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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Paternal Family Tree: Stanhope
Maternal Family Tree: Catherine Lucy Smith Countess Stanhope 1843
On 19th November 1803 [her father] Philip Henry Stanhope 4th Earl Stanhope [aged 21] and [her mother] Catherine Lucy Smith Countess Stanhope were married. He the son of [her grandfather] Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl Stanhope [aged 50] and [her grandmother] Louisa Granville Countess Stanhope [aged 45].
On 1st June 1819 Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland was born to Philip Henry Stanhope 4th Earl Stanhope [aged 37] and Catherine Lucy Smith Countess Stanhope.
In 1834 [her brother] Philip Stanhope 5th Earl Stanhope [aged 28] and [her sister-in-law] Emily Harriet Countess Stanhope were married. He the son of [her father] Philip Henry Stanhope 4th Earl Stanhope [aged 52] and [her mother] Catherine Lucy Smith Countess Stanhope.
11th February 1840. Tuesday. Supplement to the London Gazette.
St James's Palace [Map]. February 10, 1840.
THIS day the Marriage of the QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY [aged 20] with Field Marshal His ROYAL HIGHNESS FRANCIS ALBERT AUGUSTUS CHARLES EMANUEL, DUKE OF SAXE, PRINCE OF SAXE COBOURG AND GOTHA, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter [aged 20], was solemnized at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace.
Field Marshal His Royal Highness the Prince Albert, attended by his Suite, proceeded from Buckingham-Palace [Map] this day, about half past eleven o'clock, to St. James's-Palace [Map], in the following order:
The first Carriage,.
Conveying General Sir George Anson, G.C.B. [aged 43]; George Edward Anson, Esq [aged 27]; and Francis Seymour, Esq [aged 26]; the Bridegroom's Gentlemen of Honour.
The second Carriage,.
Conveying the Lord Chamberlain of the Household, the Earl of Uxbridge [aged 42] (who afterwards returned to Buckingham-Palace [Map], to attend in Her Majesty's Procession), and the Officers of the Suite of His Serene Highness the Reigning Duke of Saxe Cobourg and Gotha, and the Hereditary Prince of Saxe Cobourg and Gotha, viz. Count Kolowrath [aged 62], Baron Alvensleben, and Baron De Lowenfels.
The third Carriage,.
Conveying His Royal Highness the Prince Albert, His Serene Highness the Reigning Duke of Saxe Colourg and Gotha [aged 56] (father), and the Hereditary Prince of Saxe Cobourg and Gotha [aged 21] (elder brother).
Her Majesty, attended by Her Royal Household, accompanied by Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent [aged 53], proceeded, at twelve o'clock, from Buckingham-Palace [Map] to St James's Palace [Map], in the following order:
The first Carriage,
Conveying two Gentlemen Ushers, Charles Heneage, Esq [aged 33] and the Honourable Heneage Legge [aged 51]; Yeoman of the Yeomen of the Guard, Charles Hancock, Esq,; and the Groom of the Robes, Captain Francis Seymour [aged 51].
The second Carriage,.
Conveying the Equerry in Waiting, Lord Alfred Paget [aged 23]; two Pages of Honour, Charles T. Wemyss, Esq and Henry William John Byng [aged 8], Esq j and the Groom in Waiting, the Honourable George Keppel.
The third Carriage,.
Conveying the Clerk Marshal, Colonel the Honourable H. E. G. Cavendish [aged 50]; the Vice-Chamberlain, the Earl of Belfast, G. C. H. [aged 43]; and the Comptroller of the Household, the Right Honourable George Stevens Byng [aged 33].
The fourth Carriage,.
Conveying the Woman of the Bedchamber in Waiting, Mrs. Brand [aged 60]; the Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, the Earl of Ilchester [aged 52]; the Master of the Buck Hounds, Lord Kinaird; and the Treasurer of the Household, the Earl of Surrey [aged 48].
The fifth Carriage,.
Conyeying the Maid of Honour in Waiting, the Honourable Caroline Cocks [aged 45]; the Duchess of Kent's Lady in Waiting, Lady K Howard; the Gold Stick, General Lord Hill, G. C.B., G. C. H.; and the Lord in Waiting, Viscount Torrington [aged 27].
The sixth Carriage,.
Conveying the Lady of the Bedchamber in Waiting, the Countess of Sandwich [aged 27]; the Master of the Horse, the Earl of Albemarle, G. C.H. [aged 67]; the Lord Steward, the Earl of Erroll, K.T. G.C.H. [aged 38]; and the Lord Chamberlain, the Earl of Uxbridge.
The seventh Carriage,.
Conveying Her Most Excellent Majesty the QUEEN; Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent; and the Duchess of Sutherland, the Mistress of the Robes to Her Majesty [aged 33].
The illustrious Personages, and others composing the Procession, then assembled in the Throneroom, and, having been called over by Garter Principal King of Arms, the Processions, moyed in the following order, to the Chapel Royal:
THE PROCESSION OF THE BRIDEGROOM.
Drums and Trumpets.
Serjeant Trumpeter.
Master of the Ceremonies, Sir Robert Chester, Knt.
