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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Cowdray House is in Cowdray Midhurst.
Before 1493 David Owen (age 33) and Mary Bohun (age 24) were married. by which Owen came into possession of Cowdray House [Map] when Mary inherited it from her father John Bohun of Midhurst (age 45).
Around 1493 Ann Owen was born to David Owen (age 34) and Mary Bohun (age 25) in Cowdray House [Map]. She married before 1515 Arthur Hopton and had issue.
Before 26th April 1494 John Bohun of Midhurst (age 47) died. His daughter and her husband David Owen (age 35) inherited Cowdray House [Map].
Around 1500 Henry Owen was born to David Owen (age 41) and Mary Bohun (age 32) in Cowdray House [Map].
Around 1520 David Owen (age 61) began construction of Cowdray House [Map] on the site of the former manor house that he had inherited from his wife Mary Bohun.
In 1529 Henry Owen (age 29) sold Cowdray House [Map] to William Fitzwilliam 1st Earl of Southampton (age 39).
In 1533 Henry VIII (age 41) granted William Fitzwilliam 1st Earl of Southampton (age 43) to inpark 600 acres of meadow, pasture and wood and build fortifications at Cowdray House [Map].
In November 1538 Margaret York aka Pole Countess of Salisbury (age 65) was imprisoned in Cowdray House [Map] until Sep 1539.
In July 1539 Henry VIII (age 48) visited Cowdray House [Map].
In July 1539 Henry VIII (age 48) visited Cowdray House [Map].
On 15th October 1542 William Fitzwilliam 1st Earl of Southampton (age 52) died at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland [Map]. Earl of Southampton extinct. Anthony Browne (age 42) inherited Cowdray House [Map].
In August 1545 Henry VIII (age 54) visited Cowdray House [Map].
On 6th May 1548 Anthony Browne (age 48) died at Byfleet, Surrey. He was buried at Senlac Hill Hastings. Anthony Browne 1st Viscount Montagu (age 19) inherited Cowdray House [Map].
In October 1551 Mary of Guise Queen Consort Scotland (age 35) stayed the night in Cowdray House [Map].
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 July 1552 King Edward VI of England and Ireland (age 14) visited Cowdray House [Map].
On 22nd July 1552 twins Anthony Browne and Mary Browne Countess Southampton were born to Anthony Browne 1st Viscount Montagu (age 23) and Jane Radclyffe at Cowdray House [Map]. Their mother died in childbirth although Henry Machen's diary reports her death in 1553.
On 6th October 1573 Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton was born to Henry Wriothesley 2nd Earl of Southampton (age 28) and Mary Browne Countess Southampton (age 21) at Cowdray House [Map]. He married 30th August 1598 his third cousin once removed Elizabeth Vernon Countess Southampton and had issue.
On 15th August 1591 Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland (age 57) arrived at Cowdray House [Map] the home of Anthony Browne 1st Viscount Montagu (age 62) and Magdalen Dacre Viscountess Montague (age 53). She was welcomed by a breakfast for some 300 guests. George Browne (age 36) was knighted. Henry Browne organised the hunting. Elizabeth stayed until the 21 Aug 1591.
On 19th October 1592 Anthony Maria Browne 2nd Viscount Montagu (age 18) inherited Cowdray House [Map]. During his tenure Guy Fawkes was briefly employed as a footman and, as a consequence, Anthony Maria Browne 2nd Viscount Montagu was briefly imprisoned for complicity in the Gunpowder Plot.
In 1770 Anthony Joseph Browne 7th Viscount Montagu (age 40) commissioned Capability Brown (age 53) to landscape Cowdray House [Map].
On 24th September 1793, during restoration work, a fire started in the carpenter's workshop in the North Gallery of Cowdray House [Map] resulting in the destruction of the house and its contents bar three paintings.
In 1843 Cowdray House [Map] was sold to George Perceval 6th Earl Egmont (age 48) at Shelley, Kirkburton.
In 1908 Augustus Perceval 8th Earl Egmont (age 52) sold Cowdray House [Map] to Weetman Dickinson Pearson 1st Viscount Cowdray (age 51).
John Bohun constructed a fortified manor house at Cowdray House [Map] naming it Coudreye which means Hazel Woods in Norman French.
The River Rother rises at Empshott, Hampshire [Map] from where it flows through Liss, Hampshire [Map], Sheet, Hampshire [Map], past Rogate [Map], Trotton [Map], Chithurst [Map], Iping [Map], Stedham [Map], Easebourne Midhurst [Map] and Cowdray House [Map], South Ambersham [Map], Selham [Map], Coultershaw Bridge [Map], Lower Fittleworth [Map] after which it joins the River Arun one km before Pulborough [Map].