Roger Whitley's Diary 1690 September is in Roger Whitley's Diary 1690.
1st September 1690. Monday, after dinner I & my sonne [aged 39] went to Chester, alighted at Jacksons; there was Drinkwater, he took a glasse of wine & left me; Crosse came to give me account of the building, stayd not; Danold trimmed me; then came Farington, then the Governor & another with him; then Mercer & the Commissioner about buying wheate (the Governor & his frind left us) then came Fernagh, Kinaston, Rob. Anderson, Alderman Wright; I left them past 6; called at Ephraim Bennets; there was Fletcher the tanner; we had a tankard of ale & went immediately away; came home about 8.
2nd September 1690. Tuesday, about 5 came Hardwar & another (stranger to me) with him; past 6, Mainwaring daughter & children retorned from Peover; I sent Nixon in the morning to visit Sir Robert Cotton & the coachman to Chester.
3rd September 1690. Wednesday, I sent Nixon to welcome Sir John Crew home; Mainwaring,&c. went to visit him in the afternoone; retorned at 8.
4th September 1690. Thursday, Mr Richard Warburton & one Bosier came about 12; they dined with us; also Farington, Morgan & Jackson; they went about 7; Morgan stayd all night.
5th September 1690. Friday, my sonne [aged 39], his wife, & Sidney went to Chester about 10; Mainwaring & Morgan went after them; whilest we were at dinner Bidolph & Traverse came from Staffordshire; Crews man came to see us; Hardwar came in the evening, went past 6; Mainwaring sonne, &c. came about 8, from Chester.
6th September 1690. Satorday, Huson went about 10 to Chester; Crew came about 3 (Barker a minister with him) they went about 6.
7th September 1690. Sonday, I was not at church; Traverse dined with us.
8th September 1690. Monday, I, sonne [aged 39], Bidolph, Mainwaring, daughters, sisters, &c. went to Chester, dined at Jacksons; there Danold trimmed me; the yonger Wilbraham came to me about his fathers money; Gleg came after dinner, stayd not long; I & Bidolph went to Angells; I went thence to G.Mainwaring's [aged 47] saw Mr Bartley; thence I went to the almeshouses; there was Crosse, Mercer, Rummer Tavern, Morris, Pack, Cotton, Jones, 2 Bostocks, 3 Bricklayers; I gave them a dosen of ale at the widdow's; Mr Browne came to us as we were parting; I & Mercer called on Anderson, dranck a tankerd of ale with him & his wife; went thence to Jacksons, met Taylor in the streete, took him with me, discoursed him awhile in the kitchen; also Wilbraham (who payed Crosse 10 li in part of rent) the Governor, Major, Bidolph, Mainwaring my sonne, Parry, Morgan,&c. were in the parlor & cosen Whitley (who dined with us); the Governor & Major went presently & we soone after; retorned to Peele about 8.
9th September 1690. Tuesday, Huson went to Frodesly; Tomkinson & the carts to Dysert; Morgan (about 11) to Chester; Bolton (& one Smith) from Tatenhall dined with us; went about 3; Sefton of Barrow came abt 5 to recommend a servant: I took phisick; the husbandman & howsekeeper came this evening;.
10th September 1690. Wednesday, Mainwaring went to Edisbury's; Bidolph & sonne [aged 39] & Morgan went a setting in afternoone; Traverse came back with them & supt; a man of Whitchurch brought venison from Frodesley.
11th September 1690. Thursday, Bidolph Morgan & sonne [aged 39] went a coursing; Traverse came with them home,& dined; after dinner I, sonne, Bidolph & Morgan went to Utkington; there was Crew, Church, Damport, Huxley, another (a stranger),&c. we came at 4, parted at 6; came home; Mainwaring came back after I was in bed; the gardner went to Warburton with venison.
The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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13th September 1690. Satorday, I went to Chester with Bidolph; Nat. Lee went with us; Mainwaring, my sonne [aged 39], & Morgan went before; we dined at Wrights; Warburton with us; Danold trimmed me; Vicars came to us; for a while. I went to the Bishop (Farington with me) about 4; met him on the staires going to the Quire; then I went to Jacksons; there was the Governor, the Ajutant, Warburton, Farington, Kinaston, Streete, &c. we parted before 6; Bidolph & I came home; Mainwaring my sonne & Lee came to Peele after supper; I found at Peele brother Peter's sonne & one Jervas, they came from London; were going for Ireland, &c.
