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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Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne is in Earl.
In 1646 John Lyon 2nd Earl Kinghorne [aged 50] died. His son Patrick [aged 2] succeeded 3rd Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 23rd August 1662 Patrick Lyon 3rd Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 19] and Helen Middleton Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne. She the daughter of John Middleton 1st Earl Middleton [aged 54] and Grizel Durham Countess Middleton. He the son of John Lyon 2nd Earl Kinghorne and Elizabeth Maule Countess Kinghorne and Linlithgow.
On 15th May 1695 Patrick Lyon 3rd Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 51] died. His son John [aged 32] succeeded 4th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne. Elizabeth Stanhope Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 32] by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne.
In 1712 John Lyon 4th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 49] died. His son John [aged 15] succeeded 5th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 13th November 1715 John Campbell 2nd Duke Argyll [aged 35] commanded a british army against an army of Jacobites commanded by John Erskine 23rd Earl of Mar [aged 40]. The outcome of the battle was inconclusive.
John Lyon 5th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 19] was killed fighting for the Jacobites. His brother Charles [aged 16] succeeded 6th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
Jacobite James Livingston 5th Earl Linlithgow 4th Earl Callendar commanded a Squadron of Horse.
On 11th May 1728 Charles Lyon 6th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 28] was killed accidentally. Two days previously he had been attending a funeral after which, drunk, he and friends adjourned to a tavern. During a scuffle resulting from high spirits he was accidentally wounded by a sword thrust intended for his friend who he had pushed aside dying forty nine hours later. The subsquent murder trial established the "not guilty" verdict (in addition to "proven" and "not proven") in Scots Law and the right of Scots juries to try the whole case and not just the facts known as Jury Nullification.
James Lyon 7th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 25] succeeded 7th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 4th January 1735 James Lyon 7th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 32] died without issue. His brother Thomas [aged 30] succeeded 8th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 20th June 1736 Thomas Lyon 8th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 32] and Jean Nicholson were married at Houghton le Spring, County Durham. She by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne. He the son of John Lyon 4th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne and Elizabeth Stanhope Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 18th January 1753 Thomas Lyon 8th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 49] died. His son John [aged 15] succeeded 9th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 24th February 1767 John Lyon 9th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 29] and Mary Bowes Countess Strathmore [aged 18] were married. She by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne. He the son of Thomas Lyon 8th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne and Jean Nicholson.
On 7th March 1776 John Lyon 9th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 38] died. His son John [aged 6] succeeded 10th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 3rd July 1820 John Lyon 10th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 51] died. His brother Thomas [aged 47] succeeded 11th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne. Marianna Cheape Countess Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 47] by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne.
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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On 27th August 1846 Thomas Lyon Bowes 11th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 73] died. His grandson Thomas [aged 23] succeeded 12th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 30th April 1850 Thomas Lyon Bowes 12th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 27] and Charlotte Maria Barrington Countess of Strathmore [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne. They were third cousins. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 13th September 1865 Thomas Lyon Bowes 12th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 42] died. His brother Claude [aged 41] succeeded 13th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne. Frances Dora Smith Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 33] by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 16th February 1904 Claude Bowes-Lyon 13th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 79] died at Bordighera, Imperia. His son Claude [aged 48] succeeded 14th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne. Cecilia Nina Cavendish-Bentinck Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 41] by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 7th November 1944 Claude Bowes-Lyon 14th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 89] died. His son Patrick [aged 60] succeeded 15th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne. Dorothy Beatrix Godolphin Osborne [aged 55] by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne.
On 25th May 1949 Patrick Bowes-Lyon 15th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 64] died at Angus. His son Timothy [aged 31] succeeded 16th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne.