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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Baron Coventry is in Baronies of England Alphabetically, Baronies of England Chronologically, Extinct Baronies of England.
Summary
10th April 1628. Thomas Coventry 1st Baron Coventry [aged 50] created.
14th January 1640. Son Thomas Coventry 2nd Baron Coventry [aged 34] succeeded.
27th October 1661. Son George Coventry 3rd Baron Coventry [aged 33] succeeded.
15th December 1680. Son John Coventry 4th Baron Coventry [aged 26] succeeded.
1687. Uncle Thomas Coventry 1st Earl Coventry [aged 58] succeeded.
15th July 1699. Son Thomas Coventry 2nd Earl Coventry [aged 37] succeeded.
August 1710. Son Thomas Coventry 3rd Earl Coventry [aged 8] succeeded.
28th January 1712. Uncle Gilbert Coventry 4th Earl Coventry [aged 44] succeeded.
27th October 1719. William Coventry 5th Earl Coventry [aged 43] extinct.
On 10th April 1628 Thomas Coventry 1st Baron Coventry [aged 50] was created 1st Baron Coventry. Elizabeth Aldersley Baroness Coventry [aged 48] by marriage Baroness Coventry.
On 14th January 1640 Thomas Coventry 1st Baron Coventry [aged 62] died. His son Thomas [aged 34] succeeded 2nd Baron Coventry.
On 18th July 1653 George Coventry 3rd Baron Coventry [aged 25] and Margaret Tufton Baroness Coventry [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Baroness Coventry. She the daughter of John Tufton 2nd Earl of Thanet [aged 44] and Margaret Sackville Countess Isle Thanet [aged 39].
On 27th October 1661 Thomas Coventry 2nd Baron Coventry [aged 55] died at Lincoln's Inn Fields. He was buried at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Croome D'Abitot [Map]. His son George [aged 33] succeeded 3rd Baron Coventry.
On 15th December 1680 George Coventry 3rd Baron Coventry [aged 52] died. His son John [aged 26] succeeded 4th Baron Coventry.
In 1687 John Coventry 4th Baron Coventry [aged 33] died. His uncle Thomas [aged 58] succeeded 5th Baron Coventry.
On 15th July 1699 Thomas Coventry 1st Earl Coventry [aged 70] died. His son Thomas [aged 37] succeeded 2nd Earl Coventry, 6th Baron Coventry. Anne Somerset Countess Coventry [aged 25] by marriage Countess Coventry. He was buried in St Mary Magdalene's Church, Croome D'Abitot [Map].
The Monument in St Mary the Virgin Church, Elmley [Map] was commissioned by his second wife [aged 29] for installation at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Croome D'Abitot [Map] but it rejected by his son. She, apparently, being somewhat imaginative in the inscription describing her provenance to from the Graham family. She was the daughter of Richard Grimes, a mean person, by trade a Turner, and sister of Richard Grimes, a Waterman. She had been niece of the Earl's housekeep, and a servant in his household, and he had married her in his declined old age: "Elizabeth, Countess by her dower right, descended from the noble family of the Grahams, daughter of Richard, son of Richard Graham of the County of Norfolk, Esquire, who valiantly fought as a captain for King Charles I. She placed this, a token of sincere love and utmost respect, as a final pledge of her soul, mourning deeply, in gratitude for the tender affection shown to her by her lord and husband—though blessed with no children. And after her death, she desired that her body be laid here with her most beloved husband."
"Elizabeth comitissa eius dotaria e nobili Grahamorum familia prognatta Richardi filii Ricardi Graham de Com. Norff. Armi. pro rege Carolo Primo strenue dimicantis capitanei, filia; Hoc amoris sinceri, summæ observantiæ gratio demun animi pignus, pro tenerrimo dni et mariti erga se affectu nulla licet beata prole, moestissima posuit; et post obitum corpus suum cum dilectissimo marito hic recondi voluit."
Monument including a white marble figure elbow reclining on a deep chest in front of a lengthy inscription and under an arch crowned with armorial bearings. Large sub-figures flank the chest and the armorial bearings. Earl's coronet. Signed by William Stanton [aged 60]. Powdered Wig. Heeled Shoes. Buckled Shoes.
Thomas Coventry 2nd Earl Coventry: Around 1662 he was born to Thomas Coventry 1st Earl Coventry and Winifred Edgecumbe. In 1691 Thomas Coventry 2nd Earl Coventry and Anne Somerset Countess Coventry were married. She the daughter of Henry Somerset 1st Duke Beaufort and Mary Capell Duchess Beaufort. He the son of Thomas Coventry 1st Earl Coventry and Winifred Edgecumbe. They were sixth cousins. In August 1710 Thomas Coventry 2nd Earl Coventry died. His son Thomas succeeded 3rd Earl Coventry, 7th Baron Coventry.
Anne Somerset Countess Coventry: On 22nd July 1673 she was born to Henry Somerset 1st Duke Beaufort and Mary Capell Duchess Beaufort. On 14th February 1763 Anne Somerset Countess Coventry died at Snitterfield, Warwickshire.
In August 1710 Thomas Coventry 2nd Earl Coventry [aged 48] died. His son Thomas [aged 8] succeeded 3rd Earl Coventry, 7th Baron Coventry.
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 28th January 1712 Thomas Coventry 3rd Earl Coventry [aged 10] died at Eton College [Map]. His uncle Gilbert [aged 44] succeeded 4th Earl Coventry, 8th Baron Coventry.
On 27th October 1719 Gilbert Coventry 4th Earl Coventry [aged 51] died. His half second cousin once removed William [aged 43] succeeded 5th Earl Coventry. Baron Coventry extinct.