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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In or before 1536 Edward Cordell was born to John Cordell of Long Melford, Suffolk and Emma Webbe.
In 1558 Edward Cordell [aged 22] was elected MP Portsmouth.
In 1563 Edward Cordell [aged 27] was elected MP Bridgnorth.
In 1571 Edward Cordell [aged 35] was elected MP East Looe.
In or before 1574 George Digby [aged 23] and [his future wife] Abigail Heveningham [aged 23] were married. They were fifth cousin once removed.
In or before 1586 Edward Cordell [aged 50] and Elizabeth Harrison were married.
In 1586 [his wife] Elizabeth Harrison died.
In April 1587 George Digby [aged 36] died at Coleshill, Warwickshire. He had made his will the previous April. It was proved 11 May 1587. He divided his lands between his widow [his future wife] Abigail Heveningham [aged 37] and his eldest surviving son [his future step-son] Robert Digby [aged 13], and was buried at Coleshill.
After April 1587 Edward Cordell [aged 51] and Abigail Heveningham [aged 37] were married.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Before 9th December 1590 Edward Cordell [aged 54] sold his manor of Fakenham to his kinsman Thomas Cordell, a London merchant, for £4,200 and in the same year purchased the parsonage of Colshill.
On 9th December 1590 Edward Cordell [aged 54] died. He was buried at St Dunstan's in the West, Fleet Street [Map] where his wife Abigail Heveningham [aged 40] commissioned a monument, His will was proved 20 Jan 1591. He left to his wife and sole executrix all his freehold and other lands in several counties, together with his house in Fleet Street, and made provision for the almshouse his brother had founded at Long Melford.
In 1611 [his former wife] Abigail Heveningham [aged 61] died
Father: John Cordell of Long Melford, Suffolk
GrandFather: Henry Webbe of Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire
Mother: Emma Webbe