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San Diego Sarah has posted 8,701 annotations/comments since 6 August 2015.

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Second Reading

About Wednesday 8 July 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

July 8. 1668
Bristol.
James Baskerville to Williamson.

A flyboat has arrived from London, with the guns and other necessaries for his Majesty's great ship on the stocks, which will be soon ready to launch;
also the Golden Lion from Virginia,
a Bristol vessel from Morlaix,
and another from Nevis, which brings news that that island yet feels the smart of the late war;
this is also evident by the scarcity of the commodities grown in that place.
[S.P. Dom., Car. II. 242, No. 176.]
===
Murlace, Morlaise, aka Morlaix, refer to the port in Brittany 100 miles or so west of St. Malo now known as Morlaix.

@@@
July 8. 1668
Coventry
Ralph Hope to Williamson.

The Earl of Denbigh, having erected a chapel adjoining his house at Newnham Padox, the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, attended by several persons of worth, performed the ceremony of consecration,
after which the Earl of Denbigh entertained the whole number, which was very considerable –– the novelty of the thing inviting many –– at a very costly and magnificent dinner, where nothing seemed wanting to proclaim how highly his lordship was affected with the business, presenting the Bishop with a very fair double gilt piece of plate of considerable value.

After all was done, the Bishop came to Coventry, preached, and held his visitation.
The Earl of Denbigh, who sent him a buck, and many other persons of quality met him there, and dined and spent most of the day together.

The Bishop intends holding a visitation at Coleshill on his way home.

A poor woman having a lame gosling, which got into a pit, desired her son to strip and go in for it, which he did, but found the pit unexpectedly deep;
the mother, seeing her son in imminent danger, and being transported with affection, leaped in to relieve him, and both were drowned together.
[1-¼ pages. S.P. Dom., Car. II. 242, No. 177.]
---
I presume this would be Coleshill Hall, Warks., which is currently being excavated:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/sm…
It was a center of non-conformity.

About Father Peter Talbot

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

I found an error in the above:
Col. Dick Talbot becomes the 1st Earl of Tyrconnell PC (1630–1691) under James II.

About Sunday 5 July 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Going blind isn't fun, but going blind with money is better than without it.

Elizabeth and Sam are part of an extended family ... they lived communally, an experience few in this group have had.
They have a nice house in Brampton which we know sleeps 8 (maybe more); they will continue to have a cook, a housemaid, a boy (and possibly a girl) from the parish to run errands and be given rudimentary education, and Sam would probably have a man to assist him with his daily chores, and Elizabeth will find a gentlewoman to be friends with (we hope).

It's close to Hinchingbrooke, so if they have an emergency, presumably help can be summonsed from The Big House (which doesn't mean a prison in this case).

Pepys will dictate his History of the Navy from the books and papers he has collected. He will sing in the church choir, and by the honeysuckle in his garden. He will play his organ and his viol. He may become a local J.P.

It's Elizabeth who will go nuts from boredom, as usual. I can't see her learning to make her own paint, somehow. She's no Mary Beale. Reading to Sam may become her regular occupation and be the saving of her marriage.

About George Villiers (4th Viscount Grandison)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison may not have been a very interesting person, but Charles II trusted him and another Villiers, Edward, to look after the debts and business affairs of his former mistress, Barbara Villiers Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine, who was their niece.

From the biography linked below, it's clear Charles funnelled money to her for the rest of his life ... and one payment after he was dead. Of course, they did share four children, some of whom were very useful to Charles later in life, and he did love his children.

