Paternal Family Tree: Anne Russell Countess Bristol
Maternal Family Tree: Anne Russell Countess Bristol
Before August 1616 [her father] Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford [aged 23] and [her mother] Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 36] were married.
Around 1620 Anne Russell Countess Bristol was born to Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford [aged 27] and Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 40].
On 3rd May 1627 Edward Russell 3rd Earl Bedford [aged 54] died at Moor Park, Hertfordshire. His succeeded first cousin [her father] Francis [aged 34] succeeded 4th Earl Bedford, 4th Baron Russell of Cheneys. [her mother] Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 47] by marriage Countess Bedford.
Before 1634 George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol [aged 21] and Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 13] were married. She the daughter of Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford [aged 40] and Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 53]. He the son of John Digby 1st Earl Bristol [aged 53] and Beatrice Walcott.
In 1634 [her son] John Digby 3rd Earl Bristol was born to [her husband] George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol [aged 21] and Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 14]. He married (1) 26th May 1656 Alice Bourne (2) on or after 13th July 1663 his fifth cousin once removed Rachel Wyndham Countess of Bristol.
On 11th July 1637 [her brother] William Russell 1st Duke Bedford [aged 20] and [her sister-in-law] Anne Carr Countess of Bedford [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of Robert Carr 1st Earl Somerset [aged 50] and Frances Howard Countess Essex and Somerset. He the son of [her father] Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford [aged 44] and [her mother] Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 57].
Before 1638 [her brother-in-law] Robert Greville 2nd Baron Brooke [aged 30] and [her sister] Catherine Russell Baroness Brooke were married. Catherine Russell Baroness Brooke by marriage Baroness Brooke of Beauchamps Court in Warwickshire. She the daughter of [her father] Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford [aged 44] and [her mother] Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 57]. They were half sixth cousins.
On 9th May 1641 [her father] Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford [aged 48] died. His succeeded son [her brother] William [aged 24] succeeded 5th Earl Bedford, 5th Baron Russell of Cheneys, 3rd Baron Russell of Thornhaugh. [her sister-in-law] Anne Carr Countess of Bedford [aged 25] by marriage Countess Bedford.
On 28th April 1642 [her brother-in-law] Francis Newport 1st Earl Bradford [aged 22] and [her sister] Diana Russell Countess Bradford were married at St Giles' in the Fields Church [Map]. She the daughter of [her father] Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford and [her mother] Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 62].
Around 1646 [her daughter] Anne Digby Countess Sunderland was born to [her husband] George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol [aged 33] and Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 26]. She married 9th June 1665 her half fifth cousin Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland, son of Henry Spencer 1st Earl of Sunderland and Dorothy Sidney Countess Sunderland, and had issue.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In 1647 Arthur Chichester 1st Earl Donegal [aged 40] was created 1st Earl Donegal. [her sister-in-law] Mary Digby Countess Donegal [aged 35] by marriage Countess Donegal.
On 8th July 1648 Edward Chichester 1st Viscount Chichester [aged 80] died. His succeeded son Arthur [aged 42] succeeded 2nd Viscount Chichester of Carrickfergus, 3rd Baron Chichester of Belfast. [her sister-in-law] Mary Digby Countess Donegal [aged 36] by marriage Viscountess Chichester of Carrickfergus.
On 5th November 1648 [her sister-in-law] Mary Digby Countess Donegal [aged 36] died in childbirth. She was buried at All Saints Church, Eggesford.
On 8th February 1651 Richard Newport 1st Baron Newport [aged 63] died. His succeeded son [her brother-in-law] Francis [aged 30] succeeded 2nd Baron Newport of High Ercall in Shropshire. [her sister] Diana Russell Countess Bradford by marriage Baroness Newport of High Ercall in Shropshire.
On 21st January 1653 [her father-in-law] John Digby 1st Earl Bristol [aged 72] died in Paris [Map]. His succeeded son [her husband] George [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Earl Bristol. Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 33] by marriage Countess Bristol.
