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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Nicholas Read is in Sculptors.
Around 1733 Nicholas Read was born.
From 1750 Nicholas Read (age 17) became an apprentice to Louis Francois Roubiliac (age 47); the only apprentice Roubiliac, who had vowed not to take apprentices, ever had.
In 1762 Nicholas Read (age 29) won a "premium" of 100 guineas from the Society of Arts for a marble figure of Actaeon and his dog.
On 11th January 1762 Louis Francois Roubiliac (age 59) died. He was buried in St Martin in the Fields Church [Map]. His funeral was attended by Joshua Reynolds (age 38) among many others. His apprentice Nicholas Read (age 29) took over his studio at 66 St Martin's Lane.
On 18th September 1764 Anne Jacobsen Lady Morgan (age 50) died. She was buried at St James' Church, Kinnersley [Map] where her uncle Theodore Jacobsen commissioned a monument by Nicholas Read (age 31).
Anne Jacobsen Lady Morgan: In 1714 she was born to Jacob Jacobsen of Walthamstow, Essex and Ann Heathcote. On 17th December 1750 John Morgan 4th Baronet and she were married. She by marriage Lady Morgan of Langattock in Monmouthshire.
From 1780 Nicholas Read (age 47) "lost his reason" ie had mental health problems.
On 11th July 1787 Nicholas Read (age 54) died. His will was read the next day.
