John Evelyn's Diary May 1659
John Evelyn's Diary October 1659
Three Feathers
Arundel House
John Evelyn's Diary November 1659
John Evelyn's Diary 1659 is in John Evelyn's Diary 1650s.
17th January 1659. Our old vicar preached, taking leave of the parish in a pathetical speech, to go to a living in the city.
24th March 1659. I went to London, to speak to the patron, Alderman Cuttler, about presenting a fit pastor for our destitute parish church.
5th April 1659. Came the Earl of Northampton [aged 36] and the famous painter, Mr. Wright [aged 41], to visit me.
10th April 1659. One Mr. Littler, being now presented to the living of our parish, preached on John vi. 55, a sermon preparatory to the Holy Sacrament.
25th April 1659. A wonderful and sudden change in the face of the public; the new protector, Richard [aged 32], slighted; several pretenders and parties strive for the government: all anarchy and confusion; Lord have mercy on us!
5th May 1659. I went to visit my brother [aged 41] in London; and next day, to see a new opera, after the Italian way, in recitative music and scenes, much inferior to the Italian composure and magnificence; but it was prodigious that in a time of such public consternation such a vanity should be kept up, or permitted. I, being engaged with company, could not decently resist the going to see it, though my heart smote me for it.
7th May 1659. Came the Ambassador of Holland and his lady to visit me, and stayed the whole afternoon.
12th May 1659. I returned the visit, discoursing much of the revolutions, etc.
19th May 1659. Came to dine with me my Lord Galloway [aged 49] and his son, a Scotch Lord and learned: also my brother [aged 41] and his lady, Lord Berkeley and his lady, Mrs. Shirley, and the famous singer, Mrs. Knight, and other friends.
23rd May 1659. I went to Rookwood, Surrey, and dined with Sir William Hicks [aged 63], where was a great feast and much company. It is a melancholy old house, environed with trees and rooks.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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26th May 1659. Came to see me my Lord George Berkeley [aged 31], Sir William Ducie, and Sir George Pott's son of Norfolk.
29th May 1659. The nation was now in extreme confusion and unsettled, between the Armies and the Sectaries, the poor Church of England breathing as it were her last; so sad a face of things had overspread us.
7th June 1659. To London, to take leave of my brother [aged 41], and see the foundations now laying for a long street and buildings in Hatton Garden, designed for a little town, lately an ample garden.
1st September 1659. I communicated to Mr. Robert Boyle [aged 32], son to the Earl of Cork, my proposal for erecting a philosophic and mathematic college.
15th September 1659. Came to see me Mr. Brereton [aged 28], a very learned gentleman, son to my Lord Brereton [aged 48], with his wife and divers other ladies. Also, Henry Howard of Norfolk [aged 31], since Duke of Norfolk.
30th September 1659. I went to visit Sir William Ducie and Colonel Blount [aged 55], where I met Sir Henry Blount [aged 57], the famous traveler and water drinker.
10th October 1659. I came with my wife [aged 24] and family to London: took lodgings at the Three Feathers [Map], in Russell Street, Covent Garden, for the winter, my son being very unwell.
11th October 1659. Came to visit me Mr. William Coventry [aged 31] (since secretary to the Duke), son to the Lord Keeper, a wise and witty gentleman.
11th October 1659. The Army now turned out the Parliament. We had now no government in the nation: all in confusion; no magistrate either owned or pretended; but the soldiers, and they not agreed. God Almighty have mercy on us, and settle us!
17th October 1659. I visited Mr. Howard [aged 31], at Arundel House [Map], who gave me a fair onyx set in gold, and showed me his design of a palace there.
21st October 1659. A private fast was kept by the Church of England Protestants in town, to beg of God the removal of his judgments, with devout prayers for his mercy to our calamitous Church.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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7th November 1659. Was published my bold "Apology for the King" in this time of danger, when it was capital to speak or write in favour of him. It was twice printed; so universally it took.
9th November 1659. We observed our solemn Fast for the calamity of our Church.
12th November 1659. I went to see the several drugs for the confection of treacle, dioscordium, and other electuaries, which an ingenious apothecary had not only prepared and ranged on a large and very long table, but covered every ingredient with a sheet of paper, on which was very lively painted the thing in miniature, well to the life, were it plant, flower, animal, or other exotic drug.
15th November 1659. Dined with the Dutch Ambassador. He did in a manner acknowledge that his nation mind only their own profit, do nothing out of gratitude, but collaterally as it relates to their gain, or security; and therefore the English were to look for nothing of assistance to the banished King. This was to me no very grateful discourse, though an ingenuous confession.
18th November 1659. Mr. Gunning [aged 45] celebrated the wonted Fast, and preached on Phil. II 12, 13.
24th November 1659. Sir John Evelyn [of Godstone, Surrey] invited us to the forty-first wedding-day feast, where was much company of friends.
26th November 1659. I was introduced into the acquaintance of divers learned and worthy persons, Sir John Marsham, Mr. Dugdale [aged 19], Mr. Stanley, and others.
9th December 1659. I supped with Mr. Gunning [aged 45], it being our fast day, Dr. Fearne, Mr. Thrisco, Mr. Chamberlain, Dr. Henchman [aged 67], Dr. Wild, and other devout and learned divines, firm confessors, and excellent persons. Note: Most of them since made bishops.
10th December 1659. I treated privately with Colonel Morley [aged 43], then Lieutenant of the Tower, and in great trust and power, concerning delivering it to the King [aged 29], and the bringing of him in, to the great hazard of my life, but the Colonel had been my schoolfellow, and I knew would not betray me.
12th December 1659. I spent in public concerns for his Majesty [aged 29], pursuing the point to bring over Colonel Morley [aged 43], and his brother-in-law, Fay, Governor of Portsmouth.
18th December 1659. Preached that famous divine, Dr. Sanderson [aged 72] (since Bishop of Lincoln), now eighty years old, on Jer. xxx. 13, concerning the evil of forsaking God.
29th December 1659. Came my Lord Count Arundel, of Wardour [aged 51], to visit me. I went also to see my Lord Viscount Montague [aged 49].
31st December 1659. Settling my domestic affairs in order, blessed God for his infinite mercies and preservations the past year.