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 1766 Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley was born to [her father] Pierre Roland. There were rumors her biological father was Christopher Alexander Fagan
On 22nd May 1781 Garrett Wellesley 1st Earl Mornington (age 45) died at Kensington. He was buried at Grosvenor Chapel, Mayfair. His son [her future husband] Richard (age 20) succeeded 2nd Earl Mornington, 2nd Viscount Wellesley of Dangan Castle.
In 1787 [her illegitimate son] Richard Wellesley was born illegitimately to [her future husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 26) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 21).
In 1788 [her illegitimate daughter] Anne Wellesley Lady Abdy was born illegitimately to [her future husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 27) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 22).
On 25th February 1789 [her illegitimate daughter] Hyacinthe Mary Wellesley Baroness Hatherton was born illegitimately to [her future husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 28) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 23).
In 1791 Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (age 35). Portrait of Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 25).
In 1792 [her illegitimate son] Gerald Wellesley was born illegitimately to [her future husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 31) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 26).
Before 29th November 1794 [her illegitimate son] Henry Wellesley was born illegitimately to [her future husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 34) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 28).
On 29th November 1794 Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 34) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 28) were married at St George's Church, Hanover Square. She by marriage Countess Mornington. He the son of Garrett Wellesley 1st Earl Mornington and Anne Hill Countess Mornington (age 52).
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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Around 1795 Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 29) began to seek evidence for a divorce from her husband [her husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 34) who had two illegitimate children with another woman following his marriage to Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley. They formayy separated in 1810.
1796. Henry Edridge (age 28). Portrait of Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 30).
In 1799 [her husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 38) was created 1st Marquess Wellesley. Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 33) by marriage Marchioness Wellesley.
On 10th April 1806 [her brother-in-law] Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke Wellington (age 36) and Catherine "Kitty" Pakenham Duchess Wellington (age 33) were married at Dublin [Map]. He the son of Garrett Wellesley 1st Earl Mornington and [her mother-in-law] Anne Hill Countess Mornington (age 63).
On 3rd July 1806 [her son-in-law] William Abdy 7th Baronet (age 27) and [her illegitimate daughter] Anne Wellesley Lady Abdy (age 18) were married at Hyde Park Corner; this is possibly Apsley House, Hyde Park Corner. She by marriage Lady Abdy of Felix Hall in Kelveden in Essex. She the illegitmate daughter of [her husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 46) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 40).
Between 27th July 1809 and 28th July 1809 the Battle of Talavera, part of the Peninsular War, was fought between an Anglo Spanish army commanded by [her brother-in-law] Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke Wellington (age 40) against the French. The French army withdrew at night after several of its attacks had been repulsed. Following the battle Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke Wellington was created 1st Viscount Wellington of Talavera.
Hugh Gough 1st Viscount Gough (age 29) commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 87th (Royal Irish Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot.
General Henry Fane (age 30) commanded the 3rd Prince of Wales Dragoon Guards, 4th Queen's Own Dragoons.
Charles Henry Farrington 2nd Baronet (age 14) fought.
In 1810 [her husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 49) was appointed 635th Knight of the Garter by King George III of Great Britain and Ireland (age 71).
On 22nd July 1812 the Battle of Salamanca was fought at which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the [her brother-in-law] Earl of Wellington (age 43) defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles [Map].
Brother General Thomas Bradford (age 34) and Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Hollis Bradford (age 31) fought.
Major-General John Le Marchant (age 46) was killed in action. Wellington is reported as saying to Le Marchant that he must take the first favourable opportunity to engage the enemy's infantry, "You must then charge at all hazards" was his final instruction. Following up the attack of the 5th Infantry Division Le Marchant led the 3rd and 4th Dragoons and the 5th Dragoon Guards in what was probably the most destructive charge made by a single brigade of cavalry in the whole Napoleonic period. The left wing of the French army were on the point of being defeated by the 3rd and 5th divisions of Anglo-Portuguese infantry when Le Marchant's dragoons charged in and destroyed battalion after battalion. Many of the French infantrymen sought the protection of the British infantry to escape the sabres of the dragoons. Le Marchant, knowing he had achieved a magnificent success, was leading a squadron against the last of the formed French infantry when he was shot and his spine broken. See Fletcher's "Galloping at Everything: The British Cavalry in the Peninsula and at Waterloo 1808-15". Spellmount, Staplehurst. ISBN 1-86227-016-3. 1999, pp. 185–188.
In October 1812 [her son-in-law] Edward John Walhouse aka Littleton 1st Baron Hatherton (age 21) and [her illegitimate daughter] Hyacinthe Mary Wellesley Baroness Hatherton (age 23) were married. She the illegitmate daughter of [her husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 52) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 46).
In 1813 [her brother-in-law] Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke Wellington (age 43) was appointed 640th Knight of the Garter by King George IV of Great Britain and Ireland (age 50) during the Regency.
On 11th May 1814 [her brother-in-law] Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke Wellington (age 45) was created 1st Duke Wellington. Catherine "Kitty" Pakenham Duchess Wellington (age 41) by marriage Duchess Wellington.
On 16th July 1816 [her son-in-law] Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (age 36) and [her illegitimate daughter] Anne Wellesley Lady Abdy (age 28) were married. She the illegitmate daughter of [her husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 56) and Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 50). He the son of William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke Portland and Dorothy Cavendish 3rd Duchess Portland.
On 5th November 1816 Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (age 50) died at Teddesley Hall, Penkridge; home of her son-in-law [her son-in-law] Edward John Walhouse aka Littleton 1st Baron Hatherton (age 25), husband of her daughter [her illegitimate daughter] Hyacinthe Mary Wellesley Baroness Hatherton (age 27).
On 14th November 1816 Hyacinthe Gabrielle Roland Marchioness Wellesley (deceased) was buried at St Michael's Church, Penkridge [Map].
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 29th October 1825 [her former husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 65) and Marianne Caton Marchioness Wellesley (age 37) were married. She by marriage Marchioness Wellesley. The difference in their ages was 27 years. He the son of Garrett Wellesley 1st Earl Mornington and [her former mother-in-law] Anne Hill Countess Mornington (age 83).
She one of the four Caton sisters, daughters of Richard Caton (age 62), a merchant from Baltimore, the three eldest, known as the "The Three American Graces", married European husbands. Only the fourth daughter Emily Caton (age 30) had children.
Marianne Caton Marchioness Wellesley married Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley,
Elizabeth Caton Baroness Stafford (age 35) married George William Stafford-Jerningham 8th Baron Stafford (age 54),
Louisa Catharine Caton Duchess Leeds (age 32) married firstly Felton Elwell Hervey-Bathurst 1st Baronet and secondly Francis Godolphin Osborne 7th Duke Leeds (age 27).
Emily Caton married Consul John MacTavish (age 38).
On 26th September 1842 [her former husband] Richard Wellesley 1st Marquess Wellesley (age 82) died at Kingston House Knightsbridge, Kensington. His brother [her former brother-in-law] William (age 79) succeeded 3rd Earl Mornington, 3rd Viscount Wellesley of Dangan Castle. Katherine Forbes Countess Mornington (age 81) by marriage Countess Mornington.