14th September 1690. Sonday, I went to church in the afternoone, &c. Cadwallader brought venison, &
15th September 1690. Monday, Mainwaring went to Peover early; Anderson, Edwards & Basnet dined with us, retorned about 5; Basnet from Shotwick, Cheshire, & Lady Calveley's tenant (at Lee) dined in the buttry; after dinner Bolton & one Hodskin came from Tatenhall; Basnet stayd all night; the rest went back; brother Peter's sonne [aged 39] & Jarvis went to Chester (about 4) my 2 sisters with them.
16th September 1690. Tuesday, Basnet having agreed with Huson went back betimes & Cadwallader retorned to Frodesly.
17th September 1690. Wednesday, the fast day; we went to church about 12 & retorned past 3; Traverse supt with us. Mainwaring retorned past 8.
18th September 1690. Thursday, G.Mainwaring [aged 47], Deane & Angell dined with us; also Traverse; they retorned in the evening.
20th September 1690. Satorday, Bid0lph went towards Elmehurst past 8; Huson & Tomkinson went thither about 7; MainwarinG. & I before 10; we lighted at Wrights, went to Jacksons; was trimmed by Warminham, dined with the Bishop:(I, Mainwaring,:Mainwaring, his Chaplaine & secretary) went past 3 to the almeshouses, then to Anderson; then to the Sunne; there was 2 Mainswarings, Deane, Johnson, Murray, Mercer, Kinaston, Wright, Vicars, Morgan, Parry,&c: parted about 7, Mainwaring & Morgan with me; went home; William Minshall came & stayd.
21st September 1690. Sonday, Tomkinson went to Staffordshire; Minshall dined, went after dinner to Chester; Mainwaring, Morgan & I to church.
22nd September 1690. Monday, Mainwaring went to Chester after dinner; a man [came] with some plants from Aston; Bolton came from Tatenhall about renewing his lease; about 4 came brother Robinson to see us; stayd all night.
24th September 1690. Wednesday, Mainwaring & I went to Chester (Robinson with us, & soe home) we alighted at Jacksons; went to G.Mainwaring's [aged 47] Farington with us; then G.Mainwaring & I went to the Penthouse; Mainwaring came after us; there we found the Mayor, Ince, Anderson, Edwards, Randle Batho, & the officers; I discoursed them about the Election of a new Mayor; & how inconvenient it would be to choose me, &c. then I went with Streete (who came to the Penthouse) to Angells; then to the Sunne; there we dined with 2 Mainwarings, 2 Andersons, Farington, Baroby, Comberbach, Kinaston, Deane, Murray, Randle Batho, &c. after dinner came Hannibal Baskerville, Crosse, &c. then Streete & I went to the almeshouses, Mercer with us; Cotton, Rummer Tavern & Thomas had 3 quarts of ale; then went to Jacksons; there was 2 Mainwarings, Baroby, Hannibal Baskerville, Herle, Cockaine, &c. we parted past 7, came home before 9.
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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25th September 1690. Thursday, Hardwar came about 11; stayd not; Tomkinson retorned from Staffordshire; Lady Allen, her sister & daughters, Angell & my 3 sisters Crew, Ely, G.Mainwaring [aged 47], Streete, Jackson, 2 Griffiths, &c. dined with us; there was also Bradshaw; Chetwood came about 5; they all went before night.
27th September 1690. Satorday, Mainwaring went early towards London; Huson retorned from Alrey; Lee & Morgan went to Chester; I & my sonne [aged 39] after them past 10; we alighted at the Talbot; met Streete & others at the doore; he went with me to Danold the barber, who trimmed me; G.Mainwaring [aged 47] came to us; I went & dined with him; my sonne & Streete & his wife, sister & daughter dined with us; neare 3 I went to Angells, did not stay, went with G.Mainwaring & Streete to meete the Judges; which we did at the Bridge; went after them to the Castle; there was the Sheriffe, Governor, Cotton, Crew, &c. I made the Governor a visit, there was Lord Chomly, Egerton, Warburton, Bell, &c. we drank a glasse of wine (standing) I & the 2 Aldermen left them; they went with me to Jackson's; there was Minshall, Baroby, Nat. Booth, Hannibal Baskerville, my sonne, Morgan,&c. Ned Morgan came thither as we were parting, my sonne & I went before 6, came home past 7.
28th September 1690. Sonday, I was not at church; no company with us all day.
29th September 1690. Monday, Huson, Tomkinson, &c. went to Chester to sell cattle, horses, wooll, &c. Ned the postilion & the kitchenmayd went away; one Cooper came from Shrewsbery about a debt of Rogers; came at 11, dined, & went before 2; a carpenter came from Mr Ellis Lloyd to see our cydermill; went againe before dinner; no other company.
30th September 1690. Tuesday, Bolton came about 11 for money for marling; that evening Bidolph came from Elmehurst.