On 30th June 1891 Stanley Spencer was born at Cookham, Berkshire. He was the eighth surviving child of William Spencer and Anna Caroline Slack.
From 1908 to 1912 Stanley Spencer [aged 16] studied at the Slade School of Art under Henry Tonks. So attached to Cookham most days he would take the train back home in time for tea. It even became his nickname.
1912-13. Stanley Spencer [aged 20]. Self-portrait.
1914. Stanley Spencer [aged 22]. Self-portrait.
1915-19. Stanley Spencer [aged 23]. "Swan Upping at Cookham".
On 23rd February 1925 Stanley Spencer [aged 33] and Hilda Anne Carline [aged 35] were married.
Around 1931. Stanley Spencer [aged 39]. "Turk's Boatyard Cookham".
Around 1932. Stanley Spencer [aged 40]. "Terry's Lane, Cookham".
1933. Stanley Spencer [aged 41]. Portrait of [his future wife] Patricia Preece [aged 38].
Patricia Preece: On 22nd January 1894 she was born. In May 1937 Stanley Spencer and Hilda Anne Carline were divorced. A week later he married Patricia Preece. On 19th May 1966 she died.
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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1937. Stanley Spencer [aged 45]. "Greenhouse and Garden".
Around 1937. Stanley Spencer [aged 45]. "Family Group: Hilda [aged 47], Unity and Dolls". Hilda being the artist's wife and Unity their child.
In May 1937 Stanley Spencer [aged 45] and Hilda Anne Carline [aged 47] were divorced. A week later he married Patricia Preece [aged 43].
In May 1937 Stanley Spencer [aged 45] and Patricia Preece [aged 43] were married in Maidenhead a week atter his divorce from Hilda Anne Carline [aged 47]. Her lover Dorothy Hepworth was present at the wedding (left in photo). She and Hepworth then went to St. Ives for the "honeymoon" while Spencer remained in Cookham to complete a painting. He, apparently, in his wife's absence slept with his former wife Hilda Anne Carline. Preece, as a consequence, refused to have sexual relations with him. He signed over his house to Preece. Preece and Hepworth evicted him from the house in 1938.
Around 1939 Stanley Spencer [aged 47] and Daphne Gribble began an affair after the breakdown of his second marriage
1939. Stanley Spencer [aged 47]. "The Woolshop". Model Daphne Gribble.
1939. Stanley Spencer [aged 47]. "Zacharias and Elizabeth".
1940. Stanley Spencer [aged 48]. "Daphne".
1940. Stanley Spencer [aged 48]. "Farm Pond, Leonard Stanley".
1941. Stanley Spencer [aged 49]. "Shipbuilding on the Clyde: Burners".
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
1941. Stanley Spencer [aged 49]. Portrait of Daphne Gribble.
1945. Stanley Spencer [aged 53]. "The Resurrection: The Reunion of Families".
On 1st November 1950 [his former wife] Hilda Anne Carline [aged 60] died. She was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Cookham [Map].
1951. Stanley Spencer [aged 59]. Portrait of the artist's niece Daphne Spencer.
1953. Stanley Spencer [aged 61]. Portrait of Daphne Gribble.
1956-57. Stanley Spencer [aged 64]. "Dinner on the Hotel Lawn".
1958. Stanley Spencer [aged 66]. "Miss Ashwanden in Cookham". The artist's last completed painting of his dying neighbour aged seventeen.
12th July 1959-16th. Stanley Spencer [aged 68]. Self-portrait. Painted over five days from July 12 to July 16; his final self-portrait.
On 14th December 1959 Stanley Spencer [aged 68] died at the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital on the Cliveden estate. His ashes were buried at Holy Trinity Church, Cookham [Map] in the same grave as his first wife Hilda Anne Carline: "To the memory of Stanley Spencer Kt. CBE RA, 1891–1959, and his wife Hilda, buried in Cookham cemetery 1950. Everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God: He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love."
On 19th May 1966 [his former wife] Patricia Preece [aged 72] died.