Lancaster Herald, George Frederick Beltz, Esq K.H [aged 65], York Herald, Charles George Young, Esq [aged 44].
The Bridegroom's Gentlemen of Honour, viz. Francis Seymour, Esq Gen. Sir George Anson, G.C B. George Edward Anson, Esq.
Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household, The Earl of Belfast, G.C.H., Lord Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household, The Earl of Uxbridge.
Continues...
THE QUEEN. Wearing the Collar of the Order of the Garter.
Her Majesty's Train borne by the following twelve unmarried Ladies, viz.
Lady Adelaide Paget [aged 20], Lady Caroline Amelia Gordon-Lennox [aged 20], Lady Sarah Frederica Caroline Villiers [aged 18], Lady Elizabeth Anne Georgiana Dorothea Howard [aged 23], Lady Frances Elizabeth Cowper [aged 20], Lady Ida Harriet Augusta Hay [aged 18], Lady Elizabeth West [aged 21], Lady Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope, Lady Mary Augusta Frederica Grimston [aged 20], Lady Jane Harriet Bouverie [aged 20], Lady Eleanora Caroline Paget [aged 12], Lady Mary Charlotte Howard [aged 18].
Assisted by the Groom of the Robes, Captain Francis Seymour.
Master of the Horse, The Earl of Albemarle, G.C.H., Mistress of the Robes, The Duchess of Sutherland.
Ladies of the Bedchamber, The Marchioness of Normanby [aged 41], The Duchess of Bedford [aged 56], The Countess of Burlington [aged 28], The Countess of Sandwich, The Baroness Portman [aged 30], The Dowager Lady Lyttleton [aged 52], The Lady Barham [aged 25].
Maids of Honour, The Hon. Amelia Murray, The Hon. Harriet Pitt, The Hon. Caroline Cocks, The Hon. Henrietta Anson, The Hon. Matilda Paget, The Hon. Harriet Lister, The Hon. Sarah Mary Cavendish.
In 1843 [her mother] Catherine Lucy Smith Countess Stanhope died.
On 20th September 1843 Archibald John Primrose [aged 33] and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 24] were married. She the daughter of Philip Henry Stanhope 4th Earl Stanhope [aged 61] and Catherine Lucy Smith Countess Stanhope. He the son of Archibald Primrose 4th Earl Rosebery [aged 59] and Harriett Bouverie Countess Camden.
On 19th November 1844 [her daughter] Mary Catherine Constance Primrose was born to [her husband] Archibald John Primrose [aged 35] and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 25].
On 1st May 1846 [her daughter] Constance Evelyn Primrose Baroness Leconfield was born to [her husband] Archibald John Primrose [aged 36] and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 26]. She married 15th July 1867 Henry Wyndham 2nd Baron Leconfield, son of George Wyndham 1st Baron Leconfield and Mary Fanny Blunt, and had issue.
On 7th May 1847 [her son] Archibald Philip Primrose 5th Earl Rosebery 1st Earl Midlothian was born to [her husband] Archibald John Primrose [aged 37] and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 27]. He married 20th March 1878 Hannah Rothschild Countess of Rosebery and had issue.
In 1848 [her son] Everard Henry Primrose was born to [her husband] Archibald John Primrose [aged 38] and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 28].
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 23rd January 1851 [her husband] Archibald John Primrose [aged 41] died.
On 2nd August 1854 Harry George Powlett 4th Duke Cleveland [aged 51] and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 35] were married at Chevening, Sevenoaks. She the daughter of Philip Henry Stanhope 4th Earl Stanhope [aged 72] and Catherine Lucy Smith Countess Stanhope. He the son of William Henry Vane 1st Duke Cleveland and Catharine Margaret Powlett Countess Darlington.
On 2nd March 1855 [her father] Philip Henry Stanhope 4th Earl Stanhope [aged 73] died. His son [her brother] Philip [aged 50] succeeded 5th Earl Stanhope.
On 18th January 1864 [her brother-in-law] Henry Vane 2nd Duke Cleveland [aged 76] died at the parish of St George's Church, Hanover Square. His brother William [aged 71] succeeded 3rd Duke of Cleveland, 3rd Marquess of Cleveland, 5th Earl Darlington, 5th Viscount Barnard, 7th Baron Barnard, 3rd Baron Raby of Raby Castle in County Durham. Grace Caroline Lowther Duchess of Cleveland by marriage Duchess of Cleveland.
On 6th September 1864 [her brother-in-law] William Vane 3rd Duke Cleveland [aged 72] died. His brother [her husband] Harry [aged 61] succeeded 4th Duke of Cleveland, 4th Marquess of Cleveland, 6th Earl Darlington, 6th Viscount Barnard, 8th Baron Barnard, 4th Baron Raby of Raby Castle in County Durham. Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 45] by marriage Duchess of Cleveland.
On 15th July 1867 [her son-in-law] Henry Wyndham 2nd Baron Leconfield [aged 36] and Constance Evelyn Primrose Baroness Leconfield [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Baroness Leconfield of Leconfield in the East Riding of Yorkshire. She the daughter of Archibald John Primrose and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 48].