My Lady Castlemaine, Being a Life of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards Duchess of Cleveland -- By Philip IV Sergeant, B.J.,
LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO, PATERNOSTER R0W -- 1912
starting at page 152
https://archive.org/stream/mylady…

I'm not sure how many examples will be found in the Domestic Correspondence during the duration of the Diary, but here's what I have found so far:

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…

About Saturday 15 February 1667/68

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Feb. 15. 1668
LONDON
Warrant for a grant to George, Viscount Grandison, and Sir Allan Apsley,
of 2 coach houses, a stable, 3 kitchens, the old grotto and banqueting house, together with the grass plot on the east side of Berkshire House, parcel of the manor of St. James, in the parish of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields, Middlesex, on rent of 6s. 8d.
also for a surrender of the same by the Queen Mother, and the Earl of St. Alban’s and his trustees, to whom they now belong.
[S.P. Dom., Entry Book 30, f. 17.]
***
George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison (1618-1699) and Allan Apsley are both uncles to Barbara Villiers Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine.
Charles II will funnel funds to her through Grandison and another uncle, Edward Villiers, for the rest of his life. Barbara Villiers Palmer may no longer be his mistress, but they stayed in touch, if only for the sake of the children.
SEE
My Lady Castlemaine, Being a Life of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards Duchess of Cleveland -- By Philip IV Sergeant, B.J.,
LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO, PATERNOSTER R0W -- 1912
Page 152 and more
https://archive.org/stream/mylady…

Most recently, Chancellor Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon had stayed at Berkshire House. Charles II is trying to move Lady Castlemaine out of Whitehall -- not necessarily out of his life -- but as a former mistress with four children, she had to live somewhere else.

According to the book, Barbara proceeds to spend a small fortune on furnishing the house ... then she sells it, retaining enough of the garden to build a new house. Her next door neighbors are the Duke and Duchess of York at St. James's Palace, and they unite in conspiring against Buckingham.

What a nest of vipers.

Anyways, from here on out, the Lady Castlemaine is living at Berkshire House.

About Thursday 14 May 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

May 14. 1668
Reference to the Treasury Commissioners of the petition of George, Viscount Grandison, Edw. Villiers, and Baptist May,
for certain lands and tenements concealed from his Majesty, at a reasonable rent.
[S.P. Dom., Entry Book 18, p. 305.]
***
George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison (1618-1699) and Edward Villiers are both uncles to Barbara Villiers Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine (for whom these payments are most likely intended -- why Baptist May is included, I have no clue).
Charles II will funnel funds to her through these two men for the rest of his life. Barbara Villiers Palmer may no longer be his mistress, but they stayed in touch, if only for the sake of the children.
SEE
My Lady Castlemaine, Being a Life of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards Duchess of Cleveland -- By Philip IV Sergeant, B.J.,
LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO, PATERNOSTER R0W -- 1912
Page 152
https://archive.org/stream/mylady…

About Wednesday 6 May 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

May 6. 1668
Whitehall.

Warrant for a grant to George, Viscount Grandison and Edward Villiers,
for 99 years, of 492l. 11s. 2 ½ d. rent reserved on a grant by the late King to Edward Ditchfield and other citizens of London,
of the lordship of Sheriff Hutton and manor of Ottringham, York,
and manor of Sutton, Galtres Forest, to commence from the death of George Kirk, to whom they are granted for life.
[S.P. Dow., Car. II. 239, No. 153.]
***
George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison (1618-1699) and Edward Villiers are both uncles to Barbara Villiers Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine (for whom these payments are most likely intended).
Charles II will funnel funds to her through these two men for the rest of his life. Barbara Villiers Palmer may no longer be his mistress, but they stayed in touch, if only for the sake of the children.
SEE
My Lady Castlemaine, Being a Life of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards Duchess of Cleveland -- By Philip IV Sergeant, B.J.,
LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO, PATERNOSTER R0W -- 1912
Page 152
https://archive.org/stream/mylady…

About Friday 31 July 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

July. 1668
Grant
to George, Viscount Grandison and Edw. Villiers,
for 99 years from the death of George Kirk,
of several fee farm rents amounting to 413/. 0s. 6d.
during the residue of a previous lease,
and on its expiration, to 433/. 0s. 6d. a year,
reserving a rent of 24/. 5s.
[Docquet, Vol. 23, No. 244.]
---
George Villiers, 4th Viscount Grandison (1618-1699) and Edward Villiers are both uncles to Barbara Villiers Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine (for whom these payments are intended).
Charles II will funnel funds to her through these two men for the rest of his life. Barbara Villiers Palmer may no longer be his mistress, but they stayed in touch, if only for the sake of the children.