On 26th May 1656 John Digby 3rd Earl Bristol [aged 22] and Alice Bourne were married. He the son of George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol [aged 43] and Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 36].
In 1657 [her mother] Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford [aged 77] died.
On or after 13th July 1663, the date of the licence, John Digby 3rd Earl Bristol [aged 29] and Rachel Wyndham Countess of Bristol [aged 18] were married. He the son of George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol [aged 50] and Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 43]. They were fifth cousin once removed.
On 9th June 1665 [her son-in-law] Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland [aged 23] and Anne Digby Countess Sunderland [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Countess of Sunderland. She the daughter of George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol [aged 52] and Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 45]. He the son of Henry Spencer 1st Earl of Sunderland and Dorothy Sidney Countess Sunderland [aged 47]. They were half fifth cousins.
In 1672 [her son] Francis Digby died.
On 11th March 1675 [her brother-in-law] Francis Newport 1st Earl Bradford [aged 55] was created 1st Viscount Newport of Bradford in Shropshire. [her sister] Diana Russell Countess Bradford by marriage Viscountess Newport of Bradford in Shropshire.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 1st December 1676 [her sister] Catherine Russell Baroness Brooke died.
On 20th March 1677 [her husband] George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol [aged 64] died. His succeeded son John [aged 43] succeeded 3rd Earl Bristol. Rachel Wyndham Countess of Bristol [aged 32] by marriage Countess Bristol.
John Evelyn's Diary. 15th January 1679. I went with my [her daughter] Lady Sunderland [aged 33] to Chelsea, and dined with the Countess of Bristol [aged 59] [her mother] in the great house, formerly the Duke of Buckingham's, a spacious and excellent place for the extent of ground and situation in a good air. The house is large but ill-contrived, though my [her former husband] Lord of Bristol, who purchased it after he sold Wimbledon to my Lord Treasurer [aged 46], expended much money on it. There were divers pictures of Titian and Vandyke, and some of Bassano, very excellent, especially an Adonis and Venus, a Duke of Venice, a butcher in his shambles selling meat to a Swiss; and of Vandyke, my Lord of Bristol's picture, with the Earl of Bedford's at length, in the same table. There was in the garden a rare collection of orange trees, of which she was pleased to bestow some upon me.
John Evelyn's Diary. 17th June 1679. Thence to Chelsea, to Sir Stephen Fox [aged 52], and my lady, in order to the purchase of the Countess of Bristol's [aged 59] house there, which she desired me to procure a chapman for.
John Evelyn's Diary. 8th November 1679. At Sir Stephen Fox's [aged 52], and was agreeing for the Countess of Bristol's [aged 59] house at Chelsea, within £500.
John Evelyn's Diary. 17th September 1681. I went with Monsieur Faubert about taking the Countess of Bristol's [aged 61] house for an academy, he being lately come from Paris for his religion, and resolving to settle here.
John Evelyn's Diary. 2nd August 1683. The Countesses of Bristol [aged 63] and Sunderland [aged 37], aunt and cousin-german of the late Lord Russell [deceased], came to visit me, and condole his sad fate. The next day, came Colonel Russell [aged 63], uncle to the late Lord Russell, and brother to the Earl of Bedford [aged 67], and with him Mrs. Middleton [aged 38], that famous and indeed incomparable beauty, daughter to my relation, Sir Robert Needham.
