Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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Eltham, Greenwich is in Greenwich, Kent [Map].
In 1512 Anthony Ughtred [aged 34] was knighted at Eltham, Greenwich.
Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic Henry VIII 1528. 25th June 1528. R. O. 4417. The Commissioners Of Kent To Wolsey.
This Thursday, the 25th, met at Deptford [Map], and were informed that Edmund Tebbe, in whose house they should have lodged, has had the new sickness, and is not yet recovered. Divers have been sick at Greenwich [Map] and at Eltham; of which towns great numbers would have appeared if the sessions had been held, with other prisoners from Southwark. As Baron Hales [aged 58] also has fallen ill at London, they have, "in a croft nigh unto the street of Deptford," adjourned the sessions to Monday next before the feast of SS. Simon and Jude. Deptford, 25 June. Signed: Richard Broke—Henry Guldeford—Edward Guldeford—Alex. Colepeper—Edward Wotton—T. Nevyle—Thomas Willughby—Christopher Hales. Scaled.
P. 1. Add. Endd. by Wolsey: Sir William Drury, Sir William Carent, Venerys (?) die doca Passionis, in domo Ichekoc.
John Evelyn's Diary. 18th January 1656. Went to Eltham on foot, being a great frost, but a mist falling as I returned, gave me such a rheum as kept me within doors near a whole month after.
John Evelyn's Diary. 16th July 1657. On Dr. Jeremy Taylor's [aged 44] recommendation, I went to Eltham, Greenwich, to help one Moody, a young man, to that living, by my interest with the patron.
John Evelyn's Diary. 14th July 1664. I went to take leave of the two Mr. Howards, now going to Paris, and brought them as far as Bromley, Kent; thence to Eltham, Greenwich, to see Sir John Shaw's [aged 49] new house, now building; the place is pleasant, if not too wet, but the house not well contrived; especially the roof and rooms too low pitched, and the kitchen where the cellars should be; the orangery and aviary handsome, and a very large plantation about it.
John Evelyn's Diary. 11th May 1671. I went to Eltham, Greenwich, to sit as one of the commissioners about the subsidy now given by Parliament to his Majesty [aged 40].
On 1st October 1719 Margaret "Peg" Hughes [aged 89] died at Eltham, Greenwich.
On 1st March 1680 John Shaw 1st Baronet [aged 65] died. He was buried on 6th March 1721 at the Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham on 6th March 1680. His son John [aged 20] succeeded 2nd Baronet Shaw of Eltham in Kent.
On 23rd August 1690 Margaret Peake Lady Shaw died. She was buried 29th August 1690 at Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham.
On 11th December 1721 John Shaw 2nd Baronet [aged 61] died. He was buried at the Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham on 21st December 1721. His son John [aged 34] succeeded 3rd Baronet Shaw of Eltham in Kent. Anna Maria Barnardiston Lady Shaw [aged 24] by marriage Lady Shaw of Eltham in Kent.
On 22nd November 1728 John Shaw 4th Baronet was born to John Shaw 3rd Baronet [aged 41] and Anna Maria Barnardiston Lady Shaw [aged 31]. He was baptised on 19th December 1728 at the Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham.
On 4th March 1739 John Shaw 3rd Baronet [aged 52] died. He was buried on 13th March 1739 at the Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham. His son John [aged 10] succeeded 4th Baronet Shaw of Eltham in Kent.
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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On or before 12th January 1743 Sarah Paggen Lady Shaw died. She was buried at Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham on 12th January 1743.
On 30th November 1755 Anna Maria Barnardiston Lady Shaw [aged 58] died. She was buried at Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham on 10th December 1755.
On 18th June 1779 John Shaw 4th Baronet [aged 50] died. He was buried at the Church of Holy Trinity, Eltham on 26th June 1779. His son John [aged 22] succeeded 5th Baronet Shaw of Eltham in Kent.
Watling Street. From Durobrivae [Map] the road continues through Park Pale, Kent [Map], Vagniacis [Map], Dartford, Kent [Map], Noviomagus [Map], Bexley, Kent [Map], down Shooter's Hill, Greenwich [Map] past Eltham Common, Kent [Map] to Greenwich Park [Map] where the road either (or both):
1. went along the Old Kent Road [Map] and crossed the River Thames at either the London Bridge [Map] or a ford near Westminster Bridge [Map] after which it continued north past St Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside [Map], Newgate Gate [Map], Ludgate Hill [Map] and over the River Fleet at Fleet Bridge [Map] to Marble Arch [Map].
2. continued north-west through Camberwell, Surrey [Map] crossing the River Thames near Vauxhall Bridge [Map] after which it continued north to Marble Arch [Map].