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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On 2nd November 1766 Anthony Lechmere 1st Baronet was born.
On 15th May 1787 Anthony Lechmere 1st Baronet (age 20) and Mary Berwick Lady Lechmere were married at St Mary's Church, Hanley Castle [Map].
On 25th May 1792 [his son] Edmund Hungerford Lechmere 2nd Baronet was born to Anthony Lechmere 1st Baronet (age 25) and [his wife] Mary Berwick Lady Lechmere. He married 1819 Maria Clara Murray Lady Lechmere and had issue.
The London Gazette 17404. Whitehall, October 3, 1818.
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent has been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to direct letters patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for granting the dignity of a Baronet of the said United Kingdom to the following Gentlemen respectively, and to the heirs male of their bodies lawfully begotten, viz.
The Honourable Alexander Maitland (age 90), of Clifton, in the county of Mid-Lothian, and of Rose-Hill, in the county of Hertford, General in the Army, and Colonel of the 49th Regiment.
Henry Johnson (age 70), of the city of Bath, in the county of Somerset, Esq. General in the Army, and Colonel of tine 81st Regiment.
Anthony Farrington (age 76), of Blackheath, in the county of Kent, Esq. General in the Army, Colonel Commandant of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and Director-General of Artillery and Field Train.
Sir Harry Calvert, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Lieutenant-General in the Army, Colonel of the 14th Regiment of Foot, and Adjutant-General of the Forces.
James Campbell, of Inverneil, in the county of Argyll, Esq. Lieutenant-General in the Army, Kitight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, and Knight Commander of the Royal Sicilian Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit.
Sir James Willoughby Gordon, of Niton, in the Isle of Wight, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Major General in the Army, Colonel of the 85th Regiment, and Quarter-Master-General to the Forces.
Felton Elwill Bathurst Hervey (age 36), of Lainston, in the county of Southampton, Esq. Colonel in the Army, Extra Aide-de-Camp to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, Lieutenant-Colonel of the 14th Regiment of Light Dragoons, and a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath; with remainder, in failure of issue male, to his brother Frederick Anne Hervey (age 35), of Clarendon Park, in the county of Wilts, Esq. and his heirs male.
John Powell (age 65), of Hardwick, and of Worthen, in the county of Salop, Esq. and in default of male issue, to Edward Kynaston (age 60), of Risby and Fornham Saint-Genevieve, in the county of Suffolk, Clerk (brother of the said John Powell), and his heirs male.
John Acland (age 62), of Fairfield, in the county of Somerset, and of Newhouse, in the county of Devon, Esq.
Antony Lechmere (age 51), of the Rhyd, in the county of Worcester, Esq.
Sir Edmond Lacon, of Great Yarmouth, in the county of Norfolk, Knight. [Note. [his wife] Mary Berwick Lady Lechmere by marriage Lady Lechmere of Rhyd in Worcestershire.]
John Shelley Sidney (age 47), of Penshurst-place, in the county of Kent, Esq.
Thomas Hare, of Stow Hall, in the county of Norfolk, Esq.
Edward Stracey, of Rackheath Hall, in the county of Norfolk, Esq.
George Shiffher, of Combe-place, in the county of Sussex, Esq.
John Croft, of Cowling Hall, in the north riding of the county of York, Esq.
Robert Bateson (age 36), of Belvoir Park, in the county of Down, Esq.
Matthew John Tierney, of Brighthelmstone, in the county of Sussex, and of Dover-street, in the county of Middlesex, Esq. Doctor of Physic, Physician in Ordinary to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and Physician to His Royal High ness's Household at Brighthelmstone.
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In 1819 Edmund Hungerford Lechmere 2nd Baronet (age 26) and Maria Clara Murray Lady Lechmere were married. He the son of Anthony Lechmere 1st Baronet (age 52) and Mary Berwick Lady Lechmere.
On 3rd December 1820 [his wife] Mary Berwick Lady Lechmere died. She was buried at St Mary's Church, Hanley Castle [Map] on 11th December 1820.
On 8th September 1823 Anthony Lechmere 1st Baronet (age 56) and Eleanor Villiers Lady Lechmere were married. She by marriage Lady Lechmere of Rhyd in Worcestershire.
On 21st November 1836 Anthony Lechmere 1st Baronet (age 70) was awarded compensation of £4089 10s 3d for 286 slaves on the Virgin Islands. His father-in-law Joseph Berwick had a mortgage over the plantation.
On 20th August 1837 [his wife] Eleanor Villiers Lady Lechmere died. She was buried at St Mary's Church, Hanley Castle [Map].
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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On 25th March 1849 Anthony Lechmere 1st Baronet (age 82) died. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Hanley Castle [Map]. His son Edmund (age 56) succeeded 2nd Baronet Lechmere of Rhyd in Worcestershire. Maria Clara Murray Lady Lechmere by marriage Lady Lechmere of Rhyd in Worcestershire.