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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Biography of Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh 1828-1870

Paternal Family Tree: Fermor

On 13th January 1823 [her father] Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret [aged 52] and [her mother] Amabel Borough [aged 23] were married. The difference in their ages was 29 years. He the son of [her grandfather] George Fermor 2nd Earl Pomfret and [her grandmother] Anna Maria Delagard Countess Pomfret.

On 2nd January 1828 Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh was born to Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret [aged 57] and Amabel Borough [aged 28].

On 7th April 1830 [her uncle] George Fermor 3rd Earl Pomfret [aged 62] died without issue. On His brother [her father] Thomas [aged 59] succeeded 4th Earl Pomfret aka Pontefract. [her mother] Amabel Borough [aged 30] by marriage Countess Pomfret aka Pontefract.

On 29th June 1833 [her father] Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret [aged 62] died. His son [her brother] George [aged 8] succeeded 5th Earl Pomfret aka Pontefract, 5th Baron Leominster, 6th Baronet Fermor of Easton Neston in Northamptonshire.

On 10th February 1843 Thomas Hesketh 4th Baronet [aged 43] died the day before his 44th birthday. His son [her future husband] Thomas [aged 18] succeeded 5th Baronet Fermor-Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire. Memorial at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map].

Thomas Hesketh 4th Baronet: On 11th February 1799 he was born to Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh 3rd Baronet and Sophia Hinde Lady Hesketh. On 3rd April 1824 Thomas Hesketh 4th Baronet and Annette Maria Bomford Lady Hesketh were married. On 27th July 1842 Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh 3rd Baronet died. He was buried at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map]. His son Thomas succeeded 4th Baronet Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire. Annette Maria Bomford Lady Hesketh by marriage Lady Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire.

1845 Francis Grant [aged 41]. Portrait of Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh [aged 16].

In 1846 Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet [aged 20] and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh [aged 17] were married. She the daughter of Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret and Amabel Elizabeth Borough Countess of Pomfret [aged 46].

In 1847 [her son] Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh 6th Baronet was born to [her husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet [aged 21] and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh [aged 18].

Around February 1848 [her son] Thomas Richard Hesketh was born to [her husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet [aged 23] and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh [aged 20]. He died aged one in 1849.

On 9th May 1849 [her son] Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh 7th Baronet was born to [her husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet [aged 24] and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh [aged 21]. He married 22nd December 1880 Florence Emily Sharon and had issue.

On 22nd May 1849 [her son] Thomas Richard Hesketh [aged 1] died. Memorial at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map].

Thomas Richard Hesketh: Around February 1848 he was born to Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh.

On 14th June 1863 [her grandmother] Anna Maria Lake [aged 88] died. Memorial window at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map] commissioned by her grand-daughter Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh [aged 35].

Anna Maria Lake: In 1775 she was born to Gerard Lake 1st Viscount Lake and Elizabeth Barker. On 21st August 1799 Richard Borough 1st Baronet and she were married.

Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet

Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.

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On 25th February 1870 Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh [aged 42] died.

On 20th August 1872 [her former husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet [aged 47] died. His son Thomas [aged 25] succeeded 6th Baronet Fermor-Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire. Monument at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map] by Matthew Noble [aged 55].

Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh 6th Baronet: In 1847 he was born to Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh. In 1876 Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh 6th Baronet died unmarried. His brother Thomas succeeded 7th Baronet Fermor-Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire.

West wall of St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map] with windows commissioned by Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet in memory of his wife Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh.

Royal Ancestors of Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh 1828-1870

Kings Wessex: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 26 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings Godwinson: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England

Kings England: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland

Kings Franks: Great x 29 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor

Kings France: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Ancestors of Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh 1828-1870

Great x 4 Grandfather: Hatton Fermor of Easton Neston Northamptonshire 15 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Fermor 1st Baronet 16 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Cockayne

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Fermor 1st Baron Leominster 17 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Mary Perry Lady Fermor

Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Fermor 1st Earl Pomfret 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Osborne 1st Baronet

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Osborne 1st Duke Leeds 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Walmesley Lady Osborne 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Sophia Osborne Baroness Leominster 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Montagu Bertie 2nd Earl Lindsey 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Bridget Bertie Duchess Leeds 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Martha Cockayne Countess Holderness

GrandFather: George Fermor 2nd Earl Pomfret 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Jeffreys

Great x 3 Grandfather: George "Hanging Judge" Jeffreys 1st Baron Jeffreys

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Jeffreys 2nd Baron Jeffreys

Great x 3 Grandmother: Sarah Needham

Great x 1 Grandmother: Henriette Louise Jeffreys Countess Pomfret 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Philip Herbert 5th Earl Pembroke 2nd Earl Montgomery 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Philip "Infamous Earl" Herbert 7th Earl Pembroke 4th Earl Montgomery 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Charlotte Herbert Viscountess Windsor 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Guillaume de Penancoët Seigneur de Kéroualle

Great x 3 Grandmother: Henrietta Kéroualle Countess Pembroke and Montgomery

Father: Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England

GrandMother: Anna Maria Delagard Countess Pomfret

Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England

GrandFather: Richard Borough 1st Baronet

Mother: Amabel Elizabeth Borough Countess of Pomfret

Great x 2 Grandfather: Lancelot Charles Lake of Harrow-on-the-Hill

Great x 1 Grandfather: Gerard Lake 1st Viscount Lake

Great x 4 Grandfather: Peter Gumley

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Gumley

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Davis

Great x 2 Grandmother: Laetitia Gumley

GrandMother: Anna Maria Lake

Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Barker