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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Paternal Family Tree: Morden aka Harbord
After 1605. The current Blickling Hall, Norfolk [Map] was built by Robert Lyminge after 1605 for Henry Hobart 1st Baronet [aged 45]. The estate passed through the Hobart family to John Hobart 2nd Earl Buckinghamshire. It then passed to his daughter [his future wife] Caroline Hobart Baroness Suffield who was married to William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield. The couple did not have any issue. The estate then passed to Caroline's great-nephew William Schomberg Kerr 8th Marquess Lothian; grandson son of her sister Harriet Hobart Viscountess Belmore.
William Schomberg Kerr 8th Marquess Lothian: In 1832 he was born to John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian and Cecil Chetwynd-Talbot Marchioness Lothian. On 14th November 1841 John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian died at Blickling Hall, Norfolk [Map]. His son William succeeded 8th Marquess Lothian, 11th Earl Lothian, 9th Earl Lothian. He inherited the Blickling, Norfolk estate and made significant changes. On 12th August 1857 William Schomberg Kerr 8th Marquess Lothian and Constance Harriet Mahonesa Talbot Marchioness Lothian were married. She by marriage Marchioness Lothian. She the daughter of Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot 3rd Earl Talbot 18th Earl of Shrewsbury and Sarah Elizabeth Beresford Countess Talbot Shrewsbury Waterford. He the son of John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian and Cecil Chetwynd-Talbot Marchioness Lothian. They were first cousins.
In 1760 [his father] Harbord Morden aka Harbord 1st Baron Suffield [aged 25] and [his mother] Mary Assheton Baroness Suffield were married.
On 21st August 1766 William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield was born to [his father] Harbord Morden aka Harbord 1st Baron Suffield [aged 32] and [his mother] Mary Assheton Baroness Suffield.
On 17th February 1770 [his grandfather] William Morden aka Harbord 1st Baronet [aged 74] died. His son [his father] Harbord [aged 36] succeeded 2nd Baronet Harbord of Suffield in Norfolk. [his mother] Mary Assheton Baroness Suffield by marriage Lady Harbord of Suffield in Norfolk.
In 1786 [his father] Harbord Morden aka Harbord 1st Baron Suffield [aged 51] was created 1st Baron Suffield. [his mother] Mary Assheton Baroness Suffield by marriage Baroness Suffield.
In 1790 William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield [aged 23] was elected MP Ludgershall.
In 1809 [his brother] Edward Harbord 3rd Baron Suffield [aged 27] and [his sister-in-law] Georgiana Venables-Vernon Baroness Suffield [aged 22] were married.
On 4th February 1810 [his father] Harbord Morden aka Harbord 1st Baron Suffield [aged 76] died. His son William [aged 43] succeeded 2nd Baron Suffield, 3rd Baronet Harbord of Suffield in Norfolk. [his future wife] Caroline Hobart Baroness Suffield by marriage Baroness Suffield.
Before 7th February 1821 William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield [aged 54] and Caroline Hobart Baroness Suffield were married. She the daughter of John Hobart 2nd Earl Buckinghamshire and Mary Anne Drury Countess Buckinghamshire. They were half second cousins.
On 7th February 1821 William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield [aged 54] was elected MP Plympton Erle.
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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On 6th April 1821 Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 81] died. His son Robert [aged 51] succeeded 2nd Marquess Londonderry. [his sister-in-law] Amelia Hobart Marchioness Londonderry [aged 49] by marriage Marchioness Londonderry.
On 1st August 1821 William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield [aged 54] died. His brother Edward [aged 39] succeeded 3rd Baron Suffield, 4th Baronet Harbord of Suffield in Norfolk. Georgiana Venables-Vernon Baroness Suffield [aged 35] by marriage Baroness Suffield.
After 1st August 1821. St Andrew's Church, Blickling [Map]. Memorial to William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield [deceased] erected by his widow [his former wife] Caroline Hobart Baroness Suffield.
In 1850 [his former wife] Caroline Hobart Baroness Suffield died.
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Morden
GrandFather: William Morden aka Harbord 1st Baronet
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Cropley
Great x 1 Grandmother: Judith Cropley
Father: Harbord Morden aka Harbord 1st Baron Suffield
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Britiffe
GrandMother: Elizabeth Britiffe Lady Harbord
William Assheton Harbord 2nd Baron Suffield
Great x 2 Grandfather: Ralph Assheton 1st Baronet
Great x 1 Grandfather: Richard Assheton
GrandFather: Ralph Assheton 3rd Baronet
Mother: Mary Assheton Baroness Suffield