In 1486 William Locke was born.
In or before 1511 William Locke (age 24) and Alice Spenser were married.
In 1522 [his wife] Alice Spenser died.
Before 14th October 1537 William Locke (age 51) and Katherine Cooke were married.
On 14th October 1537 [his wife] Katherine Cooke died.
In or before 1546 William Locke (age 59) and Eleanor Unknown were married.
In 1546 [his wife] Eleanor Unknown died.
In 1548 William Locke (age 62) was appointed Sheriff of London.
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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In or before August 1550 William Locke (age 64) and Elizabeth Farthing were married.
On 24th August 1550 William Locke (age 64) died at Merton, Surrey. He was buried at St Thomas of Acre Church.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 27th August 1550. The xxvij day of August was bered sir Wylliam [Locke knight] (deceased) and alderman and late shreyfF of London, and bered [at St.] Thomas of Acurs, and a-ffor hym whent a Ix pore men in mo[urning] gowns and whytt stayffes in ther handes ij and ij to-gether; [after] them the standard, and then mornars, and then came a .. with odur mornars, and then the clarkes and prestes, and then [a herald] with ys cott armour, target, elmet, sword, and then the corse [with] penons of armes borne a-bowt hym, and the stret [was] hangyd with blake and armes a-pone the cloth, and ther [was a] dolle of monay, and a grett denner as I have be hat.
Note. Funeral of alderman sir William Locke. He was a member of the Mercers' company, and sheriff of London in 1548. Not living to be lord mayor, he died "in his howsse in Bow lane the xxiiijth of August in the 4. of Edward the 6, and buryed 27. day of the same mounth in the Mercers' cherche St. Thomas of Acres." MS. Harl. 897, f. 15. Stowe notes "Locke his armes in the windowes" of that church. Lady Locke died on the 5th Dec. 1551; and the imperfect funeral in p. 12 perhaps belongs to her. See an historical account of the Locke family in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1792, vol. LX. p. 799; also Lord King's Life of Locke, and the Autobiography of sir John Bramston, where at p. 9 are some traditional anecdotes of sir William Locke (but for 1530 read 1533).
On 30th November 1551 [his former wife] Elizabeth Farthing died.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 30th November 1551. The xxx day of November ther was a grett skaffold mad in Westmynster halle agaynst the next day, that was [the] ffurst day of Desember, for the duke of Somersett (age 51), the [which] was raynyd of tresun and qwyt of ytt, and cast of fe[lony], and ther was shyth a shutt of men and women, for they thowght that he had byne qwytt, for [they] thruw a C. caps on he for gladnes, for ther was mony lost ther .... and the stret hangyd with blake ... mantyll frysse gowne boyth ... meny blake gownes, and then cam the cors with ... of armes borne a-bowt her, and a gret ... and ther was the compeny of the Clarkes, and a gret ...
Note. Funeral of lady Locke. The imperfect funeral in this page probably belongs to the widow of sir William Locke, who has been noticed in p. 313. She was buried by his side on the 5th Dec. 1551. (Malcolm, ii. 156.) "Lady [his former wife] Elyzabeth Locke, latte wyf of sir William Locke knyght, decesyd on saynt Androwes daye at iij. of the cloke at afternone in good memory, the v. yere of the rayne of kyng Edward the vj. executors Rycharde Spreyngham and Thomas Nycolles the elder: and buryed in the churche of our laydy of Bowe [Map] within the quyre. Cheffe morner, Mary Spryngened (sic); [other mourners,] Elyzabeth Nycolles, Elyzabeth Fyld, Ellen Meredyth, Jone Rawlyns." (MS. I. 3. in Coll. Arm. f. 846.)