Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
St Giles' in the Fields Church is in Great Queen Street, St Giles' in the FieldsGreat Queen Street, St Giles' in the Fields, Churches in CamdenChurches in Camden.
Suppression of the LollardsSuppression of the Lollards
Chronicle of Gregory 1403-1419Chronicle of Gregory. 10th January 1414. And they hadde ordaynyde to have hadde the fylde be-syde Syn Gylys. But, thonkyd be God Almighty, owre King Henry V of England 1386-1422kyng [aged 27] hadde warnyng thereof, and he come unto London and toke the felde be syde St John's Church, ClerkenwellSyn Jonys in Clerkynwelle [Map]; and as they come the King Henry V of England 1386-1422kyng toke them, and many othyr. And there was a knyght take that was namy[d] Syr Roger of Acton, and he was drawe and hanggyd be syde Syn Gyly [Map], for the King let to be made iiij payre of galowys, the whiche that were i-callyd the Lollers galowys. Al so a preste that hyght Syr John Bevyrlay, and a squyer that hyght John Browne of Oldecastellys, they were hanggyd; and many moo were Hangedhanggyd and Burned at the stakebrent, to the nomber of xxxviij personys and moo.
On 1st June 1583 George Carew 1498-1583George Carew [aged 85] died. He was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 14th December 1626 Thomas Richardson 1569-1635Thomas Richardson [aged 57] and BrienneElizabeth Beaumont [aged 49] were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. There was no issue from the marriage.
On 20th November 1637 NoelHenry Noel [aged 22] and Susanna Howland [aged 16] were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 4th December 1637 John Borlase 1st Baronet 1619-1672John Borlase 1st Baronet [aged 18] and BankesAlice Bankes Lady Borlase were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. His brother William Borlase 1620-1665William Borlase [aged 17] married her sister BankesJoanna Bankes.
Before 13th November 1639 Peregrine Bertie 1584-1639Peregrine Bertie [aged 55] died. He 13th November 1639 Peregrine Bertie 1584-1639Peregrine Bertie was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 28th April 1642 Francis Newport 1st Earl Bradford 1620-1708Francis Newport 1st Earl Bradford [aged 22] and Diana Russell Countess Bradford -1695Diana Russell Countess Bradford were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. She the daughter of Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford 1593-1641Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford and Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford 1580-1657Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 62].
On 13th February 1646 Christopher Wray 1601-1646Christopher Wray [deceased] was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 1st May 1651 AlleynEdmund Alleyn 2nd Baronet [aged 19] and Frances Gent Lady Allen [aged 15] were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. She brought an estate of about £600 a year to the marriage. AlleynArabella, their only daughter, who was heir to her brother AlleynEdmund Alleyn 3rd Baronet, eventually inherited their large estates. She married firstly, Francis Thompson; secondly, the Honorable HowardGeorge Howard. Under her will, dat. 20 June 1746, these estates passed in 1751 (after the death of Arthur Dobbs to whom she had conveyed them for life) to her cousin Sir AlleynEdmund Aleyn, the 8th Bart.
On 9th June 1655 HollesGilbert Holles 3rd Earl de Clare [aged 22] and PierrepointGrace Pierrepont Countess de Clare [aged 22] were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. He the son of HollesJohn Holles 2nd Earl de Clare [aged 59] and VereElizabeth Vere Countess Clare.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 27th June 1655 Robert Montagu 3rd Earl Manchester 1634-1683Robert Montagu 3rd Earl Manchester [aged 21] and YelvertonAnne Yelverton Countess Manchester [aged 25] were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. He the son of Edward Montagu 2nd Earl Manchester 1602-1671Edward Montagu 2nd Earl Manchester [aged 53] and RichAnne Rich Viscountess Mandeville.
On 23rd March 1658 Henry Wright 1st Baronet 1637-1664Henry Wright 1st Baronet [aged 21] and Ann Crew Lady Wright -1708Ann Crew Lady Wright were married at the St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
Samuel Pepys' Diary 1660 May 15Samuel Pepys' Diary. 15th May 1660. After that the judge, I and my boy by coach to Scheveling again, where we went into a house of entertainment and drank there, the wind being very high, and we saw two boats overset and the gallants forced to be pulled on shore by the heels, while their trunks, portmanteaus, hats, and feathers, were swimming in the sea. Among others I saw the ministers that come along with the Commissioners (Mr. Case1 among the rest) sadly dipped.
