Thomas Rugge Explained

Thomas Rugge (died c. 1670 or c. 1672) was a diarist and later compiler of 'Mercurius Politicus Redivivus'.[1] The "Diurnall" of Thomas Rugge, which is preserved in the British Museum, corroborates Pepys in many ways.

Self-description for his diary

MERCURIUS POLITICUS REDIVIVUS

or, A Collection of the most materiall occurrences and transactions

in Public Affairs since Anno Dni, 1659, until

28 March 1672,

serving as an annuall diurnall for future satisfaction and

information,

BY THOMAS RUGGE.

Est natura hominum novitatis avida.—Plinius.

Preservation of his diary

Thomas Rugge's Diurnall is preserved in the British Library, where it forms Add MSS 10116–10117. It belonged in 1693 to Thomas Grey, second earl of Stamford, and was purchased by the British Museum at Heber's sale in February 1836. It was published as The diurnal of Thomas Rugg, 1659-1661 by William Lewis Sachse ed. in 1961.[2]

Descriptions of tea, coffee, and chocolate drinking habits in the 1650s

The journal is important, early source for the drinking habits of the English of hot drinks, including a strange, new trend that would later have great cultural impact. According to Thomas Rugge's Diurnall, in London 'Coffee, chocolate and a kind of drink called tee were 'sold in almost every street in 1659'.

And theire ware also att this time a Turkish drink to bee sould, almost every street, called coffee, and another kind of drink called tee, and also a drink called Chacolate, which was a very harty drink.[3]

Life in Covent Garden

Thomas Rugge paid hearth tax for nine hearths when he lived in Covent Garden, Middlesex in 1666.[4] He lived in King Street 1651–c.1663.

«Thomas Rugge was descended from an ancient Norfolk family, and two of his ancestors are described as Aldermen of Norwich. His death has been ascertained to have occurred about 1672; and in the Diary for the preceding year he complains that on account of his declining health, his entries will be but few. Nothing has been traced of his personal circumstances beyond the fact of his having lived for fourteen years in Covent Garden, then a fashionable locality.»[5]

Known kinsman

This was the same ancient Norfolk family that William Rugge, Bishop of Norwich, belonged to.

Identification with Thomas Rugge of St. Paul

He may have been the Thomas Rugge of St. Paul, Covent Garden whose will was probated on 31 March 1670,[6] though this seemingly predates the end of the journal entries.[7]

That would make him the Thomas Rugge who was buried on 16 March 1669/70 at St. Paul's, Covent Garden.[8]

Possible children

At St. Paul's, Covent Garden, we find the following baptisms:

At the time of the Commonwealth of England date of birth had to be registered in the parish registers.

Half the entries in the journal, which spans more than a decade, are after the death of Mary in late 1659 and before the birth of John in early 1662.

His widow and their nephew

ODNB identifies the preceding marriage as that between Thomas Rugg and Elizabeth Cox at St. Clement Danes,[16] in the City of Westminster, London, both of Covent Garden.[17] The will of the widow of Thomas Rugge, Elizabeth Rugge née Cox (d.1695[18]) of Saint Giles in the Fields, Middlesex, England, does not mention any children, but does mention her nephew, John Rugge of Bugden in the County of Huntingdon. This was the John Rugge (d.1720) of the Inner Temple, London and Stirtloe, Buckden, Huntingdonshire, gentleman, who married Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Robert Wright, Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Their grandson was the Reverend William Rugge, Rector of Buckland (16 May 1740 – 2 November 1786).

Church monument

From his monument in Buckland Church, the coat of arms of the Reverend William Rugge, Rector of Buckland is described as:

Arms: Gules a chevron engrailed between three mullets pierced Argent.[19]
Of the arms of William Rugge, Bishop of Norwich, it is said:
William Rugge, Esq. of Felmingham, is said to have changed his arms, per fess, sable and argent, and unicorn saliant, counterchanged, armed, mained and unguled or, to that of gules, a chevron engrailed, between three mullets pierced, argent; but Richard de Rugge, who lived in the 2d of Richard III. and the Bishop of Norwich, bore, as it appears, this last coat.[20]
William Rugge, Rector of Buckland and William Rugge, Bishop of Norwich, were of the same family.

So also were the Reverend's Rugge relations, amongst them his great-granduncle Thomas Rugge, the diarist.

