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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Woking, Surrey is in Surrey.
In 1583 Richard Drake [aged 48] leased the manor of Woking, Surrey from Charles Howard 1st Earl Nottingham [aged 47].
On 6th July 1901 William James Stillman [aged 73] died at Frimley Green, Surrey. He was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking.
On 15th January 1917 William Frend De Morgan [aged 77] died. He was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking.
On 2nd May 1919 Evelyn de Morgan aka Mary Evelyn Pickering [aged 63] died. She was buried in the same grave of her husband William Frend De Morgan at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking. Her headstone, which depicts 'an angel with outstretched arms, pleading with a female figure of Death, with inverted torch, who turns her back', was carved by George Frampton [aged 58].
On 6th March 1927 Marie Spartali aka Stillman [aged 82] died at Ashburn Place, Kensington. She was buried with her husband at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking.
On 11th March 1993 Charles Francis Sweeny [aged 83] died. He was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking.
On 25th July 1993 Margaret Whigham Duchess of Argyll [aged 80] died at St George's Nursing Home, Pimlico. She was buried with her first husband Charles Francis Sweeny, who had died four months before, at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking.
John Evelyn's Diary. 23rd August 1681. The seat stands on a flat, the ground pasture, rarely watered, and exceedingly improved since Mr. Onslow [aged 39] bought it of Sir Robert Parkhurst, who spent a fair estate. The house is timber, but commodious, and with one ample dining-room, the hall adorned with paintings of fowl and huntings, etc., the work of Mr. Barlow, who is excellent in this kind from the life.
John Evelyn's Diary. 23rd August 1681. I went to Wotton, Surrey [Map], and, on the following day, was invited to Mr. Denzil Onslow's [aged 39] at his seat at Purford, where was much company, and such an extraordinary feast, as I had hardly seen at any country gentleman's table. What made it more remarkable was, that there was not anything save what his estate about it did afford; as venison, rabbits, hares, pheasants, partridges, pigeons, quails, poultry, all sorts of fowl in season from his own decoy near his house, and all sorts of fresh fish. After dinner we went to see sport at the decoy, where I never saw so many herons.
St Peter's Church, Woking is also in Churches in Surrey.
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.
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On 7th June 1634 Edward Zouche of Woking [aged 46] died. In his will, he requested that he be buried at St Peter's Church, Woking [Map] 'at night'. There is a Latin memorial inscription to Zouch placed by his wife in St Peter's Church, noting his court position as "Marescalli Aulici", or "Marshall of the Household".