Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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On 22nd April 1940 John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland [aged 53] died of pneumonia at Belvoir Castle [Map]. His son [her future husband] Charles [aged 20] succeeded 10th Duke Rutland, 10th Marquess Grandby, 18th Earl of Rutland, 10th Baron Manners of Haddon in Derbyshire, 4th Baron Roos of Belvoir in Leicestershire.
On 27th April 1946 Charles John Robert Manners 10th Duke Rutland [aged 26] and Anne Bairstow Cumming Bell Duchess of Rutland were married at St Margaret's Church, Westminster [Map]. She by marriage Duchess Rutland. He the son of John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland and Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland [aged 51].
The Times. 29th April 1946. [her husband] The Duke Of Rutland [aged 26] And Miss Cumming Bell
The marriage of the Duke of Rutland and Miss Anne Bairstow Cumming Bell, eldest daughter of Major and Mrs. W. Cumming Bell, of Binham Lodge, Edgerton, Huddersfield, took place on Saturday at St. Margaret's, Westminster [Map]. The Rev. R. L. Gerrard Wright and Canon A. C. Don, officiated.
The bride, who was given away by her father, wore a gown of silver and white brocade with a short, full train. Her family lace veil was worn with a head-dress of orange blossom, and she carried a bouquet of gardenias, lilies-of-the-valley, stephanotis, and pale blue delphiniums. There were three small bridesmaids - Fiona Cumming Bell (sister of the bride), Janet Douglas (her cousin), and Lindy Guinness [aged 5] (niece of the bridegroom) - who wore long white net frocks with wide scarlet sashes. Their head-dresses were of red rosebuds and they carried posies of red, gold, and white flowers. The page was Billy Guinness [aged 6] (nephew of the bridegroom), who wore long white velvet trousers and a white chiffon blouse. Lord [her brother-in-law] John Manners [aged 23] (brother of the bridegroom) was best man. A reception was held at the Ritz Hotel.
Huddersfield Examiner. 4th May 1946. Miss Cumming Bell Married To The [her husband] The Duke Of Rutland [aged 26]
Largest London crowd since the war
Tremendous crowds, probably the largest since the war, gathered outside St. Margaret's, Westminster, on Saturday to watch a society wedding in which Huddersfield had a particular interest. Miss Anne Cumming Bell, daughter of Major and Mrs. Cumming Bell, of Binham Lodge, Edgerton, was married to the tenth Duke of Rutland, whom she met at a ball given by the Duchess of Marlborough last year.
Maj. Cumming Bell is a member of the firm of Messrs. W. E. Wimpenny and Co., stockbrokers, Huddersfield, and is well known in professional circles in the city and in Harrogate. Mrs. Bell was at one time a county tennis player for Yorkshire. The bride, who is an old girl of Waverly School, Huddersfield, was later at school in Benenden, Kent, which she left to go to Oxford after the outbreak of war to take up a position in a "hush-hush" department of the government. She was engaged in secret decoding work.
The duke, an officer in the Grenadier Guards, owns, among other estates, the historic Haddon Hall, once the home of the famous Dorothy Vernon.
The scene in the church was of great beauty ... among the guests were tenants and employees at Belvoir Castle and Haddon Hall, who traveled to London in special buses. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. R. L. Gerrard Wright, assisted by Canon A. C. Don.
The Bride ... wore a gown of silver and white brocade, with a short train and a family lace veil used by her g-grandmother, grandmother, and mother before her. There were four attendants, her sister Fiona Cumming Bell, cousin Janet Douglas; and Miss Lindy Guiness and Master Billie Guiness, niece and nephew of the groom. Lord John Manners, brother of the bridegroom, was best man. The reception was held at the Ritz hotel. The couple will spend their honeymoon in Portugal
1953. Cecil Beaton [aged 48]. Photograph of Anne Bairstow Cumming Bell Duchess of Rutland.
In 1956 Charles John Robert Manners 10th Duke Rutland [aged 36] and Anne Bairstow Cumming Bell Duchess of Rutland were divorced.
On 15th May 1958 [her former husband] Charles John Robert Manners 10th Duke Rutland [aged 38] and Frances Helen Sweeny Duchess of Rutland [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Duchess Rutland. She the daughter of Charles Francis Sweeny [aged 48] and Margaret Whigham Duchess of Argyll [aged 45]. He the son of John Henry Montagu Manners 9th Duke Rutland and [her former mother-in-law] Kathleen Tennant Duchess Rutland [aged 63].
On 4th January 1999 [her former husband] Charles John Robert Manners 10th Duke Rutland [aged 79] died. His son David [aged 39] succeeded 11th Duke Rutland, 11th Marquess Grandby, 19th Earl of Rutland, 11th Baron Manners of Haddon in Derbyshire, 5th Baron Roos of Belvoir in Leicestershire.
On 27th December 2002 Anne Bairstow Cumming Bell Duchess of Rutland died.