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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Paternal Family Tree: Brereton
Maternal Family Tree: Catherine Anne Grosvenor 1477
Before 20th January 1539 [his father] William Brereton [aged 19] and [his mother] Jane Warburton [aged 11] were married.
On 5th February 1550 William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton was born to William Brereton [aged 30] and Jane Warburton [aged 22].
On 26th August 1559 [his father] William Brereton [aged 39] died.
On 20th January 1561 [his step-father] Lawrence Smith [aged 46] and [his mother] Jane Warburton [aged 33] were married at St Oswald's Church, Brereton [Map].
1579. Unknown Painter. Portrait of William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 28].
In 1580 [his daughter] Mary Brereton Countess Thomond was born to William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 29]. She married Henry O'Brien 5th Earl Thomond, son of Donogh O'Brien 4th Earl Thomond and Elizabeth Fitzgerald Countess Thomond, and had issue.
Around 1585 William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 34] and his wife Margaret Savage [aged 36] commissioned the building of Brereton Hall, Cheshire [Map]; a Prodigy House.
Margaret Savage: In 1549 she was born to John Savage and Elizabeth Manners. Before 25th February 1591 William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton and she were married. They were third cousins. On 7th April 1597 Margaret Savage died.
Before 6th September 1590 [his mother] Jane Warburton [aged 63] died.
Before 25th February 1591 William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 41] and Margaret Savage [aged 42] were married. They were third cousins.
On 25th February 1591 [his son] John Bererton was born to William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 41] and [his wife] Margaret Savage [aged 42]. He married before 28th December 1629 his second cousin once removed Anne Fitton, daughter of Edward Fitton 1st Baronet and Anne Barratt, and had issue.
On 7th April 1597 [his wife] Margaret Savage [aged 48] 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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In 1618 William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 67] installed a memorial to the Brereton family when their remains were brought from St Mary's Church, Astbury, Cheshire and reinterred in the Chancel of St Oswald's Church, Brereton [Map]. The family motto "Opitulante Deo" being "God being my Helper". The inscription: In ancient times when this Church of Brereton was a donative chapel within the parish of Astbury, the ancestors of William Brereton knight, Baron of Malpas, (who erected this monument in 1618 A.D.), had been buried in the Churchyard at Astbury, where ancient monuments of some of them still remain at this date, marked in English with the words "Knightes burialls". But after the said chapel was made a parochial church, the ancestors of the said William Berereton, knight, patron of this Chapel of Brereton, were buried in this chancel, except those who died in countries abroad.
On 11th May 1624 William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 74] was created 1st Baron Brereton.
Before 28th December 1629 [his son] John Bererton [aged 38] and [his daughter-in-law] Anne Fitton [aged 35] were married. They were second cousin once removed.
On 28th December 1629 [his son] John Bererton [aged 38] died.
On 1st October 1631 William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton [aged 81] died. His grandson William [aged 20] succeeded 2nd Baron Brereton and inherited Brereton Hall, Cheshire [Map]. Elizabeth Goring Baroness Brereton by marriage Baroness Brereton.
Kings Wessex: Great x 17 Grand Son of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 15 Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 20 Grand Son of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 16 Grand Son of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings England: Great x 9 Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 15 Grand Son of King Malcolm III of Scotland
Kings France: Great x 11 Grand Son of King Louis VIII of France
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 21 Grand Son of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Kings Spain: Great x 13 Grand Son of Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Brereton
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Brereton 10th Lord Brereton
Great x 2 Grandfather: Andrew Brereton
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Brereton
GrandFather: William Brereton 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Savage 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Savage
Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Elizabeth Brereton
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Savage 5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Stanley 1st Baron Stanley 
10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Katherine Stanley 4 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Jane Goushill Baroness Stanley 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Alice Savage 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Vernon 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Ralph Vernon
Great x 2 Grandmother: Dorothy Vernon
Father: William Brereton 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
William Brereton 1st Baron Brereton 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Warburton
GrandFather: Peter Warburton of Arley
Mother: Jane Warburton 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Winnington
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Winnington 10 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Emma Mainwaring 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Winnington 11 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Winnington 12 x Great Grand Son of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
GrandMother: Elizabeth Winnington 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Grosvenor 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Grosvenor
Great x 2 Grandfather: Randall Grosvenor
Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Anne Grosvenor