The Coat of Arms

Arms: Gules a chevron engrailed between three mullets pierced Argent

In heraldry:

Gules is the tincture with the colour red

Chevron engrailed A star with straight-sided rays is usually called a mullet, and which may or may not be pierced

Argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to be tinctured argent are either left blank, or indicated with the abbreviation ar

The Rugge coat of arms can be seen on the monument of Francis Rugge (1535–1607), Mayor of Norwich at St. Andrew's Church in Norwich,[21] though the chevron does not appear to be engraileded.[22] Francis Blomefield, Rector of Fersfield in Norfolk, writing some three hundred years prior to this, however, confirms this to be the coat of arms of Rugge in his An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 4, Containing the History of Norwich, Part II.[23] The coat of arms of Rugge quarters, 1st, arg. a chevron ingrailed between six keys sab. 2d, arg. a chevron ingrailed sab. between three birds. 3d, Brome. There is a crescent for difference. The said quartered coats impale Aldrich, and there is a shield of Aldrich single.[24]

Of the other coats of arms the Rugge coat of arms is quartered with, Argent, a chevron, between three birds (martlets), sable, appears to be the coat of arms of Elizabeth Wood, Francis Rugge's mother.[25]

The Reverend Edmund Farrer in his The Church Heraldry of Norfolk : A Description of All Coats of Arms on Brasses, Monuments, Slabs, Hatchments, &c., Now to Be Found in the County writes that at Hoveton St. John can be found coloured shields on the screen, one of which is:

