Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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Maternal Family Tree: Susanna Temple 1600-1669
Before 1647 [her father] Richard Jennings [aged 27] and [her mother] Frances Thornhurst were married.
On 5th June 1660 Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough was born to Richard Jennings [aged 41] and Frances Thornhurst at Holywell House, St Albans.
On 8th May 1668 [her father] Richard Jennings [aged 49] died.
On 1st October 1678 John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 28] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 18] were married.
In October 1679 [her daughter] Harriet Churchill was born to [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 29] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 19]. She died aged less than one years old.
In October 1679 [her daughter] Harriet Churchill died.
On 19th July 1681 [her daughter] Henrietta Churchill 2nd Duchess of Marlborough was born to [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 31] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 21]. She married March 1698 Francis Godolphin 2nd Earl Godolphin, son of Sidney Godolphin 1st Earl Godolphin and Margaret Blagge, and had issue.
On 27th February 1683 [her daughter] Anne Churchill Countess Sunderland was born to [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 32] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 22]. She married before 2nd December 1700 Charles Spencer 3rd Earl of Sunderland, son of Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland and Anne Digby Countess Sunderland, and had issue.
On 14th May 1685 [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 34] was created 1st Baron Churchill of Sandridge in Hertfordshire.
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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On 15th March 1687 [her daughter] Elizabeth Churchill Countess Bridgewater was born to [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 36] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 26]. She married 9th February 1703 Scroop Egerton 1st Duke Bridgewater, son of John Egerton 3rd Earl Bridgewater and Jane Paulet Countess Bridgewater, and had issue.
On 9th April 1689 [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 38] was created 1st Earl of Marlborough.
On 15th July 1689 [her daughter] Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu was born to [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 39] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 29]. She married 1705 her third cousin John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu, son of Ralph Montagu 1st Duke Montagu and Elizabeth Wriothesley Countess Northumberland, and had issue.
On 19th August 1690 [her son] Charles Churchill was born to [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 40] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 30]. He died aged one in 1692.
John Evelyn's Diary. 28th February 1692. [her husband] Lord Marlborough [aged 41] having used words against the King [aged 41], and been discharged from all his great places, his wife [aged 31] was forbidden the Court, and the Princess of Denmark [aged 27] was desired by the Queen [aged 29] to dismiss her from her service; but she refusing to do so, goes away from Court to Sion house [Map]. Divers new Lords made: Sir Henry Capel [aged 53], Sir William Fermor [aged 43], etc. Change of Commissioners in the Treasury. The Parliament adjourned, not well satisfied with affairs. The business of the East India Company, which they would have reformed, let fall. The Duke of Norfolk [aged 37] does not succeed in his endeavor to be divorced.
On 22nd May 1692 [her son] Charles Churchill [aged 1] died.
In March 1698 [her son-in-law] Francis Godolphin 2nd Earl Godolphin [aged 19] and Henrietta Churchill 2nd Duchess of Marlborough [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 47] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 37]. He the son of Sidney Godolphin 1st Earl Godolphin [aged 52] and Margaret Blagge.
Before 2nd December 1700 [her son-in-law] Charles Spencer 3rd Earl of Sunderland [aged 25] and Anne Churchill Countess Sunderland [aged 17] were married. She the daughter of John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 50] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 40]. He the son of Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland [aged 59] and Anne Digby Countess Sunderland [aged 54].
Around 1702. Godfrey Kneller [aged 55]. Barbara Villiers Viscountess Fitzhardinge [aged 48] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 41] playing cards.
In December 1702 [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 52] was created 1st Duke Marlborough, 1st Marquess of Blandford. Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 42] by marriage Duchess Marlborough.
On 9th February 1703 [her son-in-law] Scroop Egerton 1st Duke Bridgewater [aged 21] and Elizabeth Churchill Countess Bridgewater [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Countess Bridgewater. She the daughter of John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 52] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 42]. He the son of John Egerton 3rd Earl Bridgewater and Jane Paulet Countess Bridgewater [aged 47].
