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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Christchurch Priory is in Christchurch, Dorset [Map], Priories in England.
On 4th September 1815 Harriet Susan Dashwood (age 32) died. Memorial in Christchurch Priory [Map] sculpted by John Flaxman (age 60).
Harriet Susan Dashwood: In 1783 she was born to Francis Bateman Dashwood. On 17th June 1806 James Edward Harris 2nd Earl Malmesbury and she were married. He the son of James Harris 1st Earl Malmesbury and Harriet Maria Amyand Countess Malmesbury.
1854. Monument to Percy Bysshe Shelley in Christchurch Priory [Map]. Sculpted by Henry Weekes (age 46). The monument possibly contains Shelley's heart, possibly liver, which resisted cremation and was retrieved by Edward Trelawny who was present at the cremation.
The monument verse forty of fifty-five of Shelley's Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, etc:
He has out-soared the shadow of our night;
Envy and calumny, and hate and pain,
And that unrest which men miscall delight,
Can touch him not and torture not again;
From the contagion of the world's slow stain.
He is secure, and now can never mourn.
A heart grown cold, a head grown gray in vain;
Nor when the spirit's self has ceased to burn,
With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn.
On 17th May 1876 Corisande Emma Bennet Countess Malmesbury (age 68) died. Memorial in Christchurch Priory [Map] sculpted by Gaetano Trentanove (age 18).
Sacred To The Memory Of Corisande Emma Countess Of Malmesbury, Daughter Of Charles Fifth Earl Of Tankerville, And Corisande, Daughter Of The Duke De Gramont. Born Aug. 19, 1807. Died May 17, 1876.
From her it never was our fate to find a deed ungentle or a word unkind, the mildes manners with the bravest mind."
Corisande Emma Bennet Countess Malmesbury: On 10th August 1807 she was born to Charles Augustus Bennet 5th Earl Tankerville and Corisande Armandine Sophie Léonie Hélène Gramont Countess Tankerville. On 13th May 1830 James Harris 3rd Earl Malmesbury and she were married. She by marriage Countess Malmesbury. She the daughter of Charles Augustus Bennet 5th Earl Tankerville and Corisande Armandine Sophie Léonie Hélène Gramont Countess Tankerville. He the son of James Edward Harris 2nd Earl Malmesbury and Harriet Susan Dashwood.
After 1911. Monument to Fanny White-White. Christchurch Priory [Map].
After 1985. Monument to Donald Bailey; inventor of the Bailey Bridge. Christchurch Priory [Map].
