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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Liverpool, Lancashire is in Lancashire.
On 20th December 1823 John Leigh [aged 71] died in Liverpool, Lancashire [Map].
On 6th January 1839 an enormous storm, known in Ireland as "Night of the Big Wind", the largest in three-hundred years, caused significant loss of life and damage in Ireland, particularly Dublin [Map] where one fifth of property was destroyed, and western Britain, particularly Liverpool [Map]. The next day a number of passenger ships were lost.
The River Mersey is formed from the River Goyt and River Tame which converge at Stockport, Cheshire [Map] from where it flows through Carrington, Lancashire [Map], Warrington, Cheshire [Map], Widnes, Lancashire [Map] and Runcorn, Cheshire [Map] to Liverpool, Lancashire [Map] after which it joins the Irish Sea.
On 4th April 1886 Edward Henry Fiennes-Clinton was born to Charles Edward Fiennes-Clinton [aged 31]. He was baptised at St Mary's Church, Bootle on the 16th June 1886. He married 16th August 1912 Edith Annie Guest and had issue.
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is also in Cathedrals in England.
Between 1962 and 1967 Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral [Map] was constructed to designs by architect, Frederick Gibberd.
On 5th April 1866 Dean Herbert Mortimer Luckock [aged 32] and Margaret Emma Thompson at All Saints' Church, Childwall. They had eight children of which six survived him.
On 25th April 1867 Ralph Brocklebank of Childwall Hall and Mary Petrena Royds [aged 17] were married at All Saints' Church, Childwall by Reverend Edward Royds [aged 46], Rector of St Oswald's Church, Brereton [Map] assisted by the Rev. Canon Brandreth, Rector of Standish, co. Lancaster, both uncles of the bride.
On 15th August 1845 Walter Crane was born to Thomas Crane [aged 37] and Marie Kearsley in Liverpool, Lancashire [Map] at Maryland Street, Liverpool [Map]. Her father was a "maltster," a prosperous man in a good position in Chester. His mother seems to have died early, and her father married a second time. He married 6th September 1871 Mary Frances Andrews and had issue.
On 29th December 1809 William Ewart Gladstone was born to John Gladstone 1st Baronet [aged 45] and Anne MacKenzie Robertson [aged 37] at 62 Rodney Street, Liverpool [Map]. He married 25th July 1839 Catherine Glynne, daughter of Stephen Richard Glynne 8th Baronet and Mary Griffin, and had issue.
On 9th October 1940 John Lennon was born in Liverpool Maternity Hospital, Horatio Street.
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 26th July 1841 Thomas Brocklebank of The Roseote in Heswall in Cheshire was born to Ralph Brocklebank of Childwall Hall. He was baptised on 2nd December 1841 at St Augustine's Church, Liverpool.
St George's Church, Liverpool is also in Churches in Lancashire.
On 11th July 1848 Henry Royds of Elm House in Wavertree [aged 26] and Margaret Bourne [aged 21] were married at St George's Church, Liverpool [Map] [Note. Assumed to be the St George's Church in Everton?] by the Rev. George Drinkwater Bourne, Rector of Weston-sub-Edge, co. Gloucester.
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral is also in Cathedrals in England.
Between 1904 and 1978 Liverpool Anglican Cathedral [Map] was constructed based on a design by Giles Gilbert Scott [aged 23]. The total external length of the building, including the Lady Chapel (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin), is 207 yards (189 m) making it the longest cathedral in the world.
On 16th February 1709 Earle John Willis [aged 34] and Mary Finch [aged 24] were married at St Nicholas Church, Liverpool.
On 10th November 1717 Sarah Earle was born to Earle John Willis [aged 43] and Mary Finch [aged 32]. She was baptised on 28th November 1717 at St Nicholas Church, Liverpool. She married 23rd May 1753 Reverend John Stanley, son of Thomas Horton Stanley 4th Baronet and Elizabeth Patten.
On 8th March 1827 William Molyneux [aged 66] died. He was buried at St Nicholas Church, Liverpool.
On 20th April 1800 John Gladstone 1st Baronet [aged 35] and Anne MacKenzie Robertson [aged 28] were married at St Peter's Church, Liverpool.
On 3rd July 1820 Anne Mary Littledale was baptised at St Peter's Church, Liverpool.
In 1881 Census Joseph Crosland Graham [aged 14] was living at 122 Upper Canning Street Liverpool.
1849. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 19]. "Isabella". From the poem Isabella and the Pot of Basil and the book Decameron Day Four Story Five. Note the initials PRB on the bottom of the table leg. The painting is on display at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
The models are believed to be:
Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 20]: Far right drinking from glass.
William Michael Rossetti [aged 19]: Lorenzo, offering an orange to Isabella.
Isabella: Decameron Day Four Story Five. Summary. Lisabetta's brothers murder her lover. He appears to her in a dream and shows her where he is buried. She secretly disinters the head and places it in a pot of basil, over which she weeps for a long time every day. In the end her brothers take it away from her, and shortly thereafter she dies of grief.
1887. Solomon Joseph Solomon [aged 26]. "Samson". Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
On 13th August 1964 the last execution occurred in England. Peter Anthony Allen, at Walton Prison, Liverpool, and Gwynne Owen Evans, at Strangeways Prison, Manchester, were executed for the murder of John Alan West on 7 April that year.
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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On 7th February 1865 Margaret Bourne [aged 38] died at Elm House, Wavertree. She was buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map] on 13th February 1865.
On 16th December 1878 Henry Royds of Elm House in Wavertree [aged 56] died at Elm House, Wavertree. He was buried in the chuchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map] on 20th December 1878.
Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree is also in Churches in Lancashire.
On 8th August 1850 Margaret Borne Royds was born to Henry Royds of Elm House in Wavertree [aged 28] and Margaret Bourne [aged 23]. She was baptised on 4th October 1850 at Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map]. She married 7th October 1875 Reverend Sydney Henry Armistead.
On 16th September 1851 Dora Bourne Royds was born to Henry Royds of Elm House in Wavertree [aged 29] and Margaret Bourne [aged 24]. She was baptised on 1st November 1851 at Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map]. She married 7th October 1875 Charles Assheton Whately Pownall.
On 7th February 1865 Margaret Bourne [aged 38] died at Elm House, Wavertree. She was buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map] on 13th February 1865.
On 7th October 1875 Charles Assheton Whately Pownall [aged 26] and Dora Bourne Royds [aged 24] were married at Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map] by Reverend Pownall, Rector of South Kilwoith, Leicestershire.
On 7th October 1875 Reverend Sydney Henry Armistead [aged 38] and Margaret Borne Royds [aged 25] were married at Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map] by Reverend Edward Royds [aged 54], Rector of St Oswald's Church, Brereton [Map], uncle of the bride.
On 16th December 1878 Henry Royds of Elm House in Wavertree [aged 56] died at Elm House, Wavertree. He was buried in the chuchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map] on 20th December 1878.
On 10th April 1880 Ella Molyneux [aged 45] died. She was buried in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, Wavertree [Map] on 14th April 1880.