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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
St Giles' Church, Pipe Aston is in Pipe Aston, Herefordshire, Churches in Herefordshire.
The painted interior of St Giles' Church, Pipe Aston [Map] which was discovered during restoration in 1879.
The Herefordshire School of Carving at St Giles' Church, Pipe Aston [Map]. Tympanum over the North doorway. An "agnus dei" - Lamb of God - flanked by a winged eagle and a winged bull surrounded byan archivolt of animals and foliage enclosed within a chevroned arch. The church guide describes the eagle as the emblem of St John complementing the winged bull emblem of St Luke which has at the end of one of its forelegs a block that is assumed to be St Luke's Gospel. Malcolm Thurlby, in this excellent book "The Herefordshire School of Romanesque Sculpture" suggest the carving is of a griffin. The imposts at the end of the arches have, on the left, dragons entwined, and, on the right, foliage. See Herefordshire School of Carving.
2009. The clergy and Roll of Service at St Giles' Church, Pipe Aston [Map].
