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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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Paternal Family Tree: Blackett
On 10th July 1645 [his step-father] William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 24) and [his mother] Elizabeth Kirkley were married at Hamsterley, County Durham [Map].
On 14th June 1657 William Blackett 1st Baronet was born to [his step-father] William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 36) and [his mother] Elizabeth Kirkley.
On 12th December 1673 [his step-father] William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 52) was created 1st Baronet Blackett of Newcastle in Northumberland.
On 7th April 1674 [his mother] Elizabeth Kirkley died. She was buried at Cathedral Church St Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne [Map].
After 7th April 1674 [his step-father] William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 52) and Lady Margaret Cock were married. She by marriage Lady Blackett of Newcastle in Northumberland.
On 16th May 1680 [his step-father] William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 59) died. His son [his brother] Edward (age 30) succeeded 2nd Baronet Blackett of Newcastle in Northumberland. Mary Yorke Lady Blackett (age 23) by marriage Lady Blackett of Newcastle in Northumberland.
In 1685 William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 27) was elected MP Newcastle upon Tyne.
On 22nd January 1685 William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 27) and Julia Conyers were married at Cathedral Church St Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne [Map].
On 23rd January 1685 William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 27) was created 1st Baronet Blackett of Newcastle upon Tyne in Northumberland.
On 18th May 1686 [his daughter] Julia Blacket Lady Calverley was born to William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 28) and [his wife] Julia Conyers. She married 7th January 1707 Walter Calverly 1st Baronet and had issue.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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In 1688 John Fenwick 3rd Baronet (age 43) sold most of the family estates and Wallington Hall to William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 30) for £4000 and an annuity of £2000 a year. The annuity was to be paid for his lifetime and that of his wife, Mary. Blackett was happy with the deal as he discovered lead on the land and he became rich.
In 1688 William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 30) was appointed High Sheriff of Northumberland.
In 1688 the estates of Wallington Hall, Northumberland [Map] were sold by John Fenwick 3rd Baronet (age 43) to William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 30) for £4000 and an annuity of £2000 a year. The annuity was to be paid for his lifetime and that of his wife, Mary (age 35). Blackett was happy with the deal as he discovered lead on the land and became wealthy.
Around 1690 [his son] William Blackett 2nd Baronet was born to William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 32) and [his wife] Julia Conyers. He married 1725 Barbara Villiers Lady Blackett, daughter of William Villiers 2nd Earl Jersey.
On 3rd February 1691 [his daughter] Isabella Blackett Countess Buchan was born to William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 33) and [his wife] Julia Conyers. She married 15th September 1743 David Erskine 9th Earl Buchan.
In 1695 William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 37) was elected MP Newcastle upon Tyne.
In 1703 [his daughter] Diana Blackett Lady Wentworth was born to William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 45) and [his wife] Julia Conyers. She married 1720 William Wentworth 4th Baronet, son of Matthew wentworth 3rd Baronet, and had issue.
Before December 1705 William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 48) was elected MP Newcastle upon Tyne.
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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In December 1705 William Blackett 1st Baronet (age 48) died. His son William (age 15) succeeded 2nd Baronet Blackett of Newcastle upon Tyne in Northumberland and inherited Wallington Hall, Northumberland [Map].
Around 1715 Enoch "The Younger" Seeman (age 21) (attributed). Portrait of William Blackett 1st Baronet.
On 16th August 1722 [his former wife] Julia Conyers died.
[his daughter] Frances Blackett was born to William Blackett 1st Baronet and Julia Conyers. She married Robert Bruce, son of Charles Bruce 4th Earl Elgin 3rd Earl Ailesbury and Anne Savile.
Father: William Blackett 1st Baronet 
GrandFather: Michael Kirkley Merchant of Newcastle
Mother: Elizabeth Kirkley