Roger Conant's Life in London
Roger spent his late teens and early twenties in London learning the trade of a salter.
Can you imagine the culture shock that hit Roger when he arrived in London as a teenager after growing up in the East Budleigh protected bubble?
Roger spent his late teens and early twenties in London learning the trade of a salter. There are very few written details about his time in London since both St Ann’s and All Hallows Church were destroyed in the Great Fire of London of 1666, along with records of the Salters’ Company
Roger’s recorded places in London: 1. Roger Conant and Sarah Horton were married at St. Ann Blackfriars, London on November 11, 1618 2. Roger’s daughter, Sarah Conant, was baptized at St. Lawrence Jewry, London on September 19, 1619 3. Roger’s son, Caleb Conant, was baptized at St. Lawrence Jewry, London on May 27, 1622 4. Christopher Conant, Roger’s older brother, married Sicily Croxon on 13 August 1617, in St Andrew by the Wardrobe
What we think we know: 1. Roger and Christopher left East Budleigh for London in 1609 or 1610. Roger was a teenager and salter apprentice. Christopher was a grocer in his early twenties. 2. Christopher left London for Plymouth Colony on the Anne in 1623 3. Roger left for Plymouth in 1623 or 1624. The exact ship he sailed on and the date is debatable. See Roger’s America page for more details. 4. St Ann Blackfriars was a stronghold of the Separatists Puritans. Roger was a Puritan, but not a Separatist who were the extreme wing of the movement and later were the first groups to go to America on the Mayflower in 1620 and later ships thereafter. But St Ann’s was known as a Puritans’ church. William Gouge was the minister and preacher for 45 years, from 1608. He was also a member of the 1643 Westminster Assembly of Divines, as was Roger’s elder brother John Conant. 5. Roger probably moved to the St Lawrence Jewry area after he was married. He may have moved his family away from the Blackfriars area because of the rowdy crowds who attended the theatres there. 6. Roger’s son Caleb went to Plymouth Colony with Roger and returned to England where he died at age 11. 7 Roger’s first daughter, Sarah, died at the age of one and was buried in London. 8. Roger spoke the Modern English of the Elizabethan times as seen in Shakespeare’s plays and other prose and poetry works of the day. Since he was from the southwest of England, he probably had a Devon Drawl that was easily recognizable in London
Roger’s recorded places in London: 1. Roger Conant and Sarah Horton were married at St. Ann Blackfriars, London on November 11, 1618 2. Roger’s daughter, Sarah Conant, was baptized at St. Lawrence Jewry, London on September 19, 1619 3. Roger’s son, Caleb Conant, was baptized at St. Lawrence Jewry, London on May 27, 1622 4. Christopher Conant, Roger’s older brother, married Sicily Croxon on 13 August 1617, in St Andrew by the Wardrobe
What we think we know: 1. Roger and Christopher left East Budleigh for London in 1609 or 1610. Roger was a teenager and salter apprentice. Christopher was a grocer in his early twenties. 2. Christopher left London for Plymouth Colony on the Anne in 1623 3. Roger left for Plymouth in 1623 or 1624. The exact ship he sailed on and the date is debatable. See Roger’s America page for more details. 4. St Ann Blackfriars was a stronghold of the Separatists Puritans. Roger was a Puritan, but not a Separatist who were the extreme wing of the movement and later were the first groups to go to America on the Mayflower in 1620 and later ships thereafter. But St Ann’s was known as a Puritans’ church. William Gouge was the minister and preacher for 45 years, from 1608. He was also a member of the 1643 Westminster Assembly of Divines, as was Roger’s elder brother John Conant. 5. Roger probably moved to the St Lawrence Jewry area after he was married. He may have moved his family away from the Blackfriars area because of the rowdy crowds who attended the theatres there. 6. Roger’s son Caleb went to Plymouth Colony with Roger and returned to England where he died at age 11. 7 Roger’s first daughter, Sarah, died at the age of one and was buried in London. 8. Roger spoke the Modern English of the Elizabethan times as seen in Shakespeare’s plays and other prose and poetry works of the day. Since he was from the southwest of England, he probably had a Devon Drawl that was easily recognizable in London
Christopher Conant, Roger's Brother
Baptised in East Budleigh, Devon in 1588, son of Richard and Agnes Conant. Went to London in 1609, and became a freeman in 1616. Lived in the London parish of St. Lawrence, Jewry working as a grocer. He had one share in the 1623 land division as "Christopher Connant". Not in the 1627 'Division of Cattle, and may have left Plymouth with his brother (see below). Living in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Probably returned to England.
In 1609, aged 21, Roger’s brother Christopher Conant was sent to London, where he was apprenticed to Thomas Allen, a grocer, and was admitted to the freedom of the Grocers' Company on 14 March 1616. Did Christopher make Spam?
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Spam, Spam Spam SpamSpam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam SpamLovely Spam, Lovely Spam!
Was Monty Python before Roger's time?
Sir Walter Raleigh
Roger may have attended the beheading of Sir Walter Raleigh on Oct 29th, 1618 in London, about 2 weeks before Roger's wedding also in London.
Walter was also a son of East Budleigh.
Raleigh was beheaded in the Old Palace Yard at the Palace of Westminster on 29 October 1618. "Let us dispatch", he said to his executioner. "At this hour my ague comes upon me. I would not have my enemies think I quaked from fear." After he was allowed to see the axe that would be used to behead him, he mused: "This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries." According to biographers, Raleigh's last words, spoken to the hesitating executioner, were: "What dost thou fear? Strike, man, strike!"
London in the 1600s was the largest city in England with a population of about 200,000.