Note 1. Thomas Case, born 1598, was a famous preacher and a zealous advocate for the Solemn League and Covenant, a member of the assembly of divines, and rector of St. Giles's-in-the-Fields [Map]. He was one of the deputation to Charles II at BredaBreda [Map], and appointed a royal chaplain. He was ejected by the Act of Uniformity, but remained in London after his ejection. Died May 30th, 1682.
On or before 1st July 1662 Henry Wright 2nd Baronet was born to Henry Wright 1st Baronet 1637-1664Henry Wright 1st Baronet [aged 25] and Ann Crew Lady Wright -1708Ann Crew Lady Wright. He was baptised on 1st July 1662 at the St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 28th September 1663 Edward Pickering 1618-1698Edward Pickering [aged 45] and Dorothy Weld 1633-1707Dorothy Weld [aged 30] were married at the St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 2nd June 1664 AndersonStephen Anderson 1st Baronet [aged 20] and GlynneMary Glynne Lady Anderson [aged 15] were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
Samuel Pepys' Diary 1664 July 10Samuel Pepys' Diary. 10th July 1664. Thence with my Lady Jemimah and Mr. Sidney to St. Gyles's Church [Map], and there heard a long, poore sermon.
On 22nd August 1667 HydeBishop Alexander Hyde [aged 75] died at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
Samuel Pepys' Diary 1667 October 03Samuel Pepys' Diary. 3rd October 1667. He gone, I thence to my Penelope O'Brien Countess Peterborough 1622-1702Lady Peterborough [aged 45], who sent for me; and with her an hour talking about her husband's pension, and how she hath got an order for its being paid again; though, I believe, for all that order, it will hardly be; but of that I said nothing; but her design is to get it paid again: and how to raise money upon it, to clear it from the engagement which lies upon it to some citizens, who lent her husband money, without her knowledge, upon it, to vast loss. She intends to force them to take their money again, and release her Henry Mordaunt 2nd Earl Peterborough 1621-1697husband [aged 45] of those hard terms. The woman is a very wise woman, and is very plain in telling me how her plate and jewels are at pawne for money, and how they are forced to live beyond their estate, and do get nothing by his being a courtier. The lady I pity, and her family. Having done with her, and drunk two glasses of her meade, which she did give me, and so to the Treasurer's Office, and there find my William Brouncker 2nd Viscount Brounckner 1620-1684Lord Bruncker [aged 47] and Admiral William Penn 1621-1670Sir W. Pen [aged 46] at dinner with George Carteret 1st Baronet 1610-1680Sir G. Carteret [aged 57] about his accounts, where I dined and talked and settled some business, and then home, and there took out my wife and Willet, thinking to have gone to a play, but both houses were begun, and so we to the Royal Exchange'Change [Map], and thence to my tailor's, and there, the coachman desiring to go home to change his horses, we went with him into a nasty end of all St. Giles's [Map], and there went into a nasty room, a chamber of his, where he hath a wife and child, and there staid, it growing dark too, and I angry thereat, till he shifted his horses, and then home apace, and there I to business late, and so home, to supper, and walk in the garden with my wife and girle, with whom we are mightily pleased, and after talking and supping, to bed.
On 22nd January 1669 Alice Leigh 1st Duchess Dudley 1578-1669Alice Leigh 1st Duchess Dudley [aged 91] died in the parish St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. She was buried at Church of the Virgin Mary, StoneleighChurch of the Virgin Mary, Stoneleigh [Map]. Duke DudleyDuke Dudley extinct since it was created for life only.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1671 TyrrellToby Tyrrell 3rd and 2nd Baronet [aged 53] died in St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. His son TyrrellThomas [aged 37] succeeded 4th Baronet Tyrrell of Thornton in BuckinghamshireBaronet Tyrrell of Thornton in Buckinghamshire, 3rd Baronet Tyrrell of Thornton in BuckinghamshireBaronet Tyrrell of Thornton in Buckinghamshire.
On 19th February 1672 WrayBethel Wray 5th Baronet [aged 49] died. He was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. His Half First Cousin Once Removedhalf first cousin once removed Christopher Wray 2nd and 6th Baronet 1652-1679Christopher [aged 20] succeeded 6th Baronet Wray of Glentworth in LincolnshireBaronet Wray of Glentworth in Lincolnshire.
