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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Paternal Family Tree: Stewart of Donegal
Maternal Family Tree: Elizabeth Jeffreys 1725-1779
Before 1769 [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 29] and Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway 1st Marquess Hertford [aged 50] and Isabella Fitzroy Countess Hertford [aged 42].
On 7th June 1775 [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 35] and [his mother] Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 24] were married. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Charles Pratt 1st Earl Camden [aged 61] and [his grandmother] Elizabeth Jeffreys [aged 50].
In 1778 Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry was born to [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 38] and [his mother] Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 27].
In 1794 [his half-brother] Robert Stewart 2nd Marquess Londonderry [aged 24] and [his sister-in-law] Amelia Hobart Marchioness Londonderry [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of John Hobart 2nd Earl Buckinghamshire and Caroline Conolly Countess Buckinghamshire. He the son of [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 54] and Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway.
In 1804 Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 26] and Catherine Bligh [aged 29] were married at St George's Church, Hanover Square. She the daughter of John Bligh 3rd Earl Darnley. He the son of Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 64] and Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 53].
On 7th July 1805 [his son] Frederick William Robert Stewart 4th Marquess Londonderry was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 27] and [his wife] Catherine Bligh [aged 30].
1812. Thomas Lawrence [aged 42]. Portrait of Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 34]. In hussar uniform, wearing the Army Gold Medal which he was awarded in 1810 for the Battle of Talavera, and the Star and Ribbon of the Order of the Bath. There are two versions of this portrait, the "Camden version" (this painting) and the "Londonderry version". The Londonderry version shows less of the figure, while the Camden version is inscribed "Thos. Lawrence Pinx. 1812" on the edge of the cloak and has the star and ribbon of the Bath which Stewart received in 1813.
On 11th February 1812 [his wife] Catherine Bligh [aged 37] died.
On 29th June 1814 [his brother-in-law] John James and [his sister] Emily Jane Stewart Viscountess Hardinge [aged 25] were married. She the daughter of [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 74] and [his mother] Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 63]. They were first cousins.
The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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In 1816 [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 76] was created 1st Marquess Londonderry. [his mother] Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 65] by marriage Marchioness Londonderry.
On 3rd April 1819 Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 41] and Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 19] were married at Bruton Street. The difference in their ages was 22 years. He the son of Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 79] and Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 68].
On 6th April 1821 [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry [aged 81] died. His son [his half-brother] Robert [aged 51] succeeded 2nd Marquess Londonderry. [his sister-in-law] Amelia Hobart Marchioness Londonderry [aged 49] by marriage Marchioness Londonderry.
On 26th April 1821 [his son] George Henry Vane-Tempest 5th Marquess Londonderry was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 43] and [his wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 21]. He married 3rd August 1846 Mary Cornelia Edwards Marchioness Londonderry, daughter of John Edwards 1st Baronet, and had issue.
On 10th December 1821 [his brother-in-law] Henry Hardinge 1st Viscount Hardinge [aged 36] and [his sister] Emily Jane Stewart Viscountess Hardinge [aged 32] were married. She the daughter of [his father] Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry and [his mother] Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 70].
On 15th April 1822 [his daughter] Frances Anne Emily Vane Duchess of Marlborough was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 44] and [his wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 22]. She married 12th July 1843 John Winston Spencer-Churchill 7th Duke of Marlborough, son of George Spencer-Churchill 6th Duke of Marlborough and Jane Stewart Duchess of Marlborough, and had issue.
On 12th August 1822 [his half-brother] Robert Stewart 2nd Marquess Londonderry [aged 53] committed suicide at Loring Hall, Kent. His half brother Charles [aged 44] succeeded 3rd Marquess Londonderry. [his wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 22] by marriage Marchioness Londonderry.
On 29th July 1823 [his daughter] Alexandrina Octavia Maria Vane Countess Portarlington was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 45] and [his wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 23]. She married 3rd September 1847 Henry John Reuben Dawson-Damer 3rd Earl of Portarlington.
On 2nd July 1825 [his son] Adolphus Frederick Charles William Vane-Tempest was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 47] and [his wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 25]. He married 23rd April 1860 Susan Charlotte Catherine Pelham-Clinton, daughter of Henry Pelham-Clinton 5th Duke Newcastle-under-Lyne and Susan Harriet Catherine Hamilton Duchess Newcastle under Lyne.
