This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Dewe 1668
On 28th July 1658 [her father] Richard Sherard of Lobthorpe [age 41] and [her mother] Margaret Dewe were married at St Margaret Pattens.
In 1659 Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow was born to [her father] Richard Sherard of Lobthorpe [age 42] and [her mother] Margaret Dewe.
On 6th February 1659 [her grandmother] Elizabeth Brownlow [age 67] died at Lobthorpe. She was buried at St Mary's Church, North Witham. Her memorial reads as follows: "Near this Place Lieth interred The Body of Elizabeth Sherard, Lately the Wife, in second Marriage Of [her grandfather] John Sherard of Lopthorp, Esq;, And Daughter of Richard Brownlowe Of Belton near Grantham, Esq;. She died on the sixth of February 1658, Having had issue [her father] Mr. Richard Sherard [age 42], her only Son, Who married Margaret, Daughter to Lumley Dewe Of Bishop-Upton in the County of Hereford, Esq;, And Mary, married to Mr. George Middlemore of London, Merchant; Frances, married to Mr. Roger Smith Of Withcock in the County of Rutland; And Audrie, married to Humphrie Brooks Of London, Doctor in Physick."
After 1668 [her mother] Margaret Dewe died.
On 3rd July 1668 Richard Brownlow 2nd Baronet [age 25] died. His son [her future husband] John [age 9] succeeded 3rd Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire.
Monument St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map]. Armorial 
Brownlow Arms with a canton of the Rad Hand of Ulster impaled his wife's Freke Arms.
Richard Brownlow 2nd Baronet: Before 1643 he was born to William Brownlow 1st Baronet and Elizabeth Duncombe. Before 26th June 1659 Richard Brownlow 2nd Baronet and Elizabeth Freke Lady Brownlow were married. In 1666 William Brownlow 1st Baronet died. His son Richard succeeded 2nd Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire. Elizabeth Freke Lady Brownlow by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire.
On 12th September 1668 [her father] Richard Sherard of Lobthorpe [age 51] died at Lobthorpe. He was buried at St Mary's Church, North Witham. His memorial reads: "Near this Place lies the Body of Richard Sherard Of the Hamlet of Lopthorp in the County of Lincoln, Esq;, the only Son of [her grandfather] John Sherard, Esq;, who was the eldest Son of Sir William Sherard; the which Richard married [her mother] Margaret, Daughter of Lumley Dewe of Bishop-Upton [age 68] in the County of Hereford, Esq;, and had by her six Children, namely, three Sons, (viz.) John [age 6], Richard [age 2], and Brownlow; and Three Daughters, (viz.) Alice [age 9], Mary, and Elizabeth. He died the twelfth Day of September in the Year of our Lord 1668."
On 27th March 1676 John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [age 16] and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 17] were married at Westminster Abbey [Map]. She by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire. They were half second cousins.
On 24th November 1679 John "Old Sir John" Brownlow 1st Baronet [age 89] died without issue. Baronet Brownlow of Belton in Lincolnshire extinct. He left Belton House [Map] to his great-nephew [her husband] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [age 20] (grand-son of his brother William Brownlow 1st Baronet) and niece Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 20] (grand-daughter of his sister [her grandmother] Elizabeth Brownlow ) who had married three years before in 1676. He also left them an income of £9,000 per annum and £20,000 in cash. They immediately bought a townhouse in Southampton Square.
In 1681 [her daughter] Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter was born to [her husband] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [age 21] and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 22]. She married 1699 John Cecil 6th Earl Exeter, son of John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter and Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter, and had issue.
In 1684 [her daughter] Alicia Brownlow Baroness Guildford was born to [her husband] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [age 24] and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 25]. She married 1703 Francis North 2nd Baron Guildford, son of Francis North 1st Baron Guildford, and had issue.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Around 1685. John Riley [age 39]. Portrait of Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 26].
In 1687 [her daughter] Margaret Brownlow was born to [her husband] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [age 27] and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 28].
Before 10th September 1687 Willem Wissing [age 31]. Portrait of Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 28].
Before 1691. John Riley [age 44]. Portrait of Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 31].
In 1691 [her daughter] Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel was born to [her husband] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [age 31] and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 32]. She married 1712 her first cousin John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel, son of William Brownlow 4th Baronet and Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow.
On 16th July 1697 [her husband] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [age 38] committed suicide after suffering from severe gout. His brother [her brother-in-law] William [age 31] succeeded 4th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map]. Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [age 30] by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire.
Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map] sculpted by William Stanton [age 58].
In 1699 [her son-in-law] John Cecil 6th Earl Exeter [age 24] and [her daughter] Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter [age 18] were married. He the son of John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter [age 51] and Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter [age 50].
In 1703 [her son-in-law] Francis North 2nd Baron Guildford [age 29] and [her daughter] Alicia Brownlow Baroness Guildford [age 19] were married. She by marriage Baroness Guildford.
In 1710 [her daughter] Margaret Brownlow [age 23] died of smallpox. Her estate of £40,000 was divided between her four sisters: Jane Brownlow Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven, Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter [age 29], Alicia Brownlow Baroness Guildford [age 26] and Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel [age 19].
In June 1711 [her son-in-law] Peregrine Bertie 2nd Duke Ancaster and Kesteven [age 25] and [her daughter] Jane Brownlow Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven were married. He the son of Robert Bertie 1st Duke Ancaster and Kesteven [age 50] and Mary Wynn.
In 1712 [her son-in-law] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [age 21] and [her daughter] Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel [age 21] were married. She by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire. They were first cousins.
On 27th July 1721 Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [age 62] died.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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[her daughter] Jane Brownlow Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven was born to John Brownlow 3rd Baronet and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow. She married June 1711 Peregrine Bertie 2nd Duke Ancaster and Kesteven, son of Robert Bertie 1st Duke Ancaster and Kesteven and Mary Wynn, and had issue.
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Sherard
GrandFather: John Sherard of Lobthorpe
Father: Richard Sherard of Lobthorpe
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Brownlow
GrandMother: Elizabeth Brownlow
Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow
GrandFather: Lumley Dewe of Bishop Upton in Hereforeshire
Mother: Margaret Dewe