Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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Chancellor of the Exchequer is in Exchequer.
Before May 1268 Godfrey Giffard Bishop of Worcester (age 33) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
On 3rd December 1312 Bishop John Hotham was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
On 28th January 1327 Bishop John Hotham was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In 1331 Robert de Stratford (age 39) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
On 31st January 1410 Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter (age 33) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer which position he held until 1411.
In 1454 Thomas Witham (age 34) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by King Henry VI of England and II of France (age 32).
In 1456 Thomas Witham (age 36) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by King Henry VI of England and II of France (age 34) for life.
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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In 1461 Thomas Witham's (age 41) appointment as Chancellor of the Exchequer was confirmed by King Edward IV of England (age 18).
Patent Rolls. 20th April 1461. York [Map]. Grant for life to Thomas Witham (age 41) of the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the accustomed fees.
Close Rolls Edward IV Edward V Richard III 1476-1485. 30th June 1483 William Catesby (age 33) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. King Richard III of England (age 30). Westminster Palace [Map] Grant for life to William Catesby, esquire, of the office of Baron of the Exchequer, receiving the accustomed fees at the Exchequer or the receipt of the Exchequer, with all rights, profits and commodities. By p.s.
On 12th October 1485 Thomas Lovell was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
On 14th July 1524 John Bourchier 2nd Baron Berners (age 57) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
After 21st April 1566 Walter Mildmay (age 45) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer and Auditor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
In 1672 John Duncombe Chancellor (age 50) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.
John Evelyn's Diary. 1st September 1672. I spent this week in soliciting for moneys, and in reading to my Lord Clifford (age 42) my papers relating to the first Holland war. Now, our Council of Plantations met at Lord Shaftesbury's (age 51) (Chancellor of the Exchequer) to read and reform the draft of our new Patent, joining the Council of Trade to our political capacities. After this, I returned home, in order to another excursion to the seaside, to get as many as possible of the men who were recovered on board the fleet.
In 1701 Henry Boyle 1st Baron Carleton (age 31) was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer.