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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Bradford Cathedral
St George the Martyr Church, Southwark
St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury
Rochester Cathedral
All Saints' Church, Nocton
Bath, Somerset
John "The Younger" Bacon is in Sculptors.
On 2nd March 1767 [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 26) and [his mother] Elizabeth Wade (age 27) were married at St Saviour's Church, Southwark. They had three sons, one of which died in infancy, and three daughters.
In 1777 John "The Younger" Bacon was born to [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 36) and [his mother] Elizabeth Wade (age 37) at 17 Newman Street, Marylebone.
On 6th April 1778 Matthew Ridley (age 66) died. Monument at the Cathedral Church St Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne [Map] sculpted by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 37).
On 10th February 1780 Samuel Egerton (age 68) died. On 19th February 1780 he was buried at St Mary's Church, Rostherne, Tatton [Map]. Monument sculpted by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 39). Figures representing Hope and Patience.
The monument inscription describes those also buried in the vault: John Egerton, his wife Elizabeth Barbour buried 10th February 1743, her mother Elizabeth Hill (age 85) buried 17th April 1713 and John and Elizabeth's daughter-in-law Beatrix Copley (age 22) buried 1st May 1755.
On 1st February 1782 [his mother] Elizabeth Wade (age 42) died.
In October 1782 [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 41) and [his step-mother] Marthe Holland (age 26) were married at Marylebone Church. They had five sons and one daughter.
After 1788. Bradford Cathedral [Map]. Monument to William Northrop died 1800 sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon (age 11).
On 7th December 1788 Anne Cust (age 17) died. Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map]. Sculpted by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 48) in 1793.
Anne Cust: In 1771 she was born to Brownlow Cust 1st Baron Brownlow and Jocosa Drury Lady Cust.
On 22nd August 1793 John Thomas (age 81) died. He has a memorial in the South Aisle of the Nave of Westminster Abbey. A grey and white marble with a bust and relief of the Holy Lamb, with a mitre and crozier behind. On either side are a chalice and paten and other emblems of the Eucharist made by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 52). The inscription reads .... Sacred to the memory of the Right Reverend John THOMAS, Doctor of Laws, Bishop of Rochester, Dean of this Collegiate Church, and of the most honourable Order of the Bath. Having passed a well spent boyhood at Carlisle School, he gathered the riper fruits of learning at Oxford, whence, by reason of his intellect, his character, his humane and profound scholarship, he emerged as an ornament to the legal profession. His fame thereafter growing and duly spreading abroad, he adorned his offices by his worthiness, increased his riches by his bounty, governed this church with his wisdom, protected it by his authority, and instructed it by his example. Unweared in his labours, indefatigable in his studies, his constant principle was edification: until, having virtuously fulfilled all life obligations, and for long sore pressed by a cruel disease, which was borne however with indomitable patience, he resigned his soul to God on 20th August 1793 in his 81st year. It fell to the lot of his relative, G.A.T., A.M. [Master of Arts] to offer this vain tribute, this token of sorrow, mean though it be.
Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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On 7th August 1799 [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon (age 58) died from inflammation of the bowels at his house in 17 Newman Street, Marylebone. His son John "The Younger" Bacon (age 22) inherited his workshop and business, and completed his father's unfinished commissions: the statue of William Jones in St Paul's Cathedral, William Mason in Westminster Abbey, and a relief for East India House.
On 8th September 1801 John "The Younger" Bacon (age 24) and Susanna Sophia Taylor (age 19) were married at St George the Martyr Church, Southwark [Map]. He the son of John "The Elder" Bacon and Elizabeth Wade.
1805. St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury [Map]. Monument to Thomas Starky sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon (age 28).
1806. Rochester Cathedral [Map]. Monument to John Henniker 1st Baron Henniker sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon (age 29).
On 25th December 1806 [his daughter] Christiana Bacon was born to John "The Younger" Bacon (age 29) and [his wife] Susanna Sophia Taylor (age 24). She married 10th July 1827 Reverend John Medley.
1809. St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury [Map]. Monument to John Jennings sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon (age 32).
1815. St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury [Map]. Monument to Elinor Starky sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon (age 38).
On 4th February 1816 Robert Hobart 4th Earl Buckinghamshire (age 55) died from a fall from a horse. His nephew George (age 26) succeeded 5th Earl Buckinghamshire, 5th Baron Hobart, 9th Baronet Hobart of Intwood in Norfolk. Monument at All Saints' Church, Nocton [Map] sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon (age 39).
George Hobart-Hampden 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire: On 1st May 1789 he was born to George Vere Hobart. On 1st February 1849 George Hobart-Hampden 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire died. His brother Augustus succeeded 6th Earl Buckinghamshire, 6th Baron Hobart, 10th Baronet Hobart of Intwood in Norfolk.
On 10th July 1827 [his son-in-law] Reverend John Medley (age 22) and [his daughter] Christiana Bacon (age 20) were married at St Mary and St Peter's Church, Salcombe Regis. Her father John "The Younger" Bacon (age 50) was a witness. She the daughter of John "The Younger" Bacon and [his wife] Susanna Sophia Taylor (age 45).
On 30th April 1841 [his daughter] Christiana Bacon (age 34) died of consumption. She was buried at St Thomas' Church, Exeter.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Journals of Caroline Fox Chapter XIII 1847. 12th October 1847. Burnard tells amusing stories of his brother sculptors, and their devices to hide their ignorance on certain questions. Chantrey, after sustaining a learned conversation with Lord Melbourne (age 68) to his extremest limits, saved his credit by, "Would your Lordship kindly turn your head on the other side and shut your mouth." Spoke of Bacon (age 70), the sculptor, after having given up his craft for twenty-five years, resuming it, at the request of his dying [his daughter] daughter, to make her monument, and finding himself as much at home with his tools as ever.
On 14th July 1859 John "The Younger" Bacon (age 82) died at Bath, Somerset [Map].
GrandFather: Thomas Bacon 
Father: John "The Elder" Bacon
Mother: Elizabeth Wade