Daily entries from the 17th century London diary
If you would like to write a summary for this topic, email phil [at] gyford [dot] com
Information from Latham & Matthews
Philip Holland and his wife (first name unknown) are friends of Pepys and his wife in 1660. Pepys calls Mrs. Holland a “plain dowdy” on 6 June 1661. Her mother is a Quaker.
The Hollands lived in Bridewell parish, not far from Pepys’s father, John. Their sons are mentioned near the tail end of the diary.
He served in the First Dutch War (1652-4), and commanded the Assurance on the 1659 Baltic mission under Edward Mountagu. L&M call him “prominent” in the Commonwealth navy. (Vol. 1, p. 167)
This isn’t mentioned in the diary, but in 1665, he was put in charge of a “fire ship” (a ship filled with explosives, set on fire, then floated among enemy ships as a weapon, according to Webster’s New World Dictionary).
Ironically, the name of that ship was the “Loyal Merchant,” but Holland deserted the English for the Dutch and later took part in the Medway raid. He was arrested in 1672, but he was released when he agreed to spy for the English government.
— L&M, Vols. 1,2; Companion volume (10); Index volume (11).
Husband of Mrs Holland: http://www.pepysdiary.com/p/1089.php