On 20th May 1726 Francis Cotes was born to Robert Cotes.
Around 1741 Francis Cotes [aged 14] was apprenticed to George Knapton [aged 43] before establishing is own business in Cork Street.
1756. Francis Cotes [aged 29]. Portrait of Rhoda Delaval [aged 30].
1759 to 1760. Francis Cotes [aged 32]. Portrait of George Grey 5th Earl Stamford 1st Earl Warrington [aged 21].
1761. Francis Cotes [aged 34]. Portrait of Orlando Bridgeman 4th Baronet [aged 65].
1762. Francis Cotes [aged 35]. Portrait of Elizabeth Rushout [aged 32].
Elizabeth Rushout: Around 1730 she was born to John Rushout 4th Baronet and Anne Compton Lady Rushout. In 1761 Richard Myddelton and she were married. In 1772 Elizabeth Rushout died.
1762. Francis Cotes [aged 35]. Portrait of Pryse Campbell [aged 35].
Pryse Campbell: In 1727 he was born to John Campbell and Mary Pryse. On 20th September 1752 Pryse Campbell and Sarah Bacon were married. On 14th December 1768 Pryse Campbell died.
1762. Francis Cotes [aged 35]. Portrait of Sarah Bacon [aged 36].
Sarah Bacon: In 1726 she was born to Edmund Bacon 6th Baronet and Mary Kemp Lady Bacon. In 1770 Sarah Bacon died.
1762. Francis Cotes [aged 35]. Portrait of Richard Myddelton [aged 36].
In 1763 Francis Cotes [aged 36] puchased a house in Cavendish Square Marylebone.
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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1764. Francis Cotes [aged 37]. Portrait of Maria Walpole Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 27].
1765. Francis Cotes [aged 38]. Portrait of John Hobart 2nd Earl Buckinghamshire [aged 41].
In 1765 Francis Cotes [aged 38]. Portrait of Stephen Fox-Strangways 1st Earl of Ilchester [aged 60].
In 1765 Francis Cotes [aged 38]. Portrait of Maria Walpole Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 28].
In 1765 Francis Cotes [aged 38]. Portrait of (probably) Anne Dutton.
Anne Dutton: Around 1448 she was born to Thomas Dutton and Anne Tuchet. On 11th July 1463 Thomas Molyneux and she were married. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward I of England. On 22nd October 1520 Anne Dutton died.
1767. Francis Cotes [aged 40]. Portrait of Robert Burdett 4th Baronet [aged 50].
1767 to 1770. Francis Cotes [aged 40]. Portrait of Mary Wicker Lady Boughton.
Mary Wicker Lady Boughton: On 1st August 1766 Thomas Broughton 6th Baronet and she were married. She by marriage Lady Broughton of Broughton in Staffordshire. In 1785 she died.
1768. Francis Cotes [aged 41]. Portrait of Mary Wright Lady Cunliffe.
Mary Wright Lady Cunliffe: she was born to Ichabod Wright of Nottingham. In 1752 Robert Cunliffe 2nd Baronet and she were married. On 16th October 1767 Ellis Cunliffe 1st Baronet died. His brother Robert succeeded 2nd Baronet Cunliffe of Liverpool in Lancaster. She by marriage Lady Cunliffe of Liverpool in Lancaster. On 19th February 1791 she died.
1768. Francis Cotes [aged 41]. Portrait of Robert Cunliffe 2nd Baronet [aged 48].
On 10th December 1768 the Royal Academy was founded through a personal act of King George III [aged 30] "to establish a school or academy of design for the use of students in the arts" with an annual exhibition.
The founder members included:
Joshua Reynolds [aged 45]; President.
Angelica Kauffmann [aged 27]; one of two female founding members.
Nathaniel Dance-Holland [aged 33]
Francis Cotes [aged 42]
Thomas Gainsborough [aged 41]
William Tyler [aged 40]
William Hoare [aged 61]
Johan Joseph Zoffany [aged 35].
1769. Francis Cotes [aged 42]. Portrait of John Jervis 1st Earl St Vincent [aged 33].
Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes
Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.
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1769. Francis Cotes [aged 42]. Portrait of Edward Astley 4th Baronet [aged 39].
Before 1770. Francis Cotes [aged 43]. Portrait of Edward Knatchbull 7th Baronet [aged 65].
Before 16th July 1770 Francis Cotes [aged 44]. Portrait of Alice Ibbetson Countess Shipbrook.
Before 16th July 1770 Francis Cotes [aged 44]. Portrait of Charlotte Walpole Countess Dysart [aged 32].
Before 16th July 1770 Francis Cotes [aged 44]. Portrait of Brownlow Cust 1st Baron Brownlow [aged 25].
Before 16th July 1770 Francis Cotes [aged 44]. Portrait of Elizabeth Cust.
Elizabeth Cust: she was born to John Cust 3rd Baronet and Etheldreda Payne Lady Cust. On 30th July 1743 Philip Yorke and she were married.
Before 16th July 1770 Francis Cotes [aged 44]. Portrait of Laura Walpole.
Laura Walpole: she was born illegitimately to Edward Walpole and Dorothy Clement. On 13th September 1758 Bishop Frederick Keppel and she were married. He the son of William Anne Keppel 2nd Earl Albermarle and Anne Lennox Countess Albermarle. On 27th July 1813 Laura Walpole died.
Before 16th July 1770 Francis Cotes [aged 44]. Portrait of Harry Powlett 6th Duke Bolton [aged 49].
Harry Powlett 6th Duke Bolton: On 6th November 1720 he was born to Harry Powlett 4th Duke Bolton and Catherine Parry. On 8th April 1765 Harry Powlett 6th Duke Bolton and Katherine Lowther Duchess of Bolton were married. He the son of Harry Powlett 4th Duke Bolton and Catherine Parry. On 5th July 1765 Charles Powlett 5th Duke Bolton committed suicide at Grosvenor Square, Belgravia shooting himself in the head with a pistol. His brother Harry succeeded 6th Duke Bolton, 11th Marquess Winchester, 11th Earl Wiltshire, 11th Baron St John. Katherine Lowther Duchess of Bolton by marriage Duchess Bolton. On 25th December 1794 Harry Powlett 6th Duke Bolton died without male issue. Duke Bolton extinct. His third cousin once removed George succeeded 12th Marquess Winchester, 12th Earl Wiltshire, 12th Baron St John. Martha Ingoldsby Marchioness Winchester by marriage Marchioness Winchester. Most of his estates including Bolton Castle [Map] were inherited by his elder brother's illegitimate daughter Jean Mary whose husband Thomas Orde added the surname Powlett to his own.
On 16th July 1770 Francis Cotes [aged 44] died.