Biography of Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester -1652

Paternal Family Tree: Boteler

Maternal Family Tree: Audrey Saunders 1551-1588

Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester was born to [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler and [her mother] Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield.

Before 1600 [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler (age 33) and [her mother] Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield (age 26) were married.

Before 1608 Francis Anderson (age 26) and Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester were married.

In 1608 [her son] Stephen Anderson was born to [her husband] Francis Anderson (age 27) and Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester.

On 22nd December 1615 [her husband] Francis Anderson (age 34) died.

In July 1616 [her future husband] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 18) and Susan Northam were married.

On 31st July 1617 Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 19) and Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester were married.

In 1618 [her husband] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 19) was created 1st Baronet Leigh of Newnham in Warwickshire.

After 1618 [her brother-in-law] James Ley 1st Earl of Marlborough (age 66) and [her sister] Jane Boteler Countess Marlborough were married.

William of Worcester's Chronicle of England

William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.

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On 11th January 1620 [her daughter] Elizabeth Leigh Countess Southampton was born to [her husband] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 21) and Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester. She married before 1646 Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 2nd Earl Chichester, son of Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton and Elizabeth Vernon Countess Southampton, and had issue.

On 12th April 1620 [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler (age 54) was created 1st Baronet Boteler of Hatfield Woodhall in Hertfordshire. [her mother] Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield (age 47) by marriage Lady Boteler of Hatfield Woodhall in Hertfordshire.

On 5th February 1626 [her brother-in-law] James Ley 1st Earl of Marlborough (age 74) was created 1st Earl Marlborough by King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland (age 25). [her sister] Jane Boteler Countess Marlborough by marriage Countess Marlborough.

On 7th February 1626 [her brother-in-law] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport (age 29) and [her sister] Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland (age 26) were married. He the illegitmate son of Charles Blount 1st Earl Devonshire and Penelope Devereux Countess Devonshire.

In July 1627 [her brother-in-law] Mountjoy Blount 1st Earl Newport (age 30) was created 1st Earl Newport in the Isle of Wight. [her sister] Anne Boteler Countess Newport and Portland (age 27) by marriage Countess Newport in the Isle of Wight.

In 1628 [her husband] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 29) was created 1st Baron Dunsmore of Dunsmore in Warwickshire with special remainder to his stepson [her son] John Anderson 1st Baronet who was the son of his second wife Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester and [her former husband] Francis Anderson. John Anderson 1st Baronet predeceased Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester so the remainder had no effect.

On 30th July 1628 [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler (age 62) was created 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield. [her mother] Elizabeth Villiers Baroness Boteler Brantfield (age 55) by marriage Baroness Boteler of Brantfield.

In 1630 [her son] John Anderson 1st Baronet died. Baronet Anderson of St Ives in Huntingdonshire extinct.

On 27th May 1637 [her father] John Boteler 1st Baron Boteler (age 71) died at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map]. He was buried at Higham Gobion, Bedfordshire. His son [her brother] William succeeded 2nd Baron Boteler of Brantfield, 2nd Baronet Boteler of Hatfield Woodhall in Hertfordshire.

In 1644 [her husband] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 45) was created 1st Earl Chichester with special remainder to [her future son-in-law] Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 2nd Earl Chichester (age 36) who was the husband of his daughter [her daughter] Elizabeth Leigh Countess Southampton (age 23). Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester by marriage Countess Chichester.

Before 1646 [her son-in-law] Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 2nd Earl Chichester (age 38) and [her daughter] Elizabeth Leigh Countess Southampton (age 25) were married. She by marriage Countess of Southampton. She the daughter of [her husband] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 47) and Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester. He the son of Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton and Elizabeth Vernon Countess Southampton (age 73).

In 1647 [her brother] William Boteler 2nd Baron Boteler died. Baron Boteler of Brantfield, Baronet Boteler of Hatfield Woodhall in Hertfordshire extinct.

On 16th September 1652 Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester died.

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 21st December 1653 [her former husband] Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester (age 55) died. Baronet Leigh of Newnham in Warwickshire, Baron Dunsmore of Dunsmore in Warwickshire extinct.

His son-in-law [her son-in-law] Thomas Wriothesley 4th Earl of Southampton 2nd Earl Chichester (age 46) succeeded 2nd Earl Chichester.

[her daughter] Mary Leigh Viscountess Grandison was born to Francis Leigh 1st Earl Chichester and Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester. She married her first cousin once removed George Villiers 4th Viscount Grandison and had issue.

[her son] John Anderson 1st Baronet was born to Francis Anderson and Audrey Boteler Countess Chichester.