Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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Penkridge, Staffordshire is in Staffordshire.
In 958 a charter of King Edgar I of England [aged 15] describes Penkridge, Staffordshire [Map] as a "famous place". St Michael's Church, Penkridge [Map] was established as a Royal Free Chapel making it a Royal Peculiar. The church was independent of the Bishop of Lichfield and, correspondingly, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
On 3rd November 1602 Alice Cockayne [aged 67] died at Penkridge, Staffordshire [Map]. She was buried at St Michael's Church, Penkridge [Map].
The River Penk rises near Perton, Staffordshire [Map] from where it flows past Pendeford, Staffordshire [Map], Coven, Staffordshire [Map], Brewood Staffordshire [Map], Stretton, Staffordshire [Map], Penkridge, Staffordshire [Map], Acton Trussell, Staffordshire [Map] to Baswich, Stafford [Map] where it joins the River Sow.
Around 1757 William Hogarth [aged 59]. Portrait of Inigo Jones. The portrait was commissioned by Edward Littleton 4th Baronet [aged 30] when he was refurbishing his house Teddesley Hall, Penkridge.
On 5th November 1816 Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley [aged 50] died at Teddesley Hall, Penkridge; home of her son-in-law Edward John Walhouse aka Littleton 1st Baron Hatherton [aged 25], husband of her daughter Hyacinthe Mary Wellesley Baroness Hatherton [aged 27].
On 10th July 1847 Hyacinthe Anne Littleton [aged 34] died at Teddesley Hall, Penkridge.
On 6th January 1849 Hyacinthe Mary Wellesley Baroness Hatherton [aged 59] died at Teddesley Hall, Penkridge.
On 4th May 1863 Edward John Walhouse aka Littleton 1st Baron Hatherton [aged 72] died at Teddesley Hall, Penkridge. His son Edward [aged 47] succeeded 2nd Baron Hatherton.
In 1565 the White Hart Inn [Map] was built on the site of the original manor house.
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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In 1575 Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 41] stayed at the White Hart Inn [Map].
