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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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William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor 1725-1776

Paternal Family Tree: Bouverie

Maternal Family Tree: Mary Clarke -1739

On 31st January 1724 [his father] Jacob Bouverie 1st Viscount Folkestone [aged 29] and [his mother] Mary Clarke were married at St Paul's Cathedral [Map].

On 26th February 1725 William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor was born to Jacob Bouverie 1st Viscount Folkestone [aged 30] and Mary Clarke.

On 16th November 1739 [his mother] Mary Clarke died. She was buried at Britford, Wiltshire [Map].

On 21st April 1741 [his father] Jacob Bouverie 1st Viscount Folkestone [aged 46] and [his step-mother] Elizabeth Marsham Viscountess Fokestone [aged 29] were married at Swanscombe, Kent.

On 14th January 1748 William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor [aged 22] and Harriet Pleydell were married.

On 4th March 1750 [his son] Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie 2nd Earl Radnor was born to William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor [aged 25] and [his wife] Harriet Pleydell at Westminster [Map]. He married 24th January 1777 Anne Duncombe Countess Radnor, daughter of Anthony Duncombe 1st Baron Feversham and Anne Hales Baroness Feversham Downton, and had issue.

On 5th September 1751 William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor [aged 26] and Rebecca Alleyne Viscountess Folkestone [aged 25] were married.

On 30th October 1752 [his son] William Henry Bouverie was born to William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor [aged 27] and [his wife] Rebecca Alleyne Viscountess Folkestone [aged 27]. He married 16th August 1777 Bridget Douglas, daughter of James Douglas 14th Earl Morton and Bridget Heathcote Countess Morton, and had issue.

On 29th October 1753 [his son] Bartholomew Bouverie was born to William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor [aged 28] and [his wife] Rebecca Alleyne Viscountess Folkestone [aged 28]. He married 1779 Mary Arundell and had issue.

Before 1758 [his future brother-in-law] Anthony Ashley-Cooper 4th Earl Shaftesbury [aged 46] and Susannah Noel Countess Shaftesbury [aged 47] were married. She by marriage Countess Shaftesbury. She the daughter of Baptist Noel 3rd Earl Gainsborough and Dorothy Manners Countess Gainsborough. He the son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper 3rd Earl Shaftesbury and Jane Ewer Countess Shafetsbury. They were second cousins.

On 17th February 1761 [his father] Jacob Bouverie 1st Viscount Folkestone [aged 66] died. His son William [aged 35] succeeded 2nd Viscount Folkestone, 2nd Baron Longford, 4th Baronet Bouverie of St Catherine Cree Church in London. [his wife] Rebecca Alleyne Viscountess Folkestone [aged 35] by marriage Viscountess Folkestone.

Before 17th September 1761 [his brother-in-law] Anthony Ashley-Cooper 4th Earl Shaftesbury [aged 50] and [his sister] Mary Bouverie Countess Shaftesbury [aged 30] were married. She by marriage Countess Shaftesbury. He the son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper 3rd Earl Shaftesbury and Jane Ewer Countess Shafetsbury.

On 4th May 1764 [his wife] Rebecca Alleyne Viscountess Folkestone [aged 38] died.

In 1765 William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor [aged 39] was created 1st Earl Radnor.

On 28th January 1776 William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor [aged 50] died. His son Jacob [aged 25] succeeded 2nd Earl Radnor, 3rd Viscount Folkestone, 3rd Baron Longford, 5th Baronet Bouverie of St Catherine Cree Church in London.

Ancestors of William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor 1725-1776

Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward des Bouverie

Grandfather: William des Bouverie 1st Baronet

Great x 2 Grandfather: Jacob de la Forterie

Great x 1 Grandmother: Anne de la Foterie

Father: Jacob Bouverie 1st Viscount Folkestone

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Urry of Mill Place, Isle of Wight

Great x 1 Grandfather: David Urry

Grandmother: Anne Urry Lady Bouverie

William Pleydell-Bouverie 1st Earl Radnor

Grandfather: Bartholemew Clarke

Mother: Mary Clarke