This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Paternal Family Tree: Shute aka Barrington
St John the Baptist's Church, Mongewell [Map]Church Conservation Trusr Guidebook.
HISTORY
In Domesday Book of 1086 Mongewell ('Munda's stream or well') was held by Roger de Lacy. In the |5th century the Rede family had considerable possessions here and in the |9th century the village was owned by The Hon. Shute Barrington, Bishop successively of Llandaff, Salisbury and Durham, who lived at Mongewell House. Barrington is said to have greatly improved the lot of the poor of the parish and 'raised them to a state of comparative independence'. It is claimed that he started the co-operative movement here and opened a shop in the parish. The bishop was buried under the font, then located at the west end of the nave by the south door. A later owner was Uvedale Price, notable apostle of the 'Picturesque'. His other seat was at Foxley, near Hereford, where he built the remarkable church of St Mary the Virgin at Yazor in 1843, also now in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust.
The landscaped garden, in which the church became a feature, still partly survives. Barrington's house was rebuilt in 1890-91 and in 1953 Carmel College, founded by Rabbi Dr Kopul Rosen in 1948, moved here. Carmel College closed in 1997 and the estate was subsequently sold. Mongewell House, together with the former school buildings, is likely to revert to residential use.
Having become derelict and disused with no congregation to support it, Mongewell church was vested in The Churches Conservation Trust in 1985. A short walk northwards along the River Thames leads to Newnham Murren church, whilst across the river lies St Peter's Church, Wallingford, both also in the care of the Trust.
DESCRIPTION
The church is of 12th century date. When first built it consisted of a nave and chancel constructed in flint and stone: Norman features survive in the chancel walls, the reset corbels on either side of the chancel arch and the windows on the north and south sides. The reconstructed wooden roof dates from the 14th century.
In 1791 Shute Barrington partly rebuilt the church in the Gothick style, adding a western apse, an unusual polygonal turret in brick (which was originally rendered) and a gallery for the use of his family: the architect may have been James Wyatt. The tower was formerly surmounted by a lead-covered cupola and its door, protected by a porch. In 1880 Joseph Morris and Spencer Slingsby Stallwood restored the chancel in neo-Norman style, adding the zigzag decoration. Most of the fittings, including the font and the fine wrought iron chandelier, belong to this restoration. In 1888 the now roofless vestry was added to the north side of the nave.
In the early years of the 20th century the church gradually became derelict and assumed the appearance of a romantic ruin. Some repairs were undertaken in 1915 and 1954. In the late 1940s the nave roof collapsed, so in 1954 the architect Hugh Vaux had the chancel arch blocked, with a door inserted in it to provide access to the chancel, which continued to be used for occasional services. The font and several of the monuments, formerly in the nave, were moved into the chancel at this time.
The north wall of the chancel has monuments to Edmund Madock (1692) and his wife and to a reclining John Sanders, wearing a turban and holding a book. On the south wall is the monument to Bishop Shute Barrington and another to Jane Barrington, his mother. Other monuments are to the Durrell family — Thomas Durrell, who died in 1879, was a rector of Mongewell — and to John and Gertrude Fraser (1887). The Frasers gave the stained glass in the little east window with the figure of Christ which has, unfortunately, suffered some damage over the years.
There was formerly a clock on the tower and a single bell, 16 inches (0.43m) in diameter and hung in an oak frame. The bell was cast at the Gloucester foundry and bore the inscription "COME AWAY MAKE NO DELAY 1760".
Unfortunately this bell and the clock seem to have disappeared shortly after the Second World War. An inventory of the church made in 1553 lists two bells.
The stone base of the pulpit, dating to the 1880 restoration, survives at the east end of the nave.
Repairs to the church were carried out in 1915, 1954 and since 1985 by The Churches Conservation Trust under the supervision of Penelope Adamson and, latterly, by lan Stewart.
On 23rd June 1713 [his father] John Shute aka Barrington 1st Viscount Barrington (age 35) and [his mother] Anne Daines Viscountess Barrington (age 23) were married.
On 26th May 1734 Bishop Shute Barrington was born to [his father] John Shute aka Barrington 1st Viscount Barrington (age 56) and [his mother] Anne Daines Viscountess Barrington (age 44).
On 14th December 1734 [his father] John Shute aka Barrington 1st Viscount Barrington (age 56) died. His son [his brother] William (age 17) succeeded 2nd Viscount Barrington of Ardglass in County Down, 2nd Viscount Barrington of Ardglass in County Down.
On 2nd February 1761 Bishop Shute Barrington (age 26) and Diana Beauclerk (age 15) were married. She the daughter of Charles Beauclerk 2nd Duke St Albans and Lucy Werden Duchess St Albans.
On 28th March 1766 [his wife] Diana Beauclerk (age 20) died in childbirth. The child was stillborn.
On 1st October 1769 Bishop Shute Barrington (age 35) was consecrated as Bishop of Llandaff at Lambeth Palace [Map] by Archbishop Frederick Cornwallis (age 56).
On 14th August 1782 Bishop Shute Barrington (age 48) was elected Bishop of Salisbury.
On 27th August 1782 Bishop Shute Barrington (age 48) was translated to Bishop of Salisbury upon the confirmation of the election at St Mary-le-Bow Church, Cheapside [Map].
On 8th February 1783 [his mother] Anne Daines Viscountess Barrington (age 93) died.
Around 1787 George Romney (age 52). Portrait of Bishop Shute Barrington (age 52).
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 25th June 1791 Bishop Shute Barrington (age 57) was elected Bishop of Durham.
On 1st September 1793 [his brother] William Wildman Barrington 2nd Viscount Barrington (age 76) died. His nephew William (age 32) succeeded 3rd Viscount Barrington of Ardglass in County Down, 3rd Viscount Barrington of Ardglass in County Down.
On 14th March 1800 [his brother] Daines Barrington (age 73) died.
1805. John Opie (age 43). Portrait of Bishop Shute Barrington (age 70).
1810 to 1811. William Owen (age 41). Portrait of Bishop Shute Barrington (age 75).
In 1817. Thomas Lawrence (age 47). Portrait of Bishop Shute Barrington (age 82).
On 25th March 1826 Bishop Shute Barrington (age 91) died in Soho. He was buried in St John the Baptist's Church, Mongewell Park, Wallingford.
1833. Durham Cathedral [Map]. Monument to Bishop Shute Barrington sculpted by Francis Leggatt Chantrey (age 51).
Great x 1 Grandfather: Francis Shute
GrandFather: Benjamin Shute
GrandFather: William Daines
Mother: Anne Daines Viscountess Barrington