Complex sentence: At about the time Phineas Pett succeeded the Shipwright John Holding, to the post of Keeper of the Plank yard, his income was meagre by the standards set by his family.
Split into simpler sentences: At about the time Phineas Pett succeeded the shipwright John Holding, to the post of keeper of the plank yard. His income was meagre by the standards set by his family.