SEE
My Lady Castlemaine, Being a Life of Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine, afterwards Duchess of Cleveland -- By Philip IV Sergeant, B.J.,
LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO, PATERNOSTER R0W -- 1912
Page 152
https://archive.org/stream/mylady…

About Saturday 4 July 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"WHAT'S PEPYS SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT THAT? THREE YEARS, A PANDEMIC, A FIRE, AND A WAR LATER ... ?"

Another example of pulling together the records, two years later.
Paper work got mislaid during the plague and the fire, and duplicates or statements were needed for the Commission of Accounts.

The observation that the slops (clothing) distributed during the voyage was not charged against the sailors' accounts means the Navy will over-pay the sailors when the Fox and Merlin are/were paid off.

About Le Havre, France

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

By the end of the 17th century, Havre de Grace was a strategic and important port, on a par with London and Amsterdam:

"The first [NAVIGATION] schools in northwestern Europe popped up near the docks in Amsterdam, Le Havre and London [AT THE END OF THE 17TH CENTURY]. They were run by ambitious entrepreneurs who wore multiple hats: some of them invented new instruments or wrote introductory textbooks, all of which they hoped to sell to their students. Some [OF THE ENTREPRENEURS] were mariners, but most had virtually no experience at sea. Still, they harnessed the power of the printing press, and instruments galore, to help teach new mathematical concepts.

"A master or navigator (pilote in French, piloto in Spanish, stuurluy in Dutch) earned three times as much as an able seaman, and many would eventually secure commissions as captains. Sailors flocked to the classroom to learn the terms that would have been familiar to university students studying cosmography."

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/…

About Le Havre, France

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"Le Havre was only a fishing village until 1517, when Francis I had a harbour built there was named Havre-de-Grâce (“Haven of Grace”).

"Enlarged and fortified under the Cardinal de Richelieu and Louis XIV in the 17th century, it was adapted to accommodate bigger vessels under Louis XVI in the late 18th century …"

https://www.britannica.com/place/…

About Thursday 2 July 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Hi John ... around the 20th of the month I start copying the next month's letters into their correct day. I'm reading the Diary along with you, so while thinking this letter is interesting, and I don't think that one is, they are still somewhat of a surprise for me when we get to them.
They are now done through the end of July, so I have a few days off before tackling August.

About Friday 3 July 1668

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

"... so abroad by water to Eagle Court in the Strand, and there to an alehouse: ..."

Five eminent physicians and the Clerk of the Acts for the Navy meet at an alehouse off the Strand to disect sheep and oxen eyes. I wonder what the innkeeper made of that. "George -- we need another plate ASAP. No, we don't need any food, thanks."

Makes me aware of how sanitary conditions are taken for granted these days.

About Giles Dunster

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Giles Dunster came from a Seavington St. Michael, south Somerset, yeoman family, several of whom became merchants in London in the 17th century.
He became a commissioner for public accounts after the second Anglo-Dutch war, later serving as surveyor-general of customs.
Information taken from his brother, Henry Dunster's Parliamentary bio:
https://www.historyofparliamenton…

About Brooke House Committee (Committee of Accounts)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Ah, now here are more members of the Committee:

