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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In 1792 Mary Watts was born to David Pike Watts [aged 37].
On 29th January 1811 Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 24] and Mary Watts [aged 19] were married. She the heiress of a welthy wine merchant.
In 1812 [her son] Jesse David Watts-Russll was born to [her husband] Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 25] and Mary Watts [aged 20]. He married 4th June 1835 Mary Nevill Wright.
On 29th July 1816 [her father] David Pike Watts [aged 62] died. His daughter Mary Watts [aged 24] and her husband Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 30] inherited Ilam Hall, Staffordshire.
Memorials of Francis Chantrey RA in Hallamshire and Elsewhere Part V London Life and Works. The interest of my visit to the mausoleum containing this affecting piece of sculpture, was considerably enhanced by the appearance of a most exquisite stone cross, which had just been erected in the adjacent village, by the [her husband] benevolent proprietor [aged 32] of Ilam, in memory of his wife [aged 27], the lady above mentioned, one or two of whose children, with their father, the clergyman of the place, and Mr. Derrick, of Oxford, the architect, were at the moment inspecting the newly-finished work. This out door incident formed a touching commentary on the monument in the church! I have always understood that the elegant residence of Jesse Watts Russell, Esq., owes something of its architectural beauty to the taste of Chantrey [aged 37], who certainly designed the Parsonage House adjacent.
Memorials of Francis Chantrey RA in Hallamshire and Elsewhere Part V London Life and Works. To this period belongs the execution of the celebrated monument-one of the largest of its class in England - of David Pike Watts [Map], Esq., now in a chapel erected for its reception in the church [Map] adjoining Ilam Hall, near Dovedale. In this fine work of art, the venerable man is represented "on his bed of death, from which he has raised himself by a final effort of expiring nature, to perform the last solemn act of a long and virtuous life: his only daughter- [ Mrs. Watts Russell [aged 27] ] -and her children, all that were dearest to him in life, surround his couch, and bend at his side, as they receive from his lips the benedictions of a dying parent, when the last half-uttered farewell falters upon them."
How did that sculptured group command Our wonder, which hath ravish'd thousand eyes: The kneeling mother, and the soft surprise Of the three little ones that near her stand: ' Than this - thy genius, Chantrey [aged 37]! scarce could rise Higher, with trophies fresh from Nature won; Art, how transcendent, when such power is given, To fix expression in the Parian stone, Which turns rapt thought towards holiness and heaven! "
After 21st June 1820 [her father-in-law] Jesse Russell died. During his life he was described as a soap boiler, of Goodman's Yard, Minories, London and Walthamstow, Essex. His son [her husband] Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 34] received a half-share of estates in Essex and a third-share of the residue of personalty sworn under £500,000; see PROB 11/1632/437; IR26/836/679. The date 21st June 1820 is based on his son Jesse Watts-Russell taking a fortnight's leave from Parliament on account of his father's illness
On 31st May 1831 [her son-in-law] Norton Joseph Knatchbull 10th Baronet [aged 22] and [her daughter] Mary Watts-Russell were married.
On 4th June 1835 [her son] Jesse David Watts-Russll [aged 23] and [her daughter-in-law] Mary Nevill Wright were married. They had nine or more children.
In 1840 Mary Watts [aged 48] died.
On 20th June 1843 [her former husband] Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 57] and Maria Barker were married.
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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On 22nd November 1862 [her former husband] Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 76] and Martha Leach were married.
On 28th March 1875 [her former husband] Jesse Watts-Russell [aged 88] died. He left Ilam Hall, Staffordshire, which he had had rebuilt 'in the Gothic style' in the 1820s, and which Dyott deemed 'most magnificent' and 'splendidly furnished', together with estates in Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, to his eldest son, Jesse David Watts-Russll [aged 63].
[her daughter] Mary Watts-Russell was born to Jesse Watts-Russell and Mary Watts. She married 31st May 1831 Norton Joseph Knatchbull 10th Baronet, son of Edward Knatchbull 9th Baronet and Annabella Christiana Honywood, and had issue.