1698 in England explained

Events from the year 1698 in England.

Incumbents

• Monarch – William III

Events

• 4 January – the Palace of Whitehall is destroyed by fire.^[1]
• 11 January - 21 April – Czar Peter I of Russia visits England as part of his Grand Embassy, making a particular study of shipbuilding.^[2]
• March – Jeremy Collier's pamphlet A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage is published.
• 24 June – abolition of the Royal African Company's monopoly is confirmed under terms of the Trade with Africa Act 1697, opening the slave trade to any merchant.
• 25 July – engineer Thomas Savery obtains a patent for a steam pump.^[3]
• July - August – general election results in victory for the New Country Tories.^[4]
• 11 October – Treaty of the Hague signed between France, England and Holland.^[5]
• 14 November – first Eddystone Lighthouse illuminated.^[6]

Undated

• Piracy Act ("An Act for the more effectuall Suppressions of Piracy") passed.
• Popery Act enforces penalties against Roman Catholic priests.
• Reverend Thomas Bray founds the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.^[4]
• Thermal springs discovered at Matlock Bath in Derbyshire.^[7]
• The widow Bourne sets up the business which becomes Berry Brothers and Rudd in London. They will still be operating as wine merchants in the 21st century.^[8]
• Shepherd Neame Brewery established under this name in Faversham.

Births

• 10 January? – Richard Savage, poet (died 1743)
• 8 May – Henry Baker, naturalist (died 1774)
• 26 September – William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (died 1755)
• 24 December – William Warburton, critic and Bishop of Gloucester (died 1779)

Deaths

• 24 January – William Holder, music theorist (born 1616)
• 7 February – Richard Adams, theologian (born c. 1626)
• 29 April – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the Admiralty (born 1655)
• 25 August – Fleetwood Sheppard, courtier and literary wit (born 1634)
• 3 September – Sir Robert Howard, playwright, poet and politician (born 1626)
• 13 September (bur.) – John Huddleston, Benedictine priest (born 1608)
• 1 October – Richard Frankland, dissenter (born 1630)
• Unknown date – Nicholas Barbon, economist (born c. 1640)

Notes and References

1. Book: Weinreb, Ben. The London Encyclopaedia. Ben Weinreb. Hibbert, Christopher. Christopher Hibbert. Macmillan. 1995. 0-333-57688-8. 287.
2. Web site: January 28th. Chambers' Book of Days. 2007-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20071217212219/http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/jan/28.htm. 17 December 2007 .
3. Web site: E. I.. Carlyle. Savery, Thomas (1650?–1715). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 2004. 2011-11-05. 10.1093/ref:odnb/24733.
4. Book: Palmer, Alan. Palmer. Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 200–201. 0-7126-5616-2.
5. Book: Cates, William L. R.. The Pocket Date Book. Chapman and Hall. William Leist Readwin Cates. 1863.
6. Book: Majdalany, Fred. The Red Rocks of Eddystone. London. Longmans. 1959. 49.
7. Web site: Matlock & Matlock Bath: Water Cures. Matlock & Matlock Bath. The Andrews Pages. 2010-06-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120414214527/http://www.pd65.dial.pipex.com/matlock/water.htm . April 14, 2012.
8. Web site: Berry Bros. & Rudd History – Key Dates. Berry Bros. & Rudd. 2010-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20100721215802/http://www.bbr.com/about/history-key-dates. 2010-07-21. dead.