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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Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford was born to [her father] George Kirke.
On 7th August 1632 Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford [aged 56] was killed at the Siege of Maastricht. His son [her future husband] Aubrey [aged 5] succeeded 20th Earl of Oxford.
Around 1647 [her future husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 19] and Anne Bayning Countess of Oxford [aged 9] were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. He the son of Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford and Beatrice Van Hemmema Countess of Oxford [aged 67].
John Evelyn's Diary. 9th January 1662. I saw acted the Third Part of "The Siege of Rhodes". In this acted the fair and famous comedian called Roxalana [aged 19] from the part she performed; and I think it was the last, she being taken to be the [her future husband] Earl of Oxford's [aged 34] Miss [Note. Probably Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford] (as at this time they began to call lewd women). It was in recitative music.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 20th May 1662. Sir W. Pen [aged 41] and I did a little business at the office, and so home again. Then comes Dean Fuller [aged 54] after we had dined, but I got something for him, and very merry we were for an hour or two, and I am most pleased with his company and goodness. At last parted, and my wife and I by coach to the Opera, and there saw the 2nd part of "The Siege of Rhodes", but it is not so well done as when Roxalana [aged 20] was there, who, it is said, is now owned by my [her future husband] Lord of Oxford [aged 35]1.
Note 1. For note on Mrs. Davenport, who was deceived by a pretended marriage with the Earl of Oxford, see ante. Lord Oxford's first wife died in 1659. He married, in 1672, his second wife, Diana Kirke, of whom nothing more need be said than that she bore an inappropriate Christian name.
Around 1663 [her future husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 35] and Hester Davenport Countess of Oxford [aged 20] were married. When he subsequently married Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford in 1672 it transpired his marriage to Hester Davenport had been a sham with the service being performed by one of his servants. She lost the case making their son Aubrey de Vere illegitimate. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. It isn't entirely clear whether the marriage was legal and, consequently, whether she became Countess of Oxford. He the son of Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford and Beatrice Van Hemmema Countess of Oxford.
Around 1667 Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford became the mistress of [her future husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 39].
On 12th April 1672 Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 45] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford were married. She by marriage Countess of Oxford. He the son of Robert de Vere 19th Earl of Oxford and Beatrice Van Hemmema Countess of Oxford.
On 24th August 1673 [her daughter] Charlotte de Vere was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 46] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. She was baptised 13th September 1673 at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map].
On 20th May 1675 [her father] George Kirke died.
On 22nd November 1675 [her son] Charles de Vere was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 48] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. He was baptised on 9th December 1675 at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map]. Died as an infant.
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 1679 [her daughter] Diana Vere Duchess St Albans was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 51] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. She married 17th April 1694 Charles Beauclerk 1st Duke St Albans, son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland and Nell Gwyn, and had issue.
Before 7th December 1680 Peter Lely [aged 62]. Portrait of Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford.
Around 1682 [her daughter] Henrietta de Vere was born to [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 54] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford.
On 17th April 1694 [her son-in-law] Charles Beauclerk 1st Duke St Albans [aged 23] and Diana Vere Duchess St Albans [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Duchess St Albans. She the daughter of Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 67] and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford. He the illegitmate son of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland and Nell Gwyn.
On 12th March 1703 [her husband] Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford [aged 76] died. Earl of Oxford extinct.
In 1719 Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford died.
[her daughter] Mary de Vere was born to Aubrey de Vere 20th Earl of Oxford and Diana Kirke Countess of Oxford.