Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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Paternal Family Tree: Burrell
Maternal Family Tree: Elizabeth Lewis
On 27th February 1748 [her father] Peter Burrell [aged 23] and [her mother] Elizabeth Lewis were married.
On 20th April 1757 Elizabeth Anne Burrell Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon was born to [her father] Peter Burrell [aged 32] and [her mother] Elizabeth Lewis.
On 7th July 1769 James Hamilton 7th Duke Hamilton 4th Duke Brandon [aged 14] died at Hamilton Palace, Hamilton. His brother [her future husband] Douglas [aged 12] succeeded 8th Duke Hamilton, 5th Duke Brandon of Suffolk, 4th Marquess Douglas, 5th Baron Dutton of Cheshire.
On 8th June 1775 [her brother-in-law] Algernon Percy 1st Earl Beverley [aged 25] and [her sister] Isabella Susan Burrell Countess Beverley [aged 24] were married at Syon House [Map]. He the son of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland [aged 59] and Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland [aged 58].
On 6th November 1775 [her father] Peter Burrell [aged 51] died.
In 1776 [her future husband] Henry Cecil 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 21] and Emma Vernon were married.
Around 1777 Douglas Hamilton 8th Duke Hamilton 5th Duke Brandon [aged 20] and Elizabeth Anne Burrell Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Duchess Hamilton, Duchess Brandon of Suffolk. He the son of James Hamilton 6th Duke Hamilton 3rd Duke Brandon and Elizabeth Gunning Duchess Hamilton and Argyll [aged 43].
In 1779 [her brother] Peter Burrell Baron Willoughby, 1st Baron Gwydyr [aged 24] and [her sister-in-law] Priscilla Barbara Elizabeth Bertie 21st Baroness Willoughby of Eresby [aged 17] were married. He by marriage Baron Willoughby de Eresby. She the daughter of Peregrine Bertie 3rd Duke Ancaster and Kesteven and Mary Panton Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven.
On 23rd May 1779 [her brother-in-law] Hugh Percy 2nd Duke Northumberland [aged 36] and [her sister] Frances Julia Burrell Duchess Northumberland [aged 26] were married. He the son of Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland [aged 63] and Elizabeth Seymour Duchess Northumberland.
On 6th June 1786 Hugh Percy 1st Duke Northumberland [aged 70] died. His son [her brother-in-law] Hugh [aged 43] succeeded 2nd Duke Northumberland, 2nd Baron Lovain, 5th Baronet Smithson of Stanwick in Yorkshire. [her sister] Frances Julia Burrell Duchess Northumberland [aged 33] by marriage Duchess Northumberland.
In 1790 [her brother-in-law] Algernon Percy 1st Earl Beverley [aged 39] was created 1st Earl Beverley. [her sister] Isabella Susan Burrell Countess Beverley [aged 39] by marriage Countess Beverley.
On 20th December 1790 [her mother-in-law] Elizabeth Gunning Duchess Hamilton and Argyll [aged 57] died in Argyll House 211 King's Road King's Road. Her son [her husband] Douglas [aged 34] succeeded 2nd Baron Hamilton of Hameldon in Leicestershire. Elizabeth Anne Burrell Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon [aged 33] by marriage Baroness Hamilton of Hameldon in Leicestershire.
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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On 3rd October 1791 [her future husband] Henry Cecil 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 37] and Sarah Hoggins Countess Exeter [aged 17] were married at St Mildred's Church, Bread Street.
On 26th December 1793 Brownlow Cecil 9th Earl Exeter [aged 68] died. His nephew [her future husband] Henry [aged 39] succeeded 10th Earl Exeter, 11th Baron Burghley. Sarah Hoggins Countess Exeter [aged 19] by marriage Countess Exeter.
On 14th March 1797 [her sister-in-law] Elizabeth Hamilton Countess Derby [aged 44] died of tuberculosis.
On 1st May 1797 Edward Smith-Stanley 12th Earl of Derby [aged 44] and Elizabeth Farren Countess Derby [aged 38] were married. She by marriage Countess Derby. The marriage taking place six weeks after the death of his estranged wife [her sister-in-law] Elizabeth Hamilton Countess Derby.
On 2nd August 1799 [her husband] Douglas Hamilton 8th Duke Hamilton 5th Duke Brandon [aged 43] died at Hamilton Palace, Hamilton. His uncle Archibald [aged 59] succeeded 9th Duke Hamilton, 6th Duke Brandon of Suffolk, 5th Marquess Douglas, 6th Baron Dutton of Cheshire. His half brother [her brother-in-law] George [aged 30] succeeded 3rd Baron Hamilton of Hameldon in Leicestershire.
In 1800 Henry Cecil 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 45] and Elizabeth Anne Burrell Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon [aged 42] were married. She by marriage Countess Exeter.
In February 1801 [her husband] Henry Cecil 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 46] was created 1st Marquess Exeter. Elizabeth Anne Burrell Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon [aged 43] by marriage Marchioness Exeter.
On 1st May 1804 [her husband] Henry Cecil 1st Marquess Exeter [aged 50] died. His son [her step-son] Brownlow [aged 8] succeeded 2nd Marquess Exeter, 11th Earl Exeter, 12th Baron Burghley.
On 24th January 1812 [her sister] Isabella Susan Burrell Countess Beverley [aged 61] died. She was buried in the Northumberland Vault, Crypt, Westminster Abbey.
On 28th April 1820 [her sister] Frances Julia Burrell Duchess Northumberland [aged 67] died at Syon House [Map]. She was buried in the Northumberland Vault, Crypt, Westminster Abbey.
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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On 29th June 1820 [her brother] Peter Burrell Baron Willoughby, 1st Baron Gwydyr [aged 66] died. His son [her nephew] Peter [aged 38] succeeded 2nd Baron Gwydyr of Cwydyr in Carnarfonshire. Clementina Sarah Drummond Baroness Gwydyr and Willoughby [aged 34] by marriage Baroness Gwydyr of Cwydyr in Carnarfonshire.
On 17th January 1837 Elizabeth Anne Burrell Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon [aged 79] died. She was buried in the Northumberland Vault, Crypt, Westminster Abbey.
GrandFather: Peter Burrell
Father: Peter Burrell
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Raymond
Great x 1 Grandfather: Hugh Raymond
GrandMother: Amy Raymond
Elizabeth Anne Burrell Duchess Hamilton Duchess Brandon
GrandFather: John Lewis 
Mother: Elizabeth Lewis