Annotations and comments

Mary K has posted 1,146 annotations/comments since 9 March 2007.

Comments

Second Reading

About Sunday 31 August 1662

Mary K  •  Link

Indeed.

"John Gilpin was a citizen
Of credit and renown;
A train-band captain eke was he
Of famous London town....... etc. etc."

About Wednesday 16 July 1662

Mary K  •  Link

I'm not sure that "proud" is quite the right adjective. She was anxious to get herself out of a potentially dangerous situation.

About Tuesday 22 April 1662

Mary K  •  Link

£88 cost.

Expenses on coach and horses for the duration probably included in this sum.

About Sunday 9 February 1661/62

Mary K  •  Link

Yes, £20 is a lot of money, but perhaps the new clothes included a piece of lace which could later be used to accessorise other garments. Lace was decidedly a luxury item (and remained so well into the 19th century) but over a lifetime women could acquire a selection of pieces of lace that would be carefully washed and cared-for, adorning different garments at different times.

About A new design

Mary K  •  Link

Great work, Phil - clear and eye-catching. Yet another improvement to our favourite site.

About Monday 23 December 1661

Mary K  •  Link

"he being to go out of town for all Christmas"

This presumably means for the whole 12 days from Christmas Day itself to 6th January.

About Friday 21 November 1662

Mary K  •  Link

Spitting sheet.

This makes sense and fits well with Sam's reference to "having first put up a spitting sheet".

"fabric attached to the wall behind a spittoon to protect valuable hangings or pictures from splashback."

Judith Flanders: "The Making of Home."
Atlantic books. 2014.
ISBN 9781848877986

About Sunday 25 August 1661

Mary K  •  Link

Two Pepys women are thus failing to buckle, one to Samuel's entire satisfaction and the other definitely not.

About The Savoy

Mary K  •  Link

The Savoy chapel is one of a distinctive group.

The Royal Peculiars and Chapels Royal

Many of England's Royal Peculiars and Chapels Royal are located within the Diocese of London.

These churches and chapels have a 'peculiar jurisdiction' and are usually located on land connected with a royal castle or palace. They are independent of the Church of England's structures and owe allegiance directly to the Sovereign.

The Chapels Royal have their origin in a single establishment known as the Chapel Royal, effectively the King's Royal Free Chapel or Ecclesiastical Household, which followed the Court wherever it went. One of its locations was at the present Chapel Royal in the royal residence of St James's Palace, begun in 1531, and the main choral centre has been there since Queen Anne moved the Court to St James's from Whitehall Palace.

The Bishop of London is Dean of the Chapels Royal.

Chapels Royal

Westminster Abbey
Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace
Chapel Royal of St Peter-ad-Vincula
The Chapel Royal of St John the Evangelist
The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace
The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy
The Royal Foundation of St Katharine
Extra Diocesan Churches

Temple Church
Chapel of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea

About St Thomas's Hospital

Mary K  •  Link

Richard Whittington.

That's "turn again" Dick Whittington, I presume; he of the cat and bells, who became Lord Mayor of London

About Friday 17 May 1661

Mary K  •  Link

Entertainment

I'm afraid that the combination of a bagpiper with a 17th century version of Ronnie Ronalde would have put me right off my lunch.

About Tuesday 30 April 1661

Mary K  •  Link

Google maps will show you. Just enter Newington Butts and look both north and south from there.

About Tuesday 30 April 1661

Mary K  •  Link

Newington.

This is an area of Southwark, just south of modern-day Waterloo and north of Kennington. Part of the A3 there (main road from London to Portsmouth) is actually named Newington Butts to this day. However, I can't think offhand of any "water" there (either pond or river) that might have spoiled Sam's hat.

About Wednesday 24 April 1661

Mary K  •  Link

"my house"

Is it worth repeating that neither Samuel nor his wife has any property rights in this house? It is simply the 'company' accommodation, allotted by the Navy Office, that goes with his current job.

About Wednesday 6 March 1660/61

Mary K  •  Link

Samuel's birthday, February 23rd., falls on a Monday in 2015. Either the Saturday or the Sunday might provide an easier date to keep, perhaps.

About Wednesday 16 January 1660/61

Mary K  •  Link

"the only means of sanitation"

Not so, despite the frequency with which this canard appears. Recall that Pepys's own accommodation had its house of office, as did his neighbours. The inhabitants of other substantial dwellings would have had similar facilities. There were also public conveniences ( usually close to the Thames) at points in the city of London. Defenestration may have been common, but it was not the only means of sanitation in the city.

About Friday 17 May 1661

Mary K  •  Link

80d. when divided by 12 (to find shillings) gives 6s. with 8 pence left over. i.e. 6s.8d. or 6/8d whichever way you prefer to write it.

When I was at primary school (in pre-decimalisation days) one was expected to learn and know that one-third of a pound was 6/8d, two-thirds of a pound was 13/4d. just as one knew that one-eighth of a pound was 2/6d. Simples!