John Evelyn's Diary. 7th September 1704. This day was celebrated the thanksgiving for the late great victory, with the utmost pomp and splendor by the Queen [aged 39], Court, great Officers, Lords Mayor, Sheriffs, Companies, etc. The streets were scaffolded from Temple Bar, where the Lord Mayor presented her Majesty with a sword, which she returned. Every company was ranged under its banners, the city militia without the rails, which were all hung with cloth suitable to the color of the banner. The Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and Aldermen were in their scarlet robes, with caparisoned horses; the Knight Marshal on horseback; the Foot-Guards; the Queen in a rich coach with eight horses, none with her but the Duchess of Marlborough [aged 44] in a very plain garment, the Queen full of jewels. Music and trumpets at every city company. The great officers of the Crown, Nobility, and Bishops, all in coaches with six horses, besides innumerable servants, went to St. Paul's, where the Dean preached. After this, the Queen went back in the same order to St. James's. The city companies feasted all the Nobility and Bishops, and illuminated at night. Music for the church and anthems composed by the best masters. The day before was wet and stormy, but this was one of the most serene and calm days that had been all the year.
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 1705 [her son-in-law] John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 15] and Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 15] were married. She the daughter of John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 54] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 44]. He the son of Ralph Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 66] and Elizabeth Wriothesley Countess Northumberland. They were third cousins.
Before 24th May 1711 John Closterman [aged 51]. Possibly school of. Portrait of Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 50].
On 22nd March 1714 [her daughter] Elizabeth Churchill Countess Bridgewater [aged 27] died. She was buried at St Peter and St Paul Church, Little Gaddesden on 29th March 1714.
On 15th April 1716 [her daughter] Anne Churchill Countess Sunderland [aged 33] died.
On 16th June 1722 [her husband] John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 72] died at Cranbourne Lodge, Windsor. His daughter Henrietta [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Duchess Marlborough, 2nd Marchioness of Blandford, 2nd Countess of Marlborough, 2nd Baroness Churchill of Sandridge in Hertfordshire. Francis Godolphin 2nd Earl Godolphin [aged 43] by marriage Duke Marlborough.
On 24th October 1733 [her daughter] Henrietta Churchill 2nd Duchess of Marlborough [aged 52] died. Her nephew [her grandson] Charles [aged 26] succeeded 3rd Duke Marlborough, 3rd Marquess of Blandford, 3rd Earl of Marlborough, 3rd Baron Churchill of Sandridge in Hertfordshire. [her granddaughter-in-law] Elizabeth Trevor Duchess of Marlborough [aged 20] by marriage Duchess Marlborough.
Before 2nd November 1739 Charles Jervas [aged 64]. Portrait of Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 79].
On 29th January 1740 Richard Lumley 2nd Earl Scarborough [aged 53] committed suicide by shooting himself through the roof of the mouth possibly as a result of his having told the [her granddaughter] Dowager Duchess of Manchester [aged 34], who he had intended to marry the following day, a state secret which she then shared with her grandmother Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 79] who shared it with William Pulteney 1st Earl Bath [aged 55] who shared it with everyone else. His brother Thomas [aged 49] succeeded 3rd Earl of Scarborough, 4th Viscount Lumley, 3rd Baron Lumley. Frances Hamilton Countess Scarborough by marriage Countess of Scarborough. He left his estates to his youngest brother James Lumley [aged 34].
On 4th February 1740 Richard Lumley 2nd Earl Scarborough was buried at the Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair.
On 18th October 1744 Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 84] died.
GrandFather: John Jennings
Father: Richard Jennings
Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough
GrandFather: Gifford Thornhurst 1st Baronet
Mother: Frances Thornhurst
Great x 3 Grandfather: Peter Temple of Stowe 
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Temple
Great x 1 Grandfather: Alexander Temple
GrandMother: Susanna Temple