They moved on to Delft, and other places as in the Appendix. Leyden was 3 hours
from the Hague. The diarist remarks on the 'Anatomy School' in Leyden, on its
'Accademy' and on the 'Phisick Garden'. In 1710 about 800 students, he says, were
to be accounted at Leyden University. He remarks on the picture 'Herod's Cruelty'
then kept in the Princenhoff (Prince's Palace) in Haarlem. The diarist makes the
statement that Koster invented the art of printing in 1440 in the West12. The
diarist actually saw Koster's house in Haarlem and he states that the first book
printed in Europe by Koster was then in 1710 in the care of the Rector of the
Schola Illustris13. Is this new evidence?
After staying in Amsterdam a few days, the party went to Buychsloot. Here they
hired a Bulgar-Waggon14, and proceeded to North Holland. After travelling
further they again reached Amsterdam. Here the diarist has a word to say about
the Stadt-House (Stadhuis). This he describes as being about 110 common paces
long and 84 broad. He says the foundations for this building were said to have
cost as much as the super-structure. A description of some of the interior follows.
It had marble as far as the first cornice and a picture of Solomon praying for
wisdom. The rest of the diary is more or less an itinerary. He comments on the
social climate of the time: young children were soliciting for whores in Amsterdam
who were in turn punished by being put in the Spinhuis. The popularity of Holland
with the English at this time is shown by the number of English inns at places
like Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The best inns, according to the diarist, in Rot
terdam were Pennington's and Withrington's. The names show an English in
fluence on the life there.
In parts I and II above we have seen some of the more interesting diaries. The
whole Edward Hall M.S. diary collection amounts to around 230 items. But from
most of the comments made by the diarists is seems that Holland was quite attrac
tive to the English tourist in the 18th century. Perhaps the fact that Spanish oppres
sion had eased somewhat encouraged this attraction. Additionally, the centres of
learning in Holland seem to merit commendable descriptions. But finally we might
This statement is made on EHC/144. p. 6. It is a surprising statement because
evidence available in present times claims that Johann Gutenberg was the first to
bring printing to Europe around 1440, working at Strassburg and Mainz. But during
tms time many were experimenting in the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, etc.
Lourens Koster is said to have printed from movable type here in mediaeval times.
13 Schola illustris: this must have been a transitional type of accademy or school,
because it has not grown into a University. Available records on this are almost none
or little. There may be records in Holland which could throw light on this, but are
at present inaccessible to the present writer from England.
Bulgar Waggon: Bulgar seems to come from Bulgaar, meaning the type of truck
used in Bulgaria. English did not have this expression; so it seems the diarist may be
using the Dutch of the times. No word Bulgar is recorded in the O.E.D. (Oxford English
Dictionary). [Perhaps Bolder- or Bulderwagen (rumbling cart.). Red.]
[272]
note how observant the diarist in Part II was of his social environment in the
cities: the inns, the accosting, and so on.
Gershom Arthur Knight, B.A.,
Assoc. Royal Hist. Soc.
archivaris Gemeente-Archief Wigan,
46, Bold Street, Pemberton,
Wigan, Lancashire, England.
Appendix
The progress of the journey in 1710 in Holland in the diary described in Part II.
Helverssluys
lhe Brill
Rotterdam (descriptions of the Great Kirk, English Churches and Stadt Huys; best
inns here are P'enningtons and Withringtons).
Overskee
Delft
Graven Hage
Leiden (some history of University life).
Harlem
Amsterdam
Buyck Sloot
Alkmaer
Beverwick
Amsterdam (descriptions of Stadt House, Rasphuys, Spinhuys or Bridewell where the
whores were put, Reisers Graft, Heere Graft; La Rohhet, La Ville de Lions and Mores
an English house were described as best inns).
To Utrecht by the fracht-schuyt (Castle of Antwerp, an inn).
Loo
Amersfoort
Hemstead1 (a country house)
Soursbyck2 (Late King's house, i.e. William of Orange).
Hounslaerdyck3
Reswick4
Hague
Rotterdam
Bergen op Zoom (on way to Antwerp).
1 Heemstede bij Houten uit 1645.
2 Soestdijk
;l Honselaarsdijk
1 Rijswijk, Huis te Nieuwburg.
[Garard toonde een verklaarbare belangstelling voor de paleizen van de acht jaar te
voren overleden koning-stadhouder. Wij wijzen hier nog op de reis, die Sir James
Thornhill in 1711 door de Nederlanden maakte en waarvan een geïllustreerd dagboek
bewaard bleef. Dit was onderwerp van een voordracht van dr. Katharine Fremantle,
wetenschappelijk hoofdmedewerker aan het Kunsthistorisch Instituut der Rijksuniver
siteit te Utrecht, op 20 oktober 1969 voor de leden van het Koninklijk Oudheidkundig
Genootschap te Amsterdam. Red.]
[273
