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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Benjamin West is in Painters.
On 10th October 1738 Benjamin West was born.
In 1765 Benjamin West [aged 26] and Elizabeth Shewell were married at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map].
Around 1769 Benjamin West [aged 30]. Portrait of Francis Osborne 5th Duke Leeds [aged 17].
Before 1771. Benjamin West [aged 32]. Portrait of Jocosa Drury Lady Cust [aged 21].
Jocosa Drury Lady Cust: On 19th April 1749 she was born to Thomas Drury 1st Baronet and Martha Tyrrell Lady Drury. On 16th October 1770 Brownlow Cust 1st Baron Brownlow and she were married at St George's Church, Hanover Square. She by marriage Lady Cust of Stamford in Lincolnshire. On 11th February 1772 Jocosa Drury Lady Cust died, probably of childbirth, since her daughter was born in 1771.
1772. Benjamin West [aged 33]. Portrait of Anna Maria Schutz as the Cumaean Sibyl reading music at a table.
Anna Maria Schutz: In 1749 John Whitwell aka Griffin 4th Baron Howard Walden 1st Baron Braybrooke and she were married.
1772. Benjamin West [aged 33]. Portrait of Catherine Clayton Baroness Howard de Walden [aged 24] as the Perisan Sibyl reading at a table writing.
Catherine Clayton Baroness Howard de Walden: Around 1748 she was born. In 1765 John Whitwell aka Griffin 4th Baron Howard Walden 1st Baron Braybrooke and she were married. The difference in their ages was 28 years. On 15th August 1807 she died.
1772. Benjamin West [aged 33]. Portrait of John Whitwell aka Griffin 4th Baron Howard Walden 1st Baron Braybrooke [aged 52].
1772. Benjamin West [aged 33]. Portrait of Edward Astley 4th Baronet [aged 42].
1773. Benjamin West [aged 34]. Portrait of Joseph Banks 1st Baronet [aