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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Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire is in Ingestre, Staffordshire.
In 1613 Walter Chetwynd (age 53) commissioned the building of Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire. The house was built in red brick on the site of an earlier manor house
On 31st May 1638 Walter Chetwynd (age 78) died. His son Walter Chetwynd (age 40) inherited Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire.
On 19th April 1669 Walter Chetwynd (age 71) died. His son Walter Chetwynd (age 36) inherited Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire.
On 21st March 1693 Walter Chetwynd (age 60) died of smallpox. He was buried at St Mary the Virgin Church, Ingestre [Map]. John Chetwynd of Boughton (age 50) inherited Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire.
On 9th December 1702 John Chetwynd of Boughton (age 59) died. Walter Chetwynd 1st Viscount Chetwynd (age 24) inherited Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire.
On 21st February 1736 Walter Chetwynd 1st Viscount Chetwynd (age 57) died. His brother John (age 54) succeeded 2nd Viscount Chetwynd of Bearhaven in Kerry, and inherited Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire.Esther Kent Viscountess Chetwynd (age 36) by marriage Viscountess Chetwynd of Bearhaven in Kerry.
On 21st June 1767 John Chetwynd 2nd Viscount Chetwynd (age 85) died. His brother William (age 83) succeeded 3rd Viscount Chetwynd of Bearhaven in Kerry. Catherine Chetwynd (age 44) inherited Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire.
On 20th January 1785 Catherine Chetwynd (age 62) died. John Chetwynd-Talbot 1st Earl Talbot (age 35) inherited Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire.
On 10th January 1849 Charles Chetwynd-Talbot 2nd Earl Talbot (age 71) died at Ingestre Hall, Staffordshire. His son Henry (age 45) succeeded 3rd Earl Talbot, 3rd Viscount Ingestre, 5th Baron Talbot of Hensol in Glamorganshire. Sarah Elizabeth Beresford Countess Talbot Shrewsbury Waterford (age 41) by marriage Countess Talbot.
Henry Chaplin A Memoir: 2 Family and Social Life Part II. His last letter to his bride a few days before their wedding has a pathetic interest in view of the few years of marriage which were before them.
[Henry Chaplin 1st Viscount Chaplin (age 35) to Florence Sutherland Leveson-Gower (age 21)]
October 11 [Note. A mistake for November 1876].— Ted (age 34) has gone to Lincoln to make a speech to his constituents to-night. His marriage is settled, and announced to Lady Gwendoline (age 18), and I've had a letter from Shrewsbury acquainting me with that fact. It may be some consolation and perhaps relief to you to know that they have a "Royal Party " at Ingestre and can't come to Trentham next week, but he sends every sort of kind message to you.... I am nervous, not about the ceremony! Now didn't you hope I was going to be? but about your rooms being done by the time they ought to be, but the paper you chose is up and they will look very nice, I feel sure. Darling little woman, do not fret or fidget about the awful ceremony. I often tell you that it has no effect of that sort upon me, and I will tell you why. Because I am as firmly convinced as I can be of anything that the step we are about to take with God's blessing will be, and ought to be, except through our own faults, for our mutual and enduring happiness both here and hereafter. Think of it in this light, and then the momentary passing agitation of a ceremony will not trouble you, and remember, child, that it is to you and your good influence that I look to help us in the cares, may be in the trials and temptations and, please God, the happiness which awaits us in the future.