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
Friday 3 July 1668

Then by coach to the Commissioners of Accounts at Brooke House, the first time I was ever there, and there Sir W. Turner in the chair; and present, Lord Halifax, Thoms[on], Gregory, Dunster, and Osborne.
---
Henry Savile, Viscount Halifax, A nephew of the Coventry brothers and Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley who's mother was a sister to the Coventry brothers. He went on to have an illustrious career.
---
L&M companion: Col. George was one of four Thompson brothers. "Presbyterian merchants prominent in the service of the Commonwealth. Col. George (with his wooden leg -- he had been wounded in action in 1644), elected M.P. for Southwark in 1645, was a Councilor of State, 1651-53, 1659-1660, an Admiralty Commissioner, 1652, and an Admiralty and Navy Commissioner 1659, 1660. Under suspicion for disaffection in 1661, he made his peace with the Government and was put on the Brooke House Committee in 1668.
---
John Gregory was a colleague of Pepys in the Exchequer. He moved in 1660 to the office of Secretary Nicholas, and in 1668 was in the service of the Brooke House Committee.
---
Giles Dunster came from an Seavington St. Michael, south Somerset yeoman family, several of whom became merchants in London in the 17th century. He became a commissioner for public accounts after the second Anglo-Dutch war, later serving as surveyor-general of customs. Information taken from his brother, Henry's Parliamentary bio:
https://www.historyofparliamenton…
----
L&M: Henry Osborne. Member of the Brooke House Committee (1667-9) on war expenditure; brother of Dorothy Osborne, the letter-writer and wife of Sir William Temple. His uncle was Francis Osborne (d. 1659), author of *Advice to a Son*, one of Pepys' favorite books. In the third Dutch War he was a Commissioner of the Sick and Wounded. Knighted in 1673.

About Sir George Savile (Viscount Halifax)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Sorry about the typos ... pressed ENTER too soon.

"... and George's uncles. Henry Savile was brought up by his mother, Anne Coventry Savile, ..."

should read
"... and George's uncles. He was brought up by his mother, Anne Coventry Savile, ..."

About Sir George Savile (Viscount Halifax)

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

No one has spoken up for George Savile, 1st Marquis of Halifax (1633 – 1695) yet. I can't believe I have the honor. He is one man who translates well today:

“A Man may so overdo it in looking too far before him, that he may stumble the more for it.”

“He that leaveth nothing to chance will do few things ill, but he will do very few things.”

“A wise man will keep his Suspicions muzzled, but he will keep them awake.”

“Suspicion seldom wanteth Food to keep it up in Health and Vigour. It feedeth upon everything it seeth, and is not curious in its Diet.”

“Many Men swallow the being cheated, but no Man could ever endure to chew it.”

“Men take more pains to hide than to mend themselves.”

“The best way to suppose what may come, is to remember what is past.”

“The best Qualification of a Prophet is to have a good Memory.”

“Some Men's Memory is like a Box, where a Man should mingle his Jewels with his old Shoes.”

But look at his gene pool: Anthony Ashley-Cooper and the Coventry brothers were half-brothers, and George's uncles. Henry Savile was brought up by his mother, Anne Coventry Savile, who married Thomas Chicheley MP as her second husband.

During the Medway catastrophe, Halifax was a Capt. in Prince Rupert’s Horse June-Sept. 1667., defending Sheerness and Harwich.

We met him when Pepys becomes involved with the Brooke House Committee on finance. This was Halifax's second time in London ... he hadn't enjoyed being an MP so only sood once, in 1660.

His activities in 1667 was so outstanding "A peerage could no longer be denied to George Savile, 4th Bart., and he was created Viscount Halifax on 13 Jan., 1668, although Samuel Pepys thought that it ‘would displease the Parliament’ by suggesting that he had gone over to the Court."

After that, George Savile, Viscount Halifax was appointed to the council of trade in 1669.

During the third Anglo-Dutch war George Savile, Viscount Halifax MP was made a Privy Councilor and sent on a diplomatic mission. But now we are beyond the Diary, but should you read about the Popish Plot and Pepys' adventures later on, you will hear about George Savile, Earl and then Marquis of Halifax.

https://www.historyofparliamenton…

About Thomas Chicheley

San Diego Sarah  •  Link

Henry Savile, Viscount Halifax, was brought up by his mother, Anne Coventry Savile, who married Thomas Chicheley MP as her second husband.

She was sister to William and Henry Coventry, and half sister to Anthony Ashley-Cooper, Lord Ashley.