In 1646 John Riley was born to William Riley.
Around 1661 John Riley [aged 15] studied under Gilbert Soest [aged 56] from whom he learned a style of portraiture which rendered his portraits noteworthy.
Before 29th January 1663. John Riley [aged 17]. Portrait of Bishop Robert Sanderson [aged 75].
Before 25th July 1667, the date he was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map], [his father] William Riley died.
Around 1670. John Riley [aged 24]. Portrait of James Scott 1st Duke Monmouth 1st Duke Buccleuch [aged 20].
Around 1680 John Riley [aged 34] was assisted by John Closterman [aged 20] who finished several of Riley's pictures after his death.
Before 16th May 1680. John Riley [aged 34] and John Closterman [aged 20]. Portrait of William Blackett 1st Baronet [aged 59].
In 1681 John Closterman [aged 21] travelled to England where he worked for John Riley [aged 35] being resposible for painting the draperies in Riley's portraits.
In 1682. John Riley [aged 36]. Portrait of Mary Morice Lady Carew [aged 11].
Mary Morice Lady Carew: In or before 1671 she was born to William Morice 1st Baronet and Gertrude Bampfylde Lady Morice. On 5th July 1681 John Carew 3rd Baronet and she were married. She by marriage Lady Carew of Antony in Cornwall. The difference in their ages was 35 years. Around June 1698 Mary Morice Lady Carew died.
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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Around 1682. John Riley [aged 36]. Portrait of Elias Ashmole [aged 64].
Before 21st July 1683. John Riley [aged 37]. Portrait of William Russell [aged 43].
Before 1685. John Riley [aged 38]. Portrait of Harbottle Grimston 2nd Baronet [aged 81].
Before 1685. John Riley [aged 38]. Portrait of Francis North 1st Baron Guildford [aged 47].
Around 1685. John Riley [aged 39]. Portrait of Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [aged 26].
Around 1685. John Riley [aged 39]. Believed to be a portrait of Frances Windebank [aged 39] wife of Edward Hales 3rd Baronet [aged 40].
Frances Windebank: In 1646 she was born to Francis Windebank. On 12th July 1669 Edward Hales 3rd Baronet and she were married at St Andrew's Church, Holborn [Map]. In 1693 she died.
Around 1685 John Closterman [aged 25] and John Riley [aged 39]. Portrait of William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 19].
Around 1685 John Closterman [aged 25] and John Riley [aged 39]. Portrait of Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 18].
Around 1685 John Closterman [aged 25] and John Riley [aged 39]. Portrait of John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [aged 25].
Around 1685. John Riley [aged 39]. Portrait of Charles Fanshawe 4th Viscount Fanshawe [aged 42].
Charles Fanshawe 4th Viscount Fanshawe: In 1643 he was born to Thomas Fanshawe 1st Viscount Fanshawe and Elizabeth Cockayne Viscountess Fanshawe. On 18th October 1687 Evelyn Fanshawe 3rd Viscount Fanshawe died in Aleppo, Syria. He was buried at Ware, Hertfordshire [Map]. His uncle Charles succeeded 4th Viscount Fanshawe. In 1710 Charles Fanshawe 4th Viscount Fanshawe died. His brother Simon succeeded 5th Viscount Fanshawe.
Before 16th April 1685. John Riley [aged 39]. Portrait of Thomas Otway [deceased].
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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In 1687. John Riley [aged 41]. Portrait of Elias Ashmole [aged 69].
Around 1687. John Riley [aged 41]. Portrait of Edmund Waller [aged 80].
Around 1687. John Riley [aged 41]. Portrait of Sarah Evelyn Viscountess Fanshawe and Castleton [aged 45].
In 1689. John Riley [aged 43]. Portrait of Robert Boyle [aged 62].
In 1689 John Riley [aged 43] was appointed Principal In Ordinary jointly with Godfrey Kneller [aged 42].
Before 1690. John Riley [aged 43]. Portrait of Mary Lake [aged 21]. Frequently described as 'Mary Lake Duchess of Chandos' Mary died two years before her husband James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos [aged 16] was created Duke on 19th October 1714.
Mary Lake: On 18th July 1668 she was born to Thomas Lake and Rebecca Langham. On 2nd February 1695 James Brydges 1st Duke Chandos and she were married. On 15th September 1712 Mary Lake died. She was buried at Chandos Mausoleum Church of St Lawrence Whitchurch Lane Little Stanmore.
Around 1690. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Barbara Belasyse.
Barbara Belasyse: she was born to Henry Belasyse and Grace Barton. Before 23rd January 1671 Walter Strickland and she were married. On 12th September 1708 Barbara Belasyse died.
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Orlando Bridgeman 1st Baronet.
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of John Carew 3rd Baronet [aged 55].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Frances Cromwell Baroness Russell [aged 52].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Catherine Vernon [aged 27].
Catherine Vernon: Around 1663 she was born to Thomas Vernon and Anne Weston. In or after 1682 George Vernon and she were married. The difference in their ages was 28 years. They were fourth cousin once removed. On 21st October 1710 Catherine Vernon died.
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Josiah Child [aged 59].
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel Volume 1 Chapters 1-60 1307-1342
The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel offer one of the most vivid and immediate accounts of 14th-century Europe, written by a knight who lived through the events he describes, and experienced some of them first hand. Covering the early decades of the Hundred Years’ War, this remarkable chronicle follows the campaigns of Edward III of England, the politics of France and the Low Countries, and the shifting alliances that shaped medieval warfare. Unlike later historians, Jean le Bel writes with a strong sense of eyewitness authenticity, drawing on personal experience and the testimony of fellow soldiers. His narrative captures not only battles and sieges, but also the realities of military life, diplomacy, and the ideals of chivalry that governed noble society. A key source for Jean Froissart, Le Bel’s chronicle stands on its own as a compelling and insightful work, at once historical record and literary achievement. This translation builds on the 1905 edition published in French by Jules Viard, adding extensive translations from other sources Rymer's Fœdera, the Chronicles of Adam Murimuth, William Nangis, Walter of Guisborough, a Bourgeois of Valenciennes, Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke and Richard Lescot to enrich the original text and Viard's notes.
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Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow [aged 31].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of John Dryden [aged 59].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Henry St John 1st Viscount St John [aged 38].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of John Sherard 1st Baronet [aged 28].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Elizabeth Sherard [aged 11].
Elizabeth Sherard: In 1679 she was born to Bennet Sherard 2nd Baron Sherard. Before 1688 Edward Ingram 2nd Viscount Irvine and she were married. On 27th May 1696 John Noel and she were married. In 1747 Elizabeth Sherard died.
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Thomas Vernon [aged 59].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Anne Morice Lady Pole [aged 37].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Anne Weston [aged 50].
Anne Weston: In 1640 she was born to Henry Weston MP. On 13th December 1660 Thomas Vernon and she were married. The had six sons and nine daughters. On 24th February 1702 she died.
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of Bishop Nathaniel Crew 3rd Baron Crew [aged 57].
Before 1691. John Riley [aged 44]. Portrait of John Crewe of Utkinton [aged 49].
In March 1691 John Riley [aged 45] died of gout. He was buried in St Botolph's without Bishopgate.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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After March 1691 John Closterman [aged 31] completed a number of unfinished works of John Riley [deceased] bringing him to the attention of Charles Seymour 6th Duke of Somerset [aged 28] who then commissioned him to complete a number of paintings.