King James I
James I (the King James Bible guy) was King of England while Roger was in London
King James I was the first king of the United Kingdom. He ascended to the throne in 1603, following the death of Queen Elizabeth I. James was a controversial monarch, and his reign was marked by numerous conflicts with Parliament. Despite these disagreements, James made significant progress in establishing the foundations of the United Kingdom. He also oversaw a period of great artistic and literary achievement in England.
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Life in London in the 1600s.
“As he walked through London he would have been surrounded by scenes more like we would see in an Indian city today than anything we would find in England or America. The dirty, narrow streets were crowded, noisy and busy, with every imaginable trade going on. Prostitutes and pimps hovered, cockfighting beckoned passersby, beggars begged and thieves practiced their arts, from pickpocketing to mugging. Cats, dogs, pigs, goats, horses, and sheep wandered about or stretched out in the sun. Churches, houses, stables workshops, inns, stalls, and theatres were crammed together and human and animal waste lay in the streets.”
For detailed travel guide to London of the 1600s see Historical city travel guide: London, late 16th century - British Museum Blog . For additional fun reads about Shakespeare’s London see Shakespeare's London Years: Shakespeare's Time In London (nosweatshakespeare.com) and Shakespeare’s London | The British Library (bl.uk)
Highlights: 1. Puritans drank beer and wine, “To drink there is bottle beer and ale (never trust the water), strong for the men and weak ‘small beer’ for ladies, children and the clergy. There is plenty of wine available, white wine from France and the Rhineland, red wine from France, Spain, Italy and Greece, and fortified sweet wines, including Malmsey from Crete and Muscatel from France.” 2. But Puritans did not approve of drunkenness. 3. Everyone carried a dagger, “There is the usual level of petty violence inevitable when everyone carries at least a dagger and law enforcement is left to amateurs from the local communities serving short terms as constables and beadles. The authorities have tried to crack down on violent brawling by regulating sword length – check your rapier before you arrive, it will be broken at the city gate if it is more than a yard (0.91 metres) long.” 4. One thing you won’t be used to, visiting from the country, is timekeeping: there are clocks and chiming bells everywhere in the city, regulating curfews, church services, theatre performances and the rest. 5. Food: Food and drink of the familiar seasonal sort is readily available. Breakfast will likely be bread and butter, with perhaps some fresh fruit, if available. You will have lunch, your main meal, at 11.00–12.00 and supper, your evening meal, at 17.00–18.00. In a decent establishment you will have a choice of roast meats, pies, salad, tarts, fruit and cheese. You will be likely to eat in your inn or with the family you board with, but there is also plenty of street-food to hand – fruit and nuts, and a range of shellfish bought from the ‘oyster-wenches’ who work the streets – fresh, pre-packed food, though the shells are a nuisance underfoot, especially in bad weather, hidden in the mud. For the sweet-toothed there is marchpane (marzipan)
For detailed travel guide to London of the 1600s see Historical city travel guide: London, late 16th century - British Museum Blog . For additional fun reads about Shakespeare’s London see Shakespeare's London Years: Shakespeare's Time In London (nosweatshakespeare.com) and Shakespeare’s London | The British Library (bl.uk)
Highlights: 1. Puritans drank beer and wine, “To drink there is bottle beer and ale (never trust the water), strong for the men and weak ‘small beer’ for ladies, children and the clergy. There is plenty of wine available, white wine from France and the Rhineland, red wine from France, Spain, Italy and Greece, and fortified sweet wines, including Malmsey from Crete and Muscatel from France.” 2. But Puritans did not approve of drunkenness. 3. Everyone carried a dagger, “There is the usual level of petty violence inevitable when everyone carries at least a dagger and law enforcement is left to amateurs from the local communities serving short terms as constables and beadles. The authorities have tried to crack down on violent brawling by regulating sword length – check your rapier before you arrive, it will be broken at the city gate if it is more than a yard (0.91 metres) long.” 4. One thing you won’t be used to, visiting from the country, is timekeeping: there are clocks and chiming bells everywhere in the city, regulating curfews, church services, theatre performances and the rest. 5. Food: Food and drink of the familiar seasonal sort is readily available. Breakfast will likely be bread and butter, with perhaps some fresh fruit, if available. You will have lunch, your main meal, at 11.00–12.00 and supper, your evening meal, at 17.00–18.00. In a decent establishment you will have a choice of roast meats, pies, salad, tarts, fruit and cheese. You will be likely to eat in your inn or with the family you board with, but there is also plenty of street-food to hand – fruit and nuts, and a range of shellfish bought from the ‘oyster-wenches’ who work the streets – fresh, pre-packed food, though the shells are a nuisance underfoot, especially in bad weather, hidden in the mud. For the sweet-toothed there is marchpane (marzipan)
Roger and the Salters Company
Roger was a salter but not the one who drowned in the barrel of salted herring.
'The horrid history of Hugo the salter’, sculpture by Angie Harlock in Budleigh Salterton's Fairlynch Museum.
For additional information about Roger Conant and salters, see Roger Conant 400: 60. Of Flour and Salt: Roger Conant the Salter
See The Salters' Company - One of the great 12 Livery companies for a description of a salter in the 1600s.
William Shakespeare was Roger's Neighbor in London
William Shakespeare (bapt.26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616)[was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist.
William Shakespeare lived in London until 1613 when he retired to Stratford upon Avon. He belonged to the St Andrew by the Wardrobe church, where Christopher was married and probably lived at times in the Blackfriars area where Roger may have lived before he was married.
Roger probably met Shakespeare in person since they were both in the same area of London from about 1610 to 1613.He would not have gone to his plays since Puritans considered the plays too secular and a magnet for pickpockets, drunks, prostitutes and other rowdy groups. The Puritans shut down all the theatres in London in 1642.