John Evelyn's Diary. 18th August 1688. The house, or rather palace, at Althorpe [Map], is a noble uniform pile in form of a half H, built of brick and freestone, balustered and à la moderne; the hall is well, the staircase excellent; the rooms of state, galleries, offices and furniture, such as may become a great prince. It is situated in the midst of a garden, exquisitely planted and kept, and all this in a park walled in with hewn stone, planted with rows and walks of trees, canals and fish ponds, and stored with game. And, what is above all this, governed by a lady [aged 42], who without any show of solicitude, keeps everything in such admirable order, both within and without, from the garret to the cellar, that I do not believe there is any in this nation, or in any other, that exceeds her in such exact order, without ostentation, but substantially great and noble. The meanest servant is lodged so neat and cleanly; the service at the several tables, the good order and decency-in a word, the entire economy is perfectly becoming a wise and noble person. She is one who for her distinguished esteem of me from a long and worthy friendship, I must ever honor and celebrate. I wish from my soul the Lord [aged 46], her husband (whose parts and abilities are otherwise conspicuous), was as worthy of her, as by a fatal apostasy and court-ambition he has made himself unworthy! This is what she deplores, and it renders her as much affliction as a lady of great soul and much prudence is capable of. The Countess of Bristol [aged 68], her mother, a grave and honorable lady, has the comfort of seeing her daughter and grandchildren under the same economy, especially Mr. Charles Spencer [aged 13], a youth of extraordinary hopes, very learned for his age, and ingenious, and under a Governor of great worth. Happy were it, could as much be said of the elder brother, the Robert Spencer, who, rambling about the world, dishonors both his name and his family, adding sorrow to sorrow to a mother, who has taken all imaginable care of his education. There is a Elizabeth Spencer Countess Clancarty [aged 17] very young married to the Earl of Clancarty [aged 20], who has a great and fair estate in Ireland, but who yet gives no great presage of worth,-so universally contaminated is the youth of this corrupt and abandoned age! But this is again recompensed by my Lord Arran [aged 30], a sober and worthy gentleman, who has espoused the Lady Ann Spencer [aged 21], a young lady of admirable accomplishments and virtue.
On 11th May 1694 [her brother-in-law] Francis Newport 1st Earl Bradford [aged 74] was created 1st Earl Bradford. [her sister] Diana Russell Countess Bradford by marriage Countess Bradford.
On 11th May 1694 [her brother] William Russell 1st Duke Bedford [aged 77] was created 1st Duke Bedford, 1st Marquess Tavistock.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 30th January 1695 [her sister] Diana Russell Countess Bradford died.
On 26th January 1697 Anne Russell Countess Bristol [aged 77] died.
Survey London Volume 4 Chelsea Part II. In the account in the Architectural Review (May, 1911) I have summarised the later history of the house as follows:-"After the great house had been occupied during the Commonwealth by the Parliamentary Commissioners, Sir Bulstrode Whitlocke and John Lisle, the second Duke of Buckingham regained possession. Lost to him, through his debts, the house ultimately passed (1674) into the hands of the trustees for George Digby, Earl of Bristol, and his Countess sold it in 1682 to Henry, Marquess of Worcester, afterwards Duke of Beaufort, the house remaining in his family until 1720. It was during this period, about the year 1699, that Kip's beautiful view of the mansion - now called Beaufort House - was published, a priceless record of the property, so ruthlessly defaced and destroyed by Sir Hans Sloane after he purchased it in 1737. Mr. Randall Davies, whom I have followed in the account of the occupants of the house, has printed the interesting conveyance of the property to Sloane, and if its description is carefully collated with the information in Kip's view, one is struck by the wonderful accuracy of the latter. Here is the great house as shown by Thorpe, its lodges and its forecourts, the wharf, with its brick towers east and west, the orchard and 'one garden environed with brick walls … and a terrace on the north end, with a banqueting house on the east end of the terrace,' as well as 'one great garden … extending from the terrace and banqueting house into the highway on the north.' This banqueting house is alike in detail to the sketch of 'a summer house, Chelsea,' in the Smithson collection of seventeenth-century drawings, now in the possession of Colonel Coke. But valuable as is the representation of the great house, the print has much more information to give us. The great park is there shown in all its original beauty; the Duke of Beaufort's stables and yard, since converted into the historic chapel and burying ground of the Moravians is to the west; and nearer the river the beautiful Jacobean house of Sir Arthur Gorges (our sole evidence of its character and design) and the house and gardens of the Earls of Lindsey. And to the east, below the wide area of Dovecote Close, laid out as a huge kitchen garden, are the fine pleasure grounds of Danvers House, which had been destroyed but three years before the drawing was published.".