On 24th December 1875 [her brother] Philip Stanhope 5th Earl Stanhope [aged 70] died. His son [her nephew] Arthur [aged 37] succeeded 6th Earl Stanhope. Evelyn Henrietta Pennefather Countess Stanhope by marriage Countess Stanhope.
Henry Chaplin A Memoir: 2 Family and Social Life Part II. 17th [Aug 1876]. I feel as if I had been away from you 6 months at least, and the boredom of Homburg begins to be very depressing already. And yet there are a good many people here too. I went out for a prowl just to see who was here, and to order my dinner. Every one at Homburg dines at the Cursaal—like an enormous Café, where I must say, as a rule, it is very well done Having settled that important matter I took the dogs and myself out for a walk, which I hope has done us a great deal of good. Vic was horribly sick, I believe, and all over the house In the evening I found a whole lot of friends after dinner hearing the band on the terrace, and among them your friend Terese Duchess of something [Colonna], but whose name I always forget. We renewed our acquaintance at once. She said that you were the dearest, sweetest, nicest, kindest, best, and oldest friend she'd got in the world. We became friends from that moment. She then further informed me that I was the luckiest man in the world, with which perhaps it will surprise you to hear that I agreed We ended with a good deal of chaff about Dot, whom she evidently does not regard with the same affectionate feelings that we do. Ah! Lord— There he is growling again! Never mind, we flatter ourselves, Dot and I, that we are perfectly able to hold our own against a dozen Tereses or a dozen any one else; and he takes the waters with me the first time to-morrow, when I do trust he will be on his good behaviour with Rank and Fashion, for here, in these rooms, if I must tell the truth, he lives in a state of perpetual growl. One has to go through the form here of seeing the doctor before you begin taking the water, but yesterday, when he came here, Dot fairly frightened him out of the room, while I like a brute was bursting with laughter at seeing him bowing gracefully backwards out of the door—"You hev alway two dog in your room, eh?" was his exclamation, "Then I will see you pleas in one ozer room," and so Dot remained complete master of the situation, and he won't have intrusive Germans in here at any price. On Saturday your friend the Duchess Terese proposes to organise a party for the Frankfurt races and has asked me to go with them, which I shall do, the party consisting besides of the Duchess of Cleveland [aged 57] and daughter, Lady Mary Primrose [aged 31], the poor blind Grand Duke [of Baden], and some half-dozen others. This place is stagnation and dulness itself. Society chiefly consists at this moment at instead Homburg of very respectable English families... of the certainly mixed, but as I thought highly amusing collection, one used to meet here years ago.
On 20th March 1878 Archibald Philip Primrose 5th Earl Rosebery 1st Earl Midlothian [aged 30] and Hannah Rothschild Countess of Rosebery [aged 26] were married at Board of Guardians Mount Street Grosvenor Square. She by marriage Countess Camden. He the son of Archibald John Primrose and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 58].
1883. Lawrence Alma-Tadema [aged 46]. Portrait of Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 63].
In 1885 [her son] Everard Henry Primrose [aged 37] died.
On 21st August 1891 [her husband] Harry George Powlett 4th Duke Cleveland [aged 88] died at Cleveland House, 16 St James' Square, St James'. Duke of Cleveland, Marquess of Cleveland, Earl Darlington and Viscount Barnard, Baron Raby of Raby Castle in County Durham extinct.
Henry de Vere Vane 9th Baron Barnard [aged 37] succeeded 9th Baron Barnard. Catherine Sarah Cecil Baroness Barnard [aged 30] by marriage Baroness Barnard.
On 18th May 1901 Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland [aged 81] died. In her will she left £5000 to William Henry George Poulett [aged 31], son of William Turnour Thomas Poulett [aged 51] who had been dis-inherited by his father William Henry Paulett 6th Earl Paulett.
Kings Wessex: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 27 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 13 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 29 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of Philip V King France I King Navarre
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Philip Stanhope 1st Earl Chesterfield
7 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Alexander Stanhope
8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Pakington Countess Chesterfield
Great x 2 Grandfather: James Stanhope 1st Earl Stanhope
9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Philip Stanhope 2nd Earl Stanhope
10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Reverend John Pitt
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas "Diamond" Pitt
Great x 2 Grandmother: Lucy Pitt Countess Stanhope
GrandFather: Charles Stanhope 3rd Earl Stanhope
11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Charles Hamilton 5th Earl Haddington 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Hamilton 6th Earl Haddington 10 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Leslie 8th Countess Rothes and Haddington
9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandfather: Charles Hamilton 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Hope of Hopetoun
Great x 3 Grandmother: Helen Hope Countess Haddington 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Hamilton 9 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 1 Grandmother: Grizel Hamilton Countess Stanhope 12 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Father: Philip Henry Stanhope 4th Earl Stanhope
12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Granville
Great x 3 Grandfather: Richard Granville
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Granville
Great x 1 Grandfather: Henry Granville
GrandMother: Louisa Granville Countess Stanhope
Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope Duchess of Cleveland
13 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Smith
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Smith
Great x 2 Grandfather: Abel Smith
Great x 1 Grandfather: Abel Smith
GrandFather: Robert Smith 1st Baron Carrington