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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Before 26th June 1707 [his father] Bishop Welbore Ellis [aged 56] and [his mother] Diana Briscoe were married.
On 15th December 1713 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip was born to Bishop Welbore Ellis [aged 62] and Diana Briscoe.
In 1734 [his uncle] John Ellis [aged 91] and [his future wife] Elizabeth Stanhope were married.
On 1st January 1734 [his father] Bishop Welbore Ellis [aged 83] died. He was buried at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin [Map].
In 1738 [his uncle] John Ellis [aged 95] died. His nephew Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 24] inherited his considerable fortune.
In 1741 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 27] was elected MP Cricklade.
In 1747 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 33] was elected MP Weymouth and Melcombe Regis which seat he held until 1761.
In November 1747 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 33] and Elizabeth Stanhope were married.
In 1761 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 47] was elected MP Aylesbury which seat he held until 1768.
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 1761 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 47] was appointed Secretary at War.
In August 1761 [his wife] Elizabeth Stanhope died.
In 1765 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 51] and Anne Stanley were married.
In 1768 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 54] was elected MP Petersfield which seat he held until 1774.
In 1774 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 60] was elected MP Weymouth and Melcombe Regis which seat he held until 1790.
In 1777 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 63] was appointed Treasurer of the Navy.
In 1791 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 77] was elected MP Petersfield which seat he held until 1794.
In 1794 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 80] was created 1st Baron Mendip of Mendip in Somerset with remainder to the three eldest sons of his sister Anne by her husband Henry Agar, of Gowran and Gowran Castle.
On 2nd February 1802 Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip [aged 88] died. His great nephew Henry [aged 41] succeeded 2nd Baron Mendip of Mendip in Somerset.
GrandFather: Reverend John Ellis
Father: Bishop Welbore Ellis
Welbore Ellis 1st Baron Mendip
GrandFather: John Briscoe of Boughton in Northamptonshire
Mother: Diana Briscoe