[her daughter] Diana Digby was born to George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol and Anne Russell Countess Bristol.
[her son] Francis Digby was born to George Digby 2nd Earl Bristol and Anne Russell Countess Bristol.
Kings Wessex: Great x 17 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 9 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King William I of Scotland
Kings France: Great x 11 Grand Daughter of King Philip III of France
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Kings Spain: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of Alfonso II King Aragon
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Russell 
Great x 3 Grandfather: James Russell
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Russell 1st Earl Bedford
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Wise
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Wise
Great x 1 Grandfather: Francis Russell 2nd Earl Bedford
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Sapcote
Great x 3 Grandfather: Guy Sapcote of Thornhaugh, Bedfordshire
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne de Semarc
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Sapcote Countess Bedford
GrandFather: William Russell 1st Baron Russell 9 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John St John 
7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John St John 8 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Bradshaigh
Great x 2 Grandfather: John St John 9 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Morgan ap Jenkin Lord of Langstone
Great x 3 Grandmother: Sybil of Lansgtone Manor
Great x 1 Grandmother: Margaret St John Countess Bedford 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Waldegrave 
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Waldegrave
Great x 2 Grandmother: Margaret Waldegrave 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Wentworth 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Margery Wentworth 6 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Howard 
5 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Father: Francis Russell 4th Earl Bedford 10 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
GrandMother: Elizabeth Long Baroness Russel Thornhaugh
Anne Russell Countess Bristol 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Brugge 5th Baron Chandos
Great x 3 Grandfather: Giles Brugge 6th Baron Chandos
Great x 4 Grandmother: Florence Darrell Baroness Chandos
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Brydges 1st Baron Chandos
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Baynham
Great x 3 Grandmother: Isabel Baynham Baroness Chandos
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edmund Brydges 2nd Baron Chandos 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Grey 8th Baron Grey of Wilton 
3 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Grey 9th Baron Grey of Wilton 4 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Grey Baroness Grey Wilton 3 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Grey Baroness Chandos 5 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Hastings 
6 x Great Grand Son of King William I of Scotland
Great x 3 Grandmother: Florence Hastings Baroness Grey Wilton 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King William I of Scotland
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Tattershall
GrandFather: Giles Brydges 3rd Baron Chandos 7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Bray of Eaton Bray 
Great x 2 Grandfather: Edmund Braye 1st Baron Braye
Great x 1 Grandmother: Dorothy Braye Baroness Chandos and Knollys 11 x Great Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Halwell of Halwell in Devon
Great x 2 Grandmother: Jane Halwell Baroness Bray 10 x Great Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Great x 4 Grandfather: John IV Norbury 
8 x Great Grand Son of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Great x 3 Grandmother: Jane Norbury 9 x Great Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Mother: Catherine Brydges Countess Bedford 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Clinton 6th Baron Clinton 
7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Clinton 7th Baron Clinton 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Stafford Baroness Clinton 
10 x Great Grand Daughter of King David I of Scotland
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Clinton 8th Baron Clinton 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Morgan of Tredegar 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Morgan Baroness Clinton 13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Martha Vaughan 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Clinton 1st Earl Lincoln 8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Poynings 
5 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Poynings 6 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Paston 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Jane Poynings Baroness Clinton 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
GrandMother: Anne Clinton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: William Stourton 2nd Baron Stourton 
7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edward Stourton 6th Baron Stourton 8 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Chideock 7 x Great Grand Daughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Stourton 7th Baron Stourton 9 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Ursula Stourton Baroness Clinton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Dudley 
6 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Edmund Dudley 7 x Great Grand Son of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Bramshott
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Dudley Baroness Stourton 8 x Great Grand Daughter of King John of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Windsor
Great x 3 Grandmother: Anne Windsor