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.
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Stonehenge Landscape is in Amesbury Hundred, Wiltshire.
On 5th July 1912 Eustace Broke Loraine [aged 32] died in a plane crash at Airmans's Corner [Map]. The first Royal Flying Corps officer to be killed in an aircraft crash while flying on duty. A cross was erected at the site but has since been relocated to the Stonehenge Vistors Centre.
Newcastle Evening Chronicle, 6 July 1912: "Aviation Tragedy. How the Accident Occurred. The inquest was held at Bulford Camp Hospital, Salisbury Plain, yesterday evening on Capt Eustace Brooke Loraine, 33, and Staff-Sergt. Wilson, 29, victims of the Army aeroplane accident. Capt. Loraine was in the Grenadier Guards, and Wilson in the Royal Engineers, and both were attached to the Flying Corps. A verdict of accidental death was returned."