Gules, a chevron engrailed between three pierced mullets argent, Rugge[26]
The Rugge family owned property in Hoveton from at least 1533, when William Rugge, abbot of St. Bennet's, conveyed the manor of Greengate to Robert Rugge, his brother, alderman of Norwich. Robert still owned the manor of Greengate in 1558, with that of Spicer's, alias Berds, in Hoveton St. John, and St. Peter, Tunsted, Below, and Ashmanagh, the last sold to him also by the late abbot, his brother. The family held property there until at least 1618.[27]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: King Street and Floral Street Area: King Street British History Online. 2020-09-10. www.british-history.ac.uk.
  2. Mercurius Politicus Redivivus: or A Collection of the Most Materiall Occurances and Transactions in Publick Affaires since Anno Domini 1659 until [March 28, 1672], Serveing as an Annuall Diurnall for Future Satisfaction & Information Together with a Table Prefixed, Alphabetically Compiled, Expressing of and Directing to the Most Remarkable Passages therein Contayned Being vacancyes Improved by Thomas Rugge]. Camden . Third Series. 1961. 91. 1–180. 10.1017/S2042171000000406.
  3. Web site: Tea, Toast and Travel – Nutmeg.
  4. Web site: Hearth Tax: Middlesex 1666, Covent Garden British History Online. 2020-09-10. www.british-history.ac.uk.
  5. Web site: The Diary of Samuel Pepys M.A. F.R.S., 1660 N.S. by Samuel Pepys. 2020-09-10. www.gutenberg.org.
  6. Book: Will of Thomas Rugg of St. Paul, Covent Garden – The National Archives. 1670-03-31.
  7. Web site: Archives. The National. Rugge, Thomas (d 1670) Diarist. Collections 1) Description: 1659-72: diary (with additions after his death). Held by: British Library, Manuscript Collections. Reference: Add MSS 10116-17. 2020-09-13. discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. en-GB.
  8. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden). London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  9. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden. London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  10. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden. London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  11. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden. London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  12. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden. London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  13. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden. London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  14. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden. London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  15. Book: St. Paul's Church (Covent Garden. London. The registers of St. Paul's church, Convent garden, London. Hunt. William Henry. 1906. London : [Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, printers]. Harold B. Lee Library.
  16. Rugg, Thomas (d. 1670), diarist. 2020-09-19. 2004. en. 10.1093/ref:odnb/24261. Clarke. Elizabeth R..
  17. 1650: [...] July: Thomas Rugg & Elizabeth Cox both of Covent Garden Married – 4th
  18. Book: Will of Elizabeth Rugg, Widow of Saint Giles in the Fields, Middlesex – The National Archives. 1695-03-23. Also I give and bequeath unto my God-daughter Elizabeth Rugg daughter of John Rugg of Bugden in the County of Huntingdon the sume of fforty pounds to be paid her by my Executors after my decease [written in the margin] Sic originale Also I give and bequeath unto William Thomas and Elizabeth and Martha the children Two sonns and a Daughter [written in the margin] Sic originale of my Brother William Cox the sumes of Tenn pounds a peece [...] Also I give and bequeath to the children of my brother Thomas Cox the sumes of Tenn pounds apeece each And whereas James Arundell of Lambeth in the County of Surrey Dyer stands indbebted unto me Twenty pounds I give and bequeath the same unto his children by his first wife Mary Arundell to be equally divided amongst them Item I give to the poor of the parish of Covent garden Twenty – Twenty shillings Also I give unto my Nephew John Rugg the sum of Tenn pounds and to Richard ffoulks of Covent garden ffive pounds And I hereby make and ordaine the said John Rugg and Richard ffoulks Executors of this my last Will In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand – and seale the six and twentieth day of June in the yeare of our Lord one Thousand six hundred ninety four Eliz: Rugg Signed sealed declared and published in the presence of Elias Atkinson Matthew Clarke, John Brooke : Also I give unto Mrs Eliz:a Blake daughter of Mr W:m Blake of St Pauls Covent garden the sum of Ten pounds Also I give unto Mrs Kath: Smith Twenty shillings And unto her sister – Johanna Price Twenty shillings ~ [...] 19:th Marty 169 Which day appeared personally Catherine Smith wife of John Smith of the precinct of Bridewell London aged about Thirty five yeares and being sworn upon the Holy Evangelists to depose the Truth did depose that she was very well acquainted with Elizabeth Rugg late of the parish of St Gyles in the ffields in the County of Midd[le]sex widow dec[ease]d having been formerly her servant for severall years togeather and Nurse to her for about three weeks before and to the time of her death and saith That about four or five dayes before the said dec[ease]ds death this deponent in discourse with the said dec[ease]d told her that she heard that she the said dec[ease]d had made Mr ffowke one of her Executors to which the said dec[ease]d replied yes Catherine I have so farr made Mr ffowke my Executor as to be Assistant to my Nephew Mr Rugg whome she said was a sickly man and might not come to Town but that she expected the said Mr ffowke should be lyable to pay her the said dec[ease]d if she lived or her Cozen Rugg (meaning Mr John Rugg one of her Executors) if she dyed what money was due to her from him the said Mr ffowke for she had left all to her Cosen Rugg after her Legacies and debts were paid And the said dec[ease]d further added that she had been kinde to her own Relatõns but as for her husbands Relatõns they never troubled her And that in regard what she had come by her husband she was obliged to make same[?] cetwen[?] to his ffamily at her death And deponent further saith that she beleives the dec[ease]d understood not otherwise but that the residue of my Estate after her debts and Legacies were paid would come to her Cosen Rugg she never intending (as this depondent beleives) the said Mr ffowke should have any thing more from her then the ffive pounds given him by her will she the said dec[ease]d often apputssing[?] a very great love and affection to and for the said John Rugg And this deponent saith she hath severall times at this deponents house within these six months past and often before heard the said dec[ease]d say she intended her Cosen Rugg should have the rest of my estate after her debts and Legacies were paid And lastly[?] this deponent saith that at [...] put in minde by some person or persons to settle her affaires which she said she had done and that she had lived her self sparingly and meanly that she might be able to doe something for her Relatõns her death and said she had accordingly left every one something and she would make no alteratõns in her Will adding that she had left all to the management of her Executor her Nephew Rugg whome she was persuaded was a very honest and worthy man and would doe justice to every body not in the least mentõning Mr Richard ffawke And this deponent beleives the said dec[ease]d thought[?] (her debts and Legacies being paid and satisfied) the overplus would be solely her Cosen Ruggs And that Mr ffawke having a Legacy of ffive pounds in the said Will the said dec[ease]d intended him no more of her Estate And lastly this deponent saith the said dec[ease]d at the time aforesaid was of perfect minde and memory and discouzed ratõnally and well [...].
  19. Web site: Surrey Coats of Arms. Sir Arthur, the 5th baronet, assumed the name of Rugge-Price, Mar 7, 1874, Sir Charles, his ancestor, the 1st baronet, having married, in 1773, Mary, daughter and, at length, co-heir of William Rugge of Conduit St, Hanover Square, and the family now quarter the arms of Rugge and use the Rugge crest in addition to their own. (Peerage, 1938) * Arms of Rugge: Sable on a chevron invected Argent between three mullets Or pierced of the first an unicorn head erased, also of the first. Crest: A talbot passant Argent gorged with a collar and pendant therefrom an escutcheon Sable charged with an ibex head Proper. * The present holder of the title is Sir Charles Keith Napier Rugge-Price, 9th Bart., of Chambly, PQ, Canada, (b.1936). [...] RUGGE of Buckland. Arms: Gules a chevron engrailed between three mullets pierced Argent. From the monument in Buckland Church to the Rev. William Rugge, (d.Nov 2, 1786), Rector of Buckland..
  20. Web site: Tunstede Hundred: Felmingham British History Online. 2020-09-19. www.british-history.ac.uk.
  21. Web site: Francis Rugge Monument. 2020-09-11. www.norwich-heritage.co.uk.
  22. Web site: Francis Rugge Monument – Heraldic Crest. 2020-09-11. www.norwich-heritage.co.uk.
  23. Book: Blomefield, Francis. An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: History of Norwich. 1806. W. Miller. en.
  24. Web site: 1806. City of Norwich, chapter 42: Middle Wimer ward. 2020-09-21. An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 4. British History Online.
  25. Book: Farrer, Edmund. The church heraldry of Norfolk: a description of all coats of arms on brasses, monuments, slabs, hatchments, &c., now to be found in the county. Illustrated. With references to Blomefield's History of Norfolk and Burke's Armory. Together with notes from the inscriptions attached. 1887. Norwich, A.H. Goose and co.. University of California. Per pale, a chevron between three birds (Wood, Per pale, a chevron between three martlets as many trefoils slipt, all counterchanged.).
  26. Book: Farrer, Edmund. The church heraldry of Norfolk : a description of all coats of arms on brasses, monuments, slabs, hatchments, &c., now to be found in the county, illustrated, with references to Blomefield's History of Norfolk and Burke's Armory, together with notes from the inscriptions attached. 1887. Norwich : A.H. Goose and Co.. Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
  27. Web site: 1810. Tunstede Hundred: Hofton. 2020-09-24. An Essay Towards A Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 11. British History Online.

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