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.
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Effigy in Wingfield Church, Norfolk is in Monumental Effigies of Great Britain.
This effigy represents one of the Wingfields, Lords of Letheringham, in Suffolk, of whom Weever says, "The town of Wingheld hath given name to a family in this tract that is spread into a number of branches, and is besides for knighthood and ancient gentilitie renowned, and thereof it was the principal seat." He adds a mutilated inscription belonging to this tomb:
Hic jacet Dominius Wingfield de Letheringham .... cuius animea.
Details. Plate 1. Figure as originally painted, on the surcoat the arms of Wingfield, Azure, a fess Gules cotised Argent and Azure, charged with three pair of wings Azure.
Note a. Fun. Monuments, edit. 1631, p. 759.
