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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On or before 22nd August 1509 William Stanford was born to [his uncle] William Stanford Mercer.
In or before 1540 William Stanford (age 30) and Alice Palmer were married.
In 1542 William Stanford (age 32) was elected MP Stafford.
In 1545 William Stanford (age 35) was elected MP Stafford.
In 1547 William Stanford (age 37) was elected MP Newcastle under Lyme.
In 1552 William Stanford (age 42) was appointed Serjeant at Law.
In 1552 William Stanford (age 42) was appointed Justice of the Common Pleas.
On 28th August 1558 William Stanford (age 49) died.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 29th August 1558. The sam day was bered be-yond Barnet (blank) [ju]ge Stamford (deceased) knyght, with standard, cotte armur, penon of armes, elmett, targett, sword, and the mantylles; and iiij dosen of skochyons, and ij dosen torchys, and tapurs; and master Somerset the harold of armes.
Note. P. 172. Funeral of sir William Stamford. "Sir William Staunford knight, one of the kinges and the quenes maties justyces of the common banke, dysseassed the xxviijth. August An° D'ni 1558, about iiij. of the cloke in the afternone the same day in the 49 yere of his age, and iiij. dayes, and was buryed at Hadley j° die Septemb' in A° D'ni 1558. He maried Ales doughter of Joh'n Palmer esquyer, and had issue Robert Stamford son and heyr, 2. Thomas, 3. William, 4. Henry, 5. Raff, 6. Joh'n; Frances wyff to Thomas Repington esquyer, Doraty, Kateren, Margaret." (MS. Harl. 897, f. 18.) His funeral insignia were remaining in Hadley church when visited by Nich. Charles, and will be found drawn in the Lansd. MS. 874, f. 60, with other memorials of his family. His personal biography will be found in Wood's Athenæ Oxonienses, (by Bliss,) vol. i. p. 262. He was the editor of the first edition of Ranulph de Glanville's treatise "De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliæ, printed by Tottel in 1554. (See Wright's Biographia Literaria, vol. ii. p. 279.)
GrandFather: Robert Stanford of Rowley Regis in Staffordshire
Father: William Stanford Mercer