Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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Paternal Family Tree: Ridley of Blagdon Hall, Northumberland
On 14th November 1711 Matthew Ridley was born to [his father] Richard Ridley of Heaton and Newcastle upon Tyne.
In 1724 Matthew Ridley [aged 12] commenced his education at Westminster School [Map].
In December 1727 Matthew Ridley [aged 16] matriculated St John's College, Oxford University.
In 1730 Matthew Ridley [aged 18] was awarded Master of Arts.
In 1733 Matthew Ridley [aged 21] was elected Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne.
On 18th November 1742 Matthew Ridley [aged 31] and Elizabeth White [aged 21] were married.
On 28th October 1745 [his son] Matthew White Ridley 2nd Baronet was born to Matthew Ridley [aged 33] and [his wife] Elizabeth White [aged 24].
On 5th March 1749 [his son] Nicholas Ridley of Link House, Blyth was born to Matthew Ridley [aged 37] and [his wife] Elizabeth White [aged 28]. He married 23rd November 1790 Letitia Atkins.
In 1756 [his brother-in-law] Matthew White 1st Baronet [aged 29] was created 1st Baronet White of Blagdon in Northumberland, with remainder to the heirs male of his sister Elizabeth White [aged 35], wife of Matthew Ridley [aged 44].
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 1764 [his wife] Elizabeth White [aged 43] died.
On 6th April 1778 Matthew Ridley [aged 66] died. Monument at the Cathedral Church St Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne [Map] sculpted by John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 37].