Before 31st August 1679 Christopher Wray 2nd and 6th Baronet 1652-1679Christopher Wray 2nd and 6th Baronet [aged 27] died. Christopher Wray 2nd and 6th Baronet 1652-1679Christopher Wray 2nd and 6th Baronet was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. His Brotherbrother WrayWilliam [aged 26] succeeded 3rd Baronet Wray of Ashby in LincolnshireBaronet Wray of Ashby in Lincolnshire, 7th Baronet Wray of Glentworth in LincolnshireBaronet Wray of Glentworth in Lincolnshire.
On or before 9th February 1684 BrowneGeorge Browne died. He was buried on 9th February 1684 at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
John Evelyn's Diary September 1686John Evelyn's Diary. 8th September 1686. Bishop Henry Compton 1632-1713Dr. Compton, Bishop of London [aged 54], was on Monday suspended, on pretense of not silencing Archbishop John Sharp 1645-1714Dr. Sharp [aged 41] [NOTE. Assumed to be the subsequent Archbishop?] at St. Giles's [Map], for something of a sermon in which he zealously reproved the doctrine of the Roman Catholics. The Bishop having consulted the civilians, they told him he could not by any law proceed against Archbishop John Sharp 1645-1714Dr. Sharp without producing witnesses, and impleaded according to form; but it was overruled by my George "Hanging Judge" Jeffreys 1st Baron Jeffreys 1645-1689Lord Chancellor [aged 41], and the Bishop sentenced without so much as being heard to any purpose. This was thought a very extraordinary way of proceeding, and was universally resented, and so much the rather for that two Bishops, Bishop Nathaniel Crew 3rd Baron Crew 1633-1721Durham [aged 53] and Bishop Thomas Sprat 1635-1713Rochester [aged 51], sitting in the commission and giving their suffrages the Archbishop William Sancroft 1617-1693Archbishop of Canterbury [aged 69] refused to sit among them. He was only suspended Ab officioab officio, and that was soon after taken off. He was brother to the James Compton 3rd Earl of Northampton 1622-1681Earl of Northampton, had once been a soldier, had traveled in Italy, but became a sober, grave, and excellent prelate.
On or before 7th July 1688, the date he was baptised at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map], CopeLieutenant-General John Cope was born to CopeHenry Cope [aged 43].
On or before 23rd December 1688 BrowneAnthony Browne 2nd Baronet died. He was buried on 23rd December 1688 at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. His Brotherbrother BrowneJohn succeeded 3rd Baronet Browne of CavershamBaronet Browne of Caversham.
On 20th March 1691 Rear-Admiral John Chicheley 1640-1691Rear-Admiral John Chicheley [aged 51] died. He was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
John Evelyn's Diary October 1694John Evelyn's Diary. 5th October 1694. I went to St Paul's CathedralSt. Paul's [Map] to see the choir, now finished as to the stone work, and the scaffold struck both without and within, in that part. Some exceptions might perhaps be taken as to the placing columns on pilasters at the east tribunal. As to the rest it is a piece of architecture without reproach. The pulling out the forms, like drawers, from under the stalls, is ingenious. I went also to see the building beginning near St. Giles's [Map], where seven streets make a star from a Doric pillar placed in the middle of a circular area; said to be built by Mr. Neale, introducer of the late lotteries, in imitation of those at VeniceVenice [Map], now set up here, for himself twice, and now one for the State.
On 30th March 1695 Francis Howard 5th Baron Howard 1643-1695Francis Howard 5th Baron Howard [aged 51] died at Lingfield, SurreyLingfield, Surrey. He was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. His son HowardThomas [aged 13] succeeded 6th Baron Howard of EffinghamBaron Howard of Effingham.
Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans
Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On or before 14th January 1696, the date her burial at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map] was recorded, GageFrances Gage Lady Tresham died.
On 9th May 1698 John Rogers 2nd Baronet 1676-1744John Rogers 2nd Baronet [aged 21] and Mary Henley Lady Rogers were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. His father gave him the Blachford Estate at Cornwood, near Ivybridge.
On 20th February 1703 CaveThomas Cave 3rd Baronet [aged 21] and Verney BuckinghamshireMargaret Verney Lady Cave were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 1st August 1712 George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu 1712-1790George Brudenell aka Montagu 1st Duke Montagu was baptised at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 13th February 1718 George Brydges Rodney 1st Baron Rodney 1718-1792George Brydges Rodney 1st Baron Rodney was baptised at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
In 1818 Margaret Lanchester [aged 34] died. She was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].
On 11th February 1822 Arthur William Devis 1762-1822Arthur William Devis [aged 59] Died of Apoplexydied of apoplexy at Caroline Street Bedford Square CamdenCaroline Street Bedford Square Camden. He was buried at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map].