In 1830 [his daughter] Adelaide Emelina Caroline Vane was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 52] and [his wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 29].
On 18th January 1833 [his mother] Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry [aged 82] died.
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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On 29th February 1836 [his son] Ernest McDonnell Vane-Tempest was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 58] and [his wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 36].
On 12th July 1843 [his son-in-law] John Winston Spencer-Churchill 7th Duke of Marlborough [aged 21] and Frances Anne Emily Vane Duchess of Marlborough [aged 21] were married. She the daughter of Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 65] and Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 43]. He the son of George Spencer-Churchill 6th Duke of Marlborough [aged 49] and Jane Stewart Duchess of Marlborough [aged 45].
On 2nd May 1846 [his brother-in-law] Henry Hardinge 1st Viscount Hardinge [aged 61] was created 1st Viscount Hardinge of Lahore and Kings Newton in Derbyshire. [his sister] Emily Jane Stewart Viscountess Hardinge [aged 57] by marriage Viscountess Hardinge of Lahore and Kings Newton in Derbyshire.
On 3rd August 1846 George Henry Vane-Tempest 5th Marquess Londonderry [aged 25] and Mary Cornelia Edwards Marchioness Londonderry [aged 17] were married. He the son of Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 68] and Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 46].
On 3rd September 1847 [his son-in-law] Henry John Reuben Dawson-Damer 3rd Earl of Portarlington [aged 24] and Alexandrina Octavia Maria Vane Countess Portarlington [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Countess Portarlington. She the daughter of Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 69] and Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 47].
In 1853 Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 75] was appointed 709th Knight of the Garter by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom [aged 33].
On 6th March 1854 Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry [aged 76] died at Londonderry House Park Lane. His son Frederick [aged 48] succeeded 4th Marquess Londonderry.
Monument at St Mary's Church, Long Newton [Map].
Frederick William Robert Stewart 4th Marquess Londonderry: On 7th July 1805 he was born to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry and Catherine Bligh. On 25th November 1872 Frederick William Robert Stewart 4th Marquess Londonderry died. His half brother George succeeded 5th Marquess Londonderry. Mary Cornelia Edwards Marchioness Londonderry by marriage Marchioness Londonderry.
Statue to Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry in Durham Marketplace unveiled on 2nd December 1861 in a ceremony involving the rifle volunteers of Seaham, Sunderland and Durham City. Among those in attendance was the future prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli [aged 56]. When the Marquis of Londonderry died in 1854, his widow set up a subscription committee to raise money for a statue of him. The artist commissioned was Rafaelle Monti [aged 43].
Rafaelle Monti: In 1818 he was born in Milan. In 1881 he died.
On 20th January 1865 [his former wife] Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry [aged 65] died at Seaham Hall, County Durham. Memorial at St Mary's Church, Long Newton [Map].
Frances Vane Tempest Marchioness Londonderry: On 17th January 1800 she was born to Henry Vane-Tempest 2nd Baronet at St James' Church, Piccadilly. On 3rd April 1819 Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry and she were married at Bruton Street. The difference in their ages was 22 years. He the son of Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry and Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry. On 12th August 1822 Robert Stewart 2nd Marquess Londonderry committed suicide at Loring Hall, Kent. His half brother Charles succeeded 3rd Marquess Londonderry. She by marriage Marchioness Londonderry.
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Stewart of Ballylawn in County Donegal 
GrandFather: Alexander Stewart
Father: Robert Stewart 1st Marquess Londonderry
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Cowan
GrandMother: Mary Cowan
Charles William Vane 3rd Marquess Londonderry 
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Pratt
GrandFather: Charles Pratt 1st Earl Camden
Mother: Frances Pratt Marchioness Londonderry
Great x 3 Grandfather: Watkin Jeffreys of Baillie Cwmdwr in Breconshire
Great x 2 Grandfather: Jeffrey Jeffreys
Great x 1 Grandfather: Nicholas Jeffreys of The Priory Breconshire
GrandMother: Elizabeth Jeffreys