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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Earl Chatham is in Earldoms of England Alphabetically, Earldoms of England Chronologically, Extinct Earldoms of England.
Summary
4th August 1766. William "The Elder" Pitt 1st Earl Chatham (age 57) created.
11th May 1778. Son John Pitt 2nd Earl Chatham (age 21) succeeded.
24th September 1835. John Pitt 2nd Earl Chatham extinct.
On 4th August 1766 William "The Elder" Pitt 1st Earl Chatham (age 57) was created 1st Earl Chatham. Hester Granville Countess Chatham (age 45) by marriage Countess Chatham.
On 11th May 1778 William "The Elder" Pitt 1st Earl Chatham (age 69) died. His son John (age 21) succeeded 2nd Earl Chatham. He was initally bured at Hayes. After an address by the Commons to the king praying that the deceased statesman might be buried with the honours of a public funeral a sum was voted for a public monument which was erected over a new grave in Westminster Abbey. The monument, by the sculptor John Bacon, has a figure of Pitt above statues of Britannia and Neptune with figures representing Prudence, Fortitude, the Earth and also a sea creature. See Photograph by John Benjamin Stone
On 10th July 1783 John Pitt 2nd Earl Chatham (age 26) and Mary Elizabeth Townshend Countess Chatham were married. She by marriage Countess Chatham. He the son of William "The Elder" Pitt 1st Earl Chatham and Hester Granville Countess Chatham (age 62). They were half fifth cousin once removed.
On 24th September 1835 John Pitt 2nd Earl Chatham (age 78) died. Earl Chatham, Baron Chatham of Chatham in Kent extinct.