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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St Andrew's Church, Bolam is in Bolam, Northumberland, Churches in Northumberland.
St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map]. Mediaeval church with Saxon tower and other features dating from 12-14th centuries. The church is open every day.
Interior of St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Churchyard St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Medieval graves and effigies of St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
In 1658 Charles Middleton of Belsay died. He was buried at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Archaeologia Aeliana Series 4 Volume 33 Pagess 134-141. In 1767 the manor of Shortflatt [Map] was divided, John Dent taking the mansion house and the western moiety, and William Hepple, and his associate. Lancelot Robson of Belsay, sharing the eastern moiety. The deed also provided that John Dent and his heirs should "use, possess and enjoy" the eastern moiety of the "Shortflatt Isle" in Bolam Church [Map], and that Hepple and Robson and their heirs should have the western moiety (pi. XVI). In the same year the three proprietors of Shortflatt were summoned to a Court Leet of the manor of Bywell—an interesting survival of the feudal connection with the barony of Bolbec.
On 23rd December 1809 Robert Horsley of Bolam House in Northumberland (age 60) died. Monument at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map] to Robert Horsley, his wife Catherine, who died in 1818, and five of their children. His daughter Charlotte Philadelphia Horsley (age 35) inherited Bolam Hall, Northumberland [Map].
Robert Horsley of Bolam House in Northumberland: Around 1749 he was born to John Horlsey. Before 1809 Robert Horsley of Bolam House in Northumberland commissioned the building of Bolam Hall, Northumberland [Map].
Charlotte Philadelphia Horsley: On 20th January 1774 she was born to Robert Horsley of Bolam House in Northumberland. On 26th July 1810 John Horsley Beresford 2nd Baron Decies and she were married.
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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On 9th March 1852 Charlotte Philadelphia Horsley (age 78) died. She has a monument at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map] commissioned by her only son William Horsley-Beresford 3rd Baron Decies (age 40).
On 17th April 1861 Emily Maud Dent died. Wall memorial at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Emily Maud Dent: On 7th September 1860 he was born to Commander William Dent Hedley aka Dent and Ellen Mary Kerr.
On 5th December 1866 Louisa Horsley-Beresford died. Memorial in St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Louisa Horsley-Beresford: In 1866 she was born to William Horsley-Beresford 3rd Baron Decies and Catherine Anne Dent Baroness Decies.
On 18th May 1880 Captain William Seton Dent of Shortflatt Tower (age 39) died. Memorial window at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Captain William Seton Dent of Shortflatt Tower: On 16th April 1841 he was born to Commander William Dent Hedley aka Dent and Ellen Mary Kerr.
On 28th January 1883 Maria Georgiana Hedley Dent (age 33) died. Memorial at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Maria Georgiana Hedley Dent: On 22nd February 1849 she was born to Commander William Dent Hedley aka Dent and Ellen Mary Kerr.
On 8th May 1926 Edward Dent (age 70) died. Wall memorial at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Edward Dent: On 8th June 1855 he was born to Commander William Dent Hedley aka Dent and Ellen Mary Kerr. Archaeologia Aeliana Series 4 Volume 33 Pagess 134-141. Edward John Dent, who became owner in 1880, made Shortflatt [Map] famous in sporting circles, his record as a breeder and trainer of greyhounds being six winners of the Waterloo Cup in eight years. His son, Lieut.-Colonel W. E. Hedley-Dent, assumed the name of Hedley-Dent in 192632, and he and his wife have created a charming garden, and wide stretches of lawn, with beds of roses and lavender, and fine trees in the background, making a delightful setting for the old Border house, whose history I have told.
On 11th May 1939 Lieutenant John Arthur Tournay Middleton (age 32) died. Monument at St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map].
Lieutenant John Arthur Tournay Middleton: On 1st July 1906 he was born to Lieutenant Hugh Jeffery Middleton and Mary Katherine Long.
In 1942 a German bomb dropped on St Andrew's Church, Bolam [Map]; it failed to explode.