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.

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Biography of Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester 1704-1776

Paternal Family Tree: Fox of Farley

Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester was appointed Paymaster of the Forces.

On 8th December 1651 [his father] Stephen Fox [aged 24] and Elizabeth Whittle were married.

On 11th July 1703 [his father] Stephen Fox [aged 76] and [his mother] Christiana Hope were married.

On 12th September 1704 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester was born to Stephen Fox [aged 77] and Christiana Hope.

Around 1714 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 9] educated at Eton College [Map].

On 28th October 1716 [his father] Stephen Fox [aged 89] died. He was buried in the Ilchester Chapel of All Saints' Church, Farley which church he had commissioned. His mural monument being Carrara marble aedicule with composite columns carrying segmental pediment. Coloured arms with suspended garlands and lamps over. Gadrooned base on consoles, all on limestone brackets. Inscription in antique French.

On 17th February 1718 [his mother] Christiana Hope died

Around 1719 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 14] educated at Christ Church College, Oxford University.

In 1726 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 21] was elected MP Shaftesbury.

In 1735 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 30] and Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 13] were married.

Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

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 1744 [his brother] Henry Fox 1st Baron Holland [aged 38] and [his sister-in-law] Caroline Lennox 1st Baroness Holland [aged 20] were married. She the daughter of Charles Lennox 2nd Duke Richmond [aged 42] and Sarah Cadogan Duchess Richmond [aged 38].

On 9th August 1747 [his son] Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways 2nd Earl of Ilchester was born to Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 42] and [his wife] Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 25]. He married (1) 20th August 1772 Mary Theresa O'Grady Countess of Ilchester and had issue (2) 20th August 1794 his first cousin once removed Maria Digby Countess Ilchester, daughter of William Digby and Charlotte Cox, and had issue.

On 15th December 1748 [his daughter] Lucy Fox-Strangways was born to Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 44] and [his wife] Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 26]. She married 1st October 1771 her first cousin Colonel Stephen Digby and had issue.

On 3rd January 1750 [his daughter] Christian Harriet Fox-Strangways was born to Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 45] and [his wife] Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 28]. She married before 13th December 1772 John Dyke Acland, son of John Dyke Acland 7th Baronet and Elizabeth Dyke Lady Acland, and had issue.

In 1756 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 51] was created 1st Earl Ilchester, 1st Baron Ilchester and Stavordale of Redlynch in Somerset, 1st Baron Strangways of Woodford in Dorset, 1st Baron Ilchester of Ilchester in Somerset. [his wife] Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 34] by marriage Countess Ilchester.

On 27th April 1761 [his son] Charles Fox-Strangways was born to Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 56] and [his wife] Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 39].

In 1763 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 58] was appointed Privy Council.

In 1765 Francis Cotes [aged 38]. Portrait of Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 60].

On 1st October 1771 [his son-in-law] Colonel Stephen Digby [aged 29] and Lucy Fox-Strangways [aged 22] were married. She the daughter of Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 67] and Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 49]. They were first cousins.

On 20th August 1772 Henry Thomas Fox-Strangways 2nd Earl of Ilchester [aged 25] and Mary Theresa O'Grady Countess of Ilchester [aged 17] were married. He the son of Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 67] and Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 50].

Before 13th December 1772 [his son-in-law] John Dyke Acland [aged 26] and Christian Harriet Fox-Strangways [aged 22] were married. She the daughter of Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 68] and Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 50].

Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses

Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.

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On 1st July 1774 [his brother] Henry Fox 1st Baron Holland [aged 68] died. His son [his nephew] Stephen [aged 29] succeeded 2nd Baron Holland of Foxley in Wiltshire.

On 26th September 1776 Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 72] died. His son Henry [aged 29] succeeded 2nd Earl Ilchester, 2nd Baron Ilchester and Stavordale of Redlynch in Somerset, 2nd Baron Strangways of Woodford in Dorset, 2nd Baron Ilchester of Ilchester in Somerset. Mary Theresa O'Grady Countess of Ilchester [aged 21] by marriage Countess Ilchester.

On 24th August 1777 [his daughter] Frances Fox-Strangways was born to Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester and [his former wife] Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 55].

Before 24th November 1792 [his former wife] Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester [aged 70] died.

[his daughter] Frances Muriel Fox-Strangways Baroness Adare was born to Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester and Elizabeth Strangways-Horner Countess Ilchester. She married 24th August 1777 Valentine Richard Wyndham-Quin 1st Earl Dunraven and Mount-Earl and had issue.

Ancestors of Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester 1704-1776

Father: Stephen Fox

GrandMother: Christian Palfreyman

Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester

Mother: Christiana Hope