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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In or before 1667 [her father] Richard Mason [aged 33] and [her mother] Anna Margaret Long [aged 25] were married.
Around 1667 Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow was born to [her father] Richard Mason [aged 34] and [her mother] Anna Margaret Long [aged 26].
On 18th June 1683 [her brother-in-law] Charles Gerard 2nd Earl Macclesfield [aged 24] and [her sister] Anna Mason Countess Macclesfield [aged 15] were married. He the son of Charles Gerard 1st Earl Macclesfield [aged 65] and Jeanne de Civelle Countess Macclesfield.
Around 1685 John Closterman [aged 25] and John Riley [aged 39]. Portrait of Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 18].
On 6th February 1685 King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland [aged 54] died around midday the morning at Whitehall Palace [Map] attended by Charles Scarburgh [aged 69]. His brother James [aged 51] succeeded II King England Scotland and Ireland. Duke York merged with the Crown. Mary of Modena Queen Consort England Scotland and Ireland [aged 26] by marriage Queen Consort England Scotland and Ireland. His brother King James II of England Scotland and Ireland, William Chiffinch [aged 83], [her father] Richard Mason [aged 52] and Archbishop William Sancroft [aged 68] were present.
The time of his death reported differtently by different contemporary sources: John Evelyn's Diary 'at halfe an houre after eleven in the morning', the Anonymous Letter to Reverend Roper: 'Yesterday noon', Ambassador Barillon's Account: 'and at noon, he died without any struggle or convulsion.' and Charl;es Scarburgh's Manuscript: 'He expired on February the Sixth soon after noon'.
According to Mark Bryant's book "Private Lives: Curious Facts about the Famous and Infamous' King Charles is supposed to have said the much repested phrase: "I am sorry, gentlemen, for being such a time a-dying." This doesn't appear to come from a contemporary source. Macaulay in his 'History of England', writing much later has "He apologised to those who had stood round him all night for the trouble which he had caused. He had been, he said, a most unconscionable time dying; but he hoped that they would excuse it." Perhaps the nearest we can find in a contemporary source is the Anonymous Letter to Reverend Roper: 'and beg the pardon of the standers by, and those that were employed about him, that he gave them so much trouble: that he hoped the work was almost over...'
On 8th March 1685 [her father] Richard Mason [aged 52] died.
Before 1690 William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 24] and Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 22] were married.
On 16th November 1690 [her son] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel was born to [her husband] William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 25] and Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 23]. He married (1) 1712 his first cousin Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel, daughter of John Brownlow 3rd Baronet and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow (2) 1732 Elizabeth Cartwright Viscountess Tyconnel.
In 1694 [her daughter] Anne Brownlow Lady Cust was born to [her husband] William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 28] and Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 27]. She married before 1717 Richard Cust 2nd Baronet and had issue.
On 7th January 1694 Charles Gerard 1st Earl Macclesfield [aged 76] died. His son [her brother-in-law] Charles [aged 35] succeeded 2nd Earl Macclesfield, 2nd Viscount Brandon of Brandon in Suffolk, 2nd Baron Gerard of Brandon in Suffolk. [her sister] Anna Mason Countess Macclesfield [aged 26] by marriage Countess Macclesfield.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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On 16th July 1697 [her brother-in-law] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet [aged 38] committed suicide after suffering from severe gout. His brother [her husband] William [aged 31] succeeded 4th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map]. Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 30] by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire.
Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map] sculpted by William Stanton [aged 58].
In March 1698 [her brother-in-law] Charles Gerard 2nd Earl Macclesfield [aged 39] and [her sister] Anna Mason Countess Macclesfield [aged 30] were divorced by Act of Parliament; the first occasion on which a divorce was so granted without a previous decree of an ecclesiastical court.
On 25th April 1699 [her son] William Brownlow was born to [her husband] William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 33] and Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 32].
Before 1700. Michael Dahl [aged 40]. Portrait of Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 32].
In 1700 Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow [aged 33] died.
On 6th March 1701 [her former husband] William Brownlow 4th Baronet [aged 35] died. His son John [aged 10] succeeded 5th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map].
Father: Richard Mason
Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow
Great x 4 Grandfather: Henry Long
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Long
Great x 2 Grandfather: Walter Long
Great x 1 Grandfather: Walter Long
Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Thynne 
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Thynne
Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Eynns
Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Thynne
Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Gresham 
Great x 3 Grandmother: Christian Gresham
Great x 4 Grandmother: Audrey Lynne
GrandFather: James Long 2nd Baronet
Mother: Anna Margaret Long