keep that position for long, and appears to have taken his shilling and house, and left it at that.

Pepys is not the best Court Reporter.

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1660