The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk is in Suffolk.
1190 Attacks on the Jews in England
1447 Death of Humphrey of Lancaster
See: Brockley, Bury St Edmunds, Bury St Edmund's Abbey [Map], Bury St Edmund's School, Suffolk, Hengrave, Bury St Edmunds, Horringer, Bury St Edmunds, Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds, Market Place, Bury St Edmunds, St Mary's Church, Bury St Edmunds.
On 17th August 1153 King Stephen's eldest son Eustace Blois IV Count Boulogne [aged 23] died at Bury St Edmunds [Map]. Probably from food poisoning, possibly murdered for having sacked the Abbey. His brother William [aged 16] succeeded I Count Boulogne.
Around 30th May 1157 King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England [aged 24] and Eleanor of Aquitaine Queen Consort Franks and England [aged 35] spent Whitsun at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map] for a ceremonial crown wearing.
On 18th March 1190 at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map] fifty-seven of the Jewish population were murdered.
After 15th June 1381 John Cavendish [deceased] was buried at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map].
Chronicle of Gregory. January 1447. Ande that same year was a Parlyment begon at Byry [Map]; and that same year there was grete wache at Syn Donstonys in the Este [Map], by the sofferens of our sufferayne lord the kyng, in every warde of London alle the xvi dayes in Crystysmasse by the commaundement of the King [aged 25].
On 23rd February 1447 Humphrey Lancaster 1st Duke Gloucester [aged 56] died at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map]. He was possibly poisoned although more likely he died from a stroke. Duke Gloucester, Earl Pembroke extinct. His death left England with no heir to the throne in a direct line. Richard Plantagenet 3rd Duke of York [aged 35] became heir presumptive until the birth of Edward of Westminster Prince of Wales six years later.
Chronicle of Gregory. 20th February 1447. Ande at Schroffe tyde nexte aftyr there was ordaynyd a Parlyment at Synt Edmondys Bury [Map]; ande att the comyng of the goode Duke Umfray, some tyme Duke of Glouceter [aged 56], uppon the Satyrday anon as he was a lyght of his hors he was a-restyde of dyvers lordys for treson by commaundement of the kyng [aged 25], and men said at that tyme.
Around 1483 Bishop Stephen Gardiner was born at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map].
Henry Machyn's Diary. 12th July 1553. The xij day [of] July by nyght, was cared to the Towre [Map] iij carts [full of all] maner of ordenans, as gret gune and smalle, bowes, bylls, speres, mores-pykes, arnes, arowes, gunpowther, and wetelle, monay, tentes, and all maner of ordenans, gunstones a gret nombur, and a grett nombur of men of armes; and yt had been for a gret army toward Cambryge [Map]; and ij days after the duke, and dyvers lordes and knyghts whent with him, and mony gentylmen and gonnars, and mony men of the gard and men of armes toward my lade Mare grace, to destroye here grace, and so to Bury [Map], and alle was agayns ym-seylff, for ys men forsok hym .... and of dyvers maters, and so in dyvers plases .... contres was her grace proclamyd quen of [England.]
Note. Political placard. The paragraph now imperfect seems to have been that which furnished the following in Strype: "On the same 16th day, in the morning, some, to shew their good will to the lady Mary, ventured to fasten up upon Queenhithe church wall, a writing in way of a declaration, importing that the lady Mary was proclaimed in every country 'Queen of England, France, and Ireland,' (being an officious lye to do her service,) and likewise treating of divers matters relating to the present state of affairs."
Chronicle of Queen Jane and Two Years of Queen Mary 1553. 18th July 1553. The xviij. daye the duke [aged 49], perceaving howe their succours came not, and also receyving from some of the counsell at the Tower lettres of discomfort, retoumed from Bury [Map], and came back agayn to Cambridge [Map].
Henry Machyn's Diary. 2nd August 1555. The ij day of August was a shumaker bornyd at sant Edmundebere in Suffoke [Map] for herese.
In 1587 William Hervey was born at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map].
In 1593 Francis Prujean was born to Francis Prujean Rector at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map]. He married (1) in or before 1661 Margaret Leggatt (2) 13th February 1664 Margaret Gorges, daughter of Edward Gorges 1st Baron Gorges of Dundalk.
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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In 1614 Thomas Jermyn [aged 41] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds.
Around 1627 Francis Chaplin was born at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map].
On 14th November 1627 Elizabeth Waldegrave died. On 6th December 1629 Arthur Coke [aged 40] died in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map]. Stuart Hooded Monument sculpted by Nicholas Stone [aged 40] in St Andrew's Church, Bramfield [Map]. White and black marble; reclining effigy of Elizabeth with Arthur kneeling in prayer above within an arched Recess; Arms over the arch and surrounding it are seven Cartouche's.
Elizabeth Waldegrave: she was born to George Waldegrave. On 8th February 1608 Arthur Coke and she were married at Hitcham, Norfolk as recorded in the papers of the Winthrop Family Folio 36: "The viijth of Feb. beinge Shrovetuesday the L Cokes seconde soonne maryed the daughter and heire of Sir George Waldegrave at Hiccham". The Hitcham Register gives 09 Feb as the date of the marriage.
Arthur Coke: In 1587 he was born to Edward Coke and Bridget Paston.
In November 1640 Henry Jermyn 1st Earl St Albans [aged 35] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds during the Long Parliament.
In November 1640 Thomas Jermyn [aged 23] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds during the Long Parliament.
In 1661 Edmund Pooley of Bradley in Suffolk [aged 42] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds which seat he held until 1671.
On 27th August 1665 John Hervey 1st Earl Bristol was born to Thomas Hervey [aged 40] at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map]. He married (1) 1st November 1668 Isabella Carr, daughter of Robert Carr 3rd Baronet, and had issue (2) 25th July 1695 his third cousin twice removed Elizabeth Felton Countess Bristol, daughter of Thomas Felton 4th Baronet and Elizabeth Howard Lady Felton, and had issue.
In 1673 Thomas Jermyn 2nd Baron Jermyn [aged 39] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds.
John Evelyn's Diary. 28th August 1677. To visit my Lord Chamberlain [aged 59], in Suffolk; he sent his coach and six to meet and bring me from St. Edmund's Bury [Map] to Euston.
John Evelyn's Diary. 4th September 1677. I went to visit my Lord Crofts [aged 66], now dying at St. Edmunds Bury [Map], and took the opportunity to see this ancient town, and the remains of that famous monastery and abbey. There is little standing entire, save the gatehouse; it has been a vast and magnificent Gothic structure, and of great extent. The gates are wood, but quite plated over with iron. There are also two stately churches, one especially.
John Evelyn's Diary. 13th September 1677. My Lord's coach conveyed me to Bury [Map], and thence baiting at Newmarket, Suffolk, stepping in at Audley-End [Map] to see that house again, I slept at Bishop-Stortford [Map], and, the next day, home. I was accompanied in my journey by Major Fairfax, of a younger house of the Lord Fairfax, a soldier, a traveler, an excellent musician, a good-natured, well-bred gentleman.
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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In 1689 Robert Davers 2nd Baronet [aged 36] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds.
In 1703 Robert Davers 2nd Baronet [aged 50] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds.
On 29th June 1733 Thomas Hervey [aged 34] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds which seat he held until 1747.
On 27th April 1759 Bishop Bowyer Sparke was born to Major William Sparke at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map]. He married November 1790 Miss Hobbs of Blandford in Dorset.
In 1774 Charles Davers 6th Baronet [aged 36] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds during the 1774 General Election.
In 1818 Henry Fitzroy 5th Duke Grafton [aged 27] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds which seat he held until 1820.
In 1826 Henry Fitzroy 5th Duke Grafton [aged 35] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds which seat he held until 1831.
In 1831 Charles Fitzroy [aged 39] was elected MP Bury St Edmunds.
The River Lark rises near Stonecross Green, Suffolk [Map] from where it flows past Pinford End, Suffolk [Map], Sicklesmere, Suffolk [Map], through Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk [Map], past Fornham All Saints, Suffolk [Map], Flempton, Suffolk [Map], Icklingham, Suffolk [Map], Barton Mills, Suffolk [Map], Mildenhall, Suffolk [Map], Isleham [Map] and Prickwillow [Map] after which it joins the River Great Ouse.
On 15th October 1285 Roger Zouche [aged 43] died at Brockley, Bury St Edmunds.
Bury St Edmund's Abbey is also in Abbeys in England.
Chronicon ex Chronicis by Florence and John of Worcester. 1032. The church of St. Edmund, king and martyr, was dedicated this year. [Note. Possibly Bury St Edmund's Abbey [Map].]
Images of Histories by Ralph Diceto. On the fifteenth day before the Kalends of April [18th March 1190], namely on Palm Sunday, as it is said, fifty-seven were killed at St Edmund’s [Map]. Wherever Jews were found, they were struck down by the hands of the pilgrims, except those whom the townspeople rescued with their assistance. It must not be believed that men of wisdom approved of so dreadful and destructive a slaughter of the Jews, since that saying of David so often comes to our ears: "Do not kill them."
Multi per Angliam, tendere Jerosolimam properantes, prius in Judæos insurgere decreverunt quam invaderent Sarraeenos. Igitur viii1 idus Februarii Judæi quotquot inventi sunt in domibus propriis apud Norwieum trucidati sunt; aliqui refugium habuerunt in castellum. Nonis Martii, tempore sceilieet nundinarum apud Stamford sunt multi. Septimo decimo kalendas Aprilis apud Eboracum, sicut. dicitur, fere quingenti neci traditi sunt, mutuis sese vulneribus appetentes. Malebant enim a propria gente percuti, quam manibus incircumcisorum perire. Xvto kalendas Aprilis, seilicet in Ramis Palmarum, sicut. dicitur, quinquaginta septem jugulati sunt apud Sanetum Eadmundum. Ubicunque reperti sunt Judæi manibus peregrinantium percussi sunt, nisi qui municipalium eruebantur auxilio. Necem Judæorum tam funestam, tam exitialem, viris prudentibus placuisse credendum non est, cum Daviticum illud auribus nostris frequenter occurrat, "Ne occidas eos."
In 1202 Bishop Hugh of Northwold became a monk of the Bury St Edmund's Abbey [Map].
On 7th August 1213 Bishop Hugh of Northwold was elected Abbot of Bury St Edmunds.
On 25th June 1533 Mary Tudor Queen Consort France [aged 37] died at Westhorpe, Suffolk [Map]. She was buried at the monastery of St. Edmondsbury [Map] on 22nd July 1533. Her daughter Frances [aged 15] was Chief Mourner.
On 21st July 1533 Mary Tudor Queen Consort France [deceased] was buried at Bury St Edmund's Abbey [Map]. Catherine Willoughby [aged 14] was one of the chief mourners. She, Catherine, married Mary's former husband Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk [aged 49], who held her wardship, ten weeks later.
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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Wriothesley's Chronicle [1508-1562]. 25th June 1533. This yeare, on Midsommer eaven, died the French Queene [aged 37],a sister to the Kinge [aged 41], and wife to the Duke of Suffolke [aged 49], and was buried at Sainct Edmondesburie in Suffolke.
Note a. Mary, sister to Henry VIII and Queen Dowager of France, died at the manor of Westhorpe [Map], in Suffolk, on the 23rd June, and was buried (July 22) at the monastery of St. Edmondsbury [Map], where her corpse was found in a perfect state on September 6th, 1784, being 251 years after her interment.
Jurmin Wuffingas was reburied at Bury St Edmund's Abbey [Map].
Around 1738 Francis Willoughby 3rd Baron Middleton [aged 11] educated at Bury St Edmund's School, Suffolk.
Around 1740 Thomas Willoughby 4th Baron Middleton [aged 11] educated at Bury St Edmund's School, Suffolk.
On 28th February 1556 John Bourchier [aged 27] died. He was buried at the Church of St John Lateran, Hengrave.
On 10th February 1561 John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath [aged 62] died. He was buried on 10th March 1561 at the Church of St John Lateran, Hengrave. His grandson William [aged 3] succeeded 3rd Earl Bath, 13th Baron Fitzwarin, 4th Baron Daubeney
On 12th December 1561 Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 52] died at Stoke Newington [Map]. She was buried on 11th January 1562 at the Church of St John Lateran, Hengrave; see Henry Machyn's Diary.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 11th January 1562. The xj day of January was bered in Suffoke my lade contes of Bayth wedow, and the last wyff to the sed erle, and late the wyff of ser Thomas Cutsun, and late to ser Recherd Longe knyght; with a grett banar of armes and vj banar-rolles of all mareges [marriages], and a x dosen skochyons of armes, and vj of sylke wrought with fyne gold.
Note. P. 275. Funeral of the countess of Bath. Margaret, only child of John Donnington, of Stoke Newington in Middlesex, married successively to sir Thomas Kytson, sir Richard Long, and John Bourchier earl of Bath. The last died in 1560. Her monument in Hengrave church, Suffolk, with recumbent effigies of herself and her three husbands, is engraved in Gage's History of that parish, 1822, 4to. p. 65; and in the same volume are several letters to and from her, an inventory of her property, her will, and an account of her funeral expenses, &c.
Before 25th May 1524 John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath [aged 25] and Eleanor Manners Countess Bath [aged 21] were married at Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edmunds. He the son of John Bourchier 1st Earl Bath [aged 53] and Cecily Daubeney Baroness Fitzwarin [aged 50]. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward III of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward III of England.
On 4th December 1548 a double wedding of a father and son, and a mother and daughter, was celebrated at Hengrave Hall, Bury St Edmunds.
John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath [aged 49] and Margaret Donnington Countess Bath [aged 39] were married. She by marriage Countess Bath. He the son of John Bourchier 1st Earl Bath and Cecily Daubeney Baroness Fitzwarin.
John Bourchier [aged 19] and Frances Kitson were married. She the daughter of Thomas Kitson and Margaret Donnington Countess Bath. He the son of John Bourchier 2nd Earl Bath and Eleanor Manners Countess Bath.
Proceedings of the Bury and West Suffolk Archaeological Institute Volume 2 1859. [1676]. There are numerous inscriptiona in honour of the dead; the most considerable of which is a gravestone near to the altar in memory of Sir Richard Gipps, who resided at Little Horringer Hall [Map], and received the honor of Knighthood from Charles the Second, in 1676, during one of the visits of "the merry monarch" to "the mad-cap Croftes" at Little Saxham Hall. There is a mural tablet to Dame Elizabeth his widow, daughter of Sir Edmund Foley, Kt. ob. 1715; and a small brass plate on a gravestone within the altar-rails to Mary Lucas, of Horsecroft, 1618.
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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Little Horringer Hall, Bury St Edmunds [Map] was built around 1750. Red brick with string course at first floor.
On 10th January 1999 Frederick William John Augustus Hervey 7th Marquess of Bristol [aged 44] died of multiple organ failure due to chronic drug abuse almost penniless at Little Horringer Hall, Bury St Edmunds [Map]. His half brother Frederick [aged 19] succeeded 8th Marquess of Bristol, 8th Earl Jermyn of Horningworth in Suffolk, 12th Earl Bristol, 13th Baron Hervey of Ickworth in Suffolk.
Around 1700 Johnathan "The Elder" Richardson [aged 32]. Portrait of Robert Davers 1st Baronet. Ickworth House Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds.
Robert Davers 1st Baronet: Around 1620 he was born. In 1682 Robert Davers 1st Baronet was created 1st Baronet Davers of Rougham in Suffolk. In 1685 Robert Davers 1st Baronet died. His son Robert succeeded 2nd Baronet Davers of Rougham in Suffolk. Mary Jermyn Lady Davers by marriage Lady Davers of Rougham in Suffolk.
Around 1723 Johnathan "The Elder" Richardson [aged 55]. Portrait of Robert Davers 3rd Baronet [aged 39]. Ickworth House Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds.
Robert Davers 3rd Baronet: In 1684 he was born to Robert Davers 2nd Baronet and Mary Jermyn Lady Davers. In 1722 Robert Davers 2nd Baronet died. His son Robert succeeded 3rd Baronet Davers of Rougham in Suffolk. On 20th May 1723 Robert Davers 3rd Baronet died. His brother Jermyn succeeded 4th Baronet Davers of Rougham in Suffolk.
On 30th October 1864 Frederick Hervey 2nd Marquess of Bristol [aged 64] died at Ickworth House Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds. His son Frederick [aged 30] succeeded 3rd Marquess of Bristol, 3rd Earl Jermyn of Horningworth in Suffolk, 7th Earl Bristol, 8th Baron Hervey of Ickworth in Suffolk. Geraldine Anson Marchioness of Bristol [aged 30] by marriage Marchioness of Bristol.
On 10th October 1870 Herbert Hervey 5th Marquess of Bristol was born to Augustus Henry Charles Hervey [aged 33] in Ickworth House Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds. He married (1) 19th October 1914 Jean Cochrane and had issue (2) 15th December 1952 Dora Frances Emblin Marchioness Bristol.
In March 1994 Frederick William John Augustus Hervey 7th Marquess of Bristol [aged 39] sold the contents of Ickworth House Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds at auction for £2.3 million.
On 18th January 1680 John Hervey [aged 63] died. He was buried in St Mary's Church Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds.
On 23rd February 1999 Frederick William John Augustus Hervey 7th Marquess of Bristol [deceased] was buried at St Mary's Church Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds.
On 15th June 1381 John Cavendish [aged 35] was captured at Church of St Mary, Cavendish during the Peasants' Revolt. He was beheaded in the Market Place in Bury St Edmunds.