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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On 12th December 1753 William Beechey was born.
1789. William Beechey [aged 35]. Portrait of Paul Sandby [aged 58].
1789. William Beechey [aged 35]. Portrait of Isabella Caroline Howard Baroness Cawdor [aged 18].
Isabella Caroline Howard Baroness Cawdor: In 1771 she was born to Frederick Howard 5th Earl Carlisle and Margaret Caroline Leveson-Gower Countess Carlisle. On 28th July 1789 John Campbell 1st Baron Cawdor and she were married. She the daughter of Frederick Howard 5th Earl Carlisle and Margaret Caroline Leveson-Gower Countess Carlisle. On 21st June 1796 John Campbell 1st Baron Cawdor was created 1st Baron Cawdor of Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire. She by marriage Baroness Cawdor of Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire. In 1848 Isabella Caroline Howard Baroness Cawdor died.
Before 1790. William Beechey [aged 36]. Portrait of George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 77] in the Windsor Uniform.
In 1797. William Beechey [aged 43]. Portrait of Princess Amelia Hanover [aged 13].
Princess Amelia Hanover: On 7th August 1783 she was born to King George III of Great Britain and Ireland and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England. On 2nd November 1810 Princess Amelia Hanover died. Before September 1823 Elizabeth Boughton Baroness Templetown was appointed Lady of the Bedchamber to Princess Amelia Hanover.
In 1797. William Beechey [aged 43]. Portrait of Princess Sophia Hanover [aged 19].
Princess Sophia Hanover: On 3rd November 1777 she was born to King George III of Great Britain and Ireland and Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England. On 27th May 1848 Princess Sophia Hanover died at Vicarage Place Kensington. Princess Augusta Hesse-Kassel Duchess Cambridge and Marie Luise Victoria Saxe Coburg Gotha Duchess Kent and Strathearn were present.
Around 1800. William Beechey [aged 46]. Portrait of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland [aged 61].
1800. William Beechey [aged 46]. Self-Portrait.
1803. William Beechey [aged 49]. Portrait of Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth [aged 45].
Around 1815. William Beechey [aged 61]. Portrait of Harriet Mellon Duchess St Albans [aged 37].
1818. William Beechey [aged 64]. Portrait of Princess Augusta Hesse-Kassel Duchess Cambridge [aged 20].
1826. William Beechey [aged 72]. Portrait of Thomas Assheton-Smith of Ashley in Cheshire [aged 74].
Around 1830. William Beechey [aged 76]. Portrait of King William IV of the United Kingdom [aged 64].
Before 1835 . William Beechey [aged 81]. Portrait of Joseph Nollekens. An autographed replica by Beechey of the work which now hangs in the Tate Britain, London
Before 1839. William Beechey [aged 85]. Portrait of Elizabeth Charlotte Eden Baroness Godolphin [aged 58].
Elizabeth Charlotte Eden Baroness Godolphin: In 1780 she was born to William Eden 1st Baron Auckland and Eleanor Elliot. On 31st March 1800 Francis Osborne 1st Baron Godolphin and she were married. He the son of Francis Osborne 5th Duke Leeds and Amelia Darcy 12th Baroness Darcy 9th Baroness Conyers. On 14th May 1832 Francis Osborne 1st Baron Godolphin was created 1st Baron Godolphin of Farnham Royal in Buckinghamshire. She by marriage Baroness Godolphin of Farnham Royal in Buckinghamshire. In 1847 Elizabeth Charlotte Eden Baroness Godolphin died.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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Before 28th January 1839. William Beechey [aged 85]. Portrait of Charles Brudenell 1st Marquess Ailesbury [aged 65].
On 28th January 1839 William Beechey [aged 85] died.