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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Paternal Family Tree: Brownlow
Before 1690 [her father] William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 24] and [her mother] Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 22] were married.
In 1694 Anne Brownlow Lady Cust was born to William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 28] and Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 27].
On 16th July 1697 [her uncle] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [aged 38] committed suicide after suffering from severe gout. His brother [her father] William [aged 31] succeeded 4th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map]. [her mother] Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 30] by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire.
Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map] sculpted by William Stanton [aged 58].
In 1700 [her mother] Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 33] died.
On 30th August 1700 Richard Cust 1st Baronet [aged 78] died. His grandson [her future husband] Richard [aged 19] succeeded 2nd Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire.
On 6th March 1701 [her father] William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 35] died. His son [her brother] John [aged 10] succeeded 5th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map].
In 1712 [her brother] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [aged 21] and [her sister-in-law] Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire. They were first cousins.
Before 1717 Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 36] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Lady Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire.
In 1718 [her brother] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [aged 27] was created 1st Viscount Tyconnel. [her sister-in-law] Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel [aged 27] by marriage Viscountess Tyconnel.
On 29th August 1718 [her son] John Cust 3rd Baronet was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 37] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 24]. He married 8th December 1743 Etheldreda Payne Lady Cust and had issue.
In 1719 Godfrey Kneller [aged 72]. Portrait of Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 25].
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
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In 1720 [her son] William Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 39] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 26].
In 1722 [her son] Francis Cockayne-Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 41] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 28].
In 1723 [her son] Peregrine Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 42] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 29].
In 1724 [her daughter] Elizabeth Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 43] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 30].
In 1725 [her daughter] Jane Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 44] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 31].
In 1726 [her son] Richard Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 45] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 32].
In 1729 [her daughter] Dorothy Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 48] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 35].
In 1732 [her brother] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [aged 41] and [her sister-in-law] Elizabeth Cartwright Viscountess Tyconnel were married. She by marriage Viscountess Tyconnel.
In 1732 [her daughter] Lucy Cust was born to [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 51] and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 38].
On 25th July 1734 [her husband] Richard Cust 2nd Baronet [aged 53] died. He was buried at St George's Church, Stamford. His son John [aged 15] succeeded 3rd Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire.
In 1741 Enoch "The Younger" Seeman [aged 47]. Portrait of the Cust Family. From left to right … [her son] Francis Cockayne-Cust [aged 19], William Cust [aged 21] seated wearing a blue coat, Jane Cust [aged 16], Peregrine Cust [aged 18], Savile Cockayne-Cust [aged 59] seated stroking a dalmatian, Richard Cust [aged 15], John Cust 3rd Baronet [aged 22] holding a miniature of his new wife Etheldreda Payne Lady Cust [aged 21], Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 47] wears a black widow's hood and lace-trimmed kerchief, kept in place by a band attached to the robings of a closed blue damask gown, Lucy Cust [aged 9], Jane Cust pouring tea, and, lastly, Dorothy Cust [aged 12].
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 8th December 1743 [her son] John Cust 3rd Baronet [aged 25] and [her daughter-in-law] Etheldreda Payne Lady Cust [aged 23] were married. She by marriage Lady Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire.
On 8th March 1748 [her son] William Cust [aged 28] was killed by a cannonball whilst leading the attack on Port Louis, Cuba on HMS Elizabeth.
In February 1748 Rear-Admiral Charles Knowles left Port Royal, Jamaica, with eight ships of the line to make an attack on Santiago de Cuba. Delayed by contrary winds, he diverted his expedition to Port Louis in the south east of Hispaniola, now known as Haiti. The town sat at the head of a large, deep bay, with two islands, on one of which was a French fort. Knowles sailed his ships up the channel and passed them to the west and north of the fort, which surrendered after a sharp bombardment. The town’s surrender followed soon afterwards and Knowles, having taken possession of a small merchant vessel called a snow and three privateer sloops, burnt the fort and departed for Santiago de Cuba.
The walls of the fort are shown in the centre of the picture with Knowles’s flagship, the ‘Canterbury’ placed slightly to the left, firing into it. Ahead of the French fireship which had been sent against the first in the line, the ‘Elizabeth’ is being towed by boats out of harms way. The ‘Elizabeth’ herself, which had had to evade it is on the extreme left, out of position of the firing. The ship ahead of the ‘Canterbury’, and firing into the north face of the port is believed to be the ‘Worcester’. To the right is a two decker, probably the ‘Stafford’, engaging the fort, while to the right of her, and not engaged because the inner ships mask her batteries, is a ship which is probably the ‘Plymouth’. The ‘Cornwall’ and the ‘Warwick’ are shown beyond engaging. In the extreme right of the picture in the foreground a two-decker, is half into the picture.
William Cust: In 1720 he was born to Richard Cust 2nd Baronet and Anne Brownlow Lady Cust.
Records of the Cust Family. Lord Tyrconnel to Sir John Cust. Belton. May ye 7th, 1748.
Dear Nephew
After ye Pleasing News of ye signing ye Preliminaryes for our General Peace & as I hoped ye stopping ye Issues of ye most Noble & Best Blood in Christendome; a Day I never thought I should have to see: How great must be my schock when I heard of an unaccountable Victory to no use or Purpose but to robb us of ye most valuable of Men1! yo Best can tell, by what yrself felt upon this most Melancholy occasion. To Aggrevate yr greif I cannot, to Alleviate itt, I am too much a Fellow sufferer to have itt in my Power, i stand as much in need of itt myself itt is an Honest Sorrow & becomes us, can we Deny ye Tribute of our Tears to him, who did not spare his Blood to serve his country. Possessd of every amiable Quality that endear’d him to all who knew him, whose Love & Affection to his Brothers & Sisters, whose Duty & Piety to his Mother whose readiness & willingness to embrace any condition of Life that his Freinds & Relations thought proper for him, whose great Gratitude to me for ye small services which itt was in my Power to d him, & ye fatal Proof he has given of my two first Recommendation of him! his constant & e act correspondence by Letters (Divided by such Immense extracts of sea & Land) with his Freindes Relations, & not forgetting ye Lowest of People whom he knew from his childhood, & his finding Tme to do itt in ye midst of ye greatest Danger and Difficultyes of ye sea, & of a most Long & Bloody Warr, while att y same Time he was a most Dilligent & Active officer ; His indefatigable Zeal for his King & Country ; his Protecting our Trade, & takeing so many Privateers with which our Coast swarm'd, & when he had done all this, After a Peace sign’d, when his valour could be of no Farther devoting his life to his country and Dying a victim to itt! Young indeed in years, but old in Honour and Virtue; whose courage was founded upon ye solid Basis of Religion, & Like Elijah, he is gone to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire! We Lament ourselves & not him; & he now Receives those eternal Glorious Rewards from ye King of Kings, which no earthly Monarch can give: Such joys as nothing can Interrupt ; but ye knowledge of ye greif that his Loss is to his Freinds; that is all Freinds to ye Greatest virtue & Meritt ; which is ye only greif he ever gave them, there is not a Dry eye in this house, nor, I beleive, in Grantham.
My good sister2 Beares this severest of Tryals like a Roman or Rather a Christian Heroine & as a Mother truly worthy of such as Son, & worthy ye envy of all her sex, for eve Haveing had such a one! Dear Nephew as itt is a great Honour to yo to be so nearly Related to this Man, excellent, most Accomplished & most glorious oyuth, so is itt more so to find yo are as neary Related to his virtues.
I am. Dear Nephew
yr most afflicted
& affectionate uncle
& sincere humble servant [her brother] Tyrconnel [aged 57].
My wife & Mrs. Levinz Joyn with us in services to good Lady Cust & ye young ones Miss Jenny, ye alderman, Mr. Cust, Mrs. Newton services to Lady Frazer & Mrs. Woodcock.
Note 1. This letter refers to the death of the author's nephew [her son] William Cust [aged 28] on 8th March 1748 whilst in service for the Royal Navy during the Attack on Port Louis.
Note 2. Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 54].
On 27th February 1754 [her brother] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel [aged 63] died. Viscount Tyconnel, Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire extinct. [her son] John Cust 3rd Baronet [aged 35] inherited Belton House [Map].
In 1769 [her daughter] Elizabeth Cust [aged 45] died.
In 1770 [her daughter] Dorothy Cust [aged 41] died.
On 24th January 1770 John Cust 3rd Baronet [aged 51] died. His son Brownlow [aged 25] succeeded 4th Baronet Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map].
Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map]. Sculpted by William Tyler [aged 41].
In 1779 Anne Brownlow Lady Cust [aged 85] died.
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Brownlow 
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Brownlow 1st Baronet
GrandFather: Richard Brownlow 2nd Baronet
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Duncombe 
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Duncombe
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Bennett
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Bennett
Father: William Brownlow 4th Baronet
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Freke of Iwerne Courtney
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Freke
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Swayne of Blandford
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Swayne
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Freke of Stretton in Dorset
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Taylor of Burton Bradstock
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Taylor
GrandMother: Elizabeth Freke Lady Brownlow
GrandFather: Richard Mason
Mother: Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Long
Great x 3 Grandfather: Walter Long
Great x 2 Grandfather: Walter Long
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Thynne 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Catherine Thynne
Great x 4 Grandmother: Christian Gresham 
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Long 2nd Baronet
GrandMother: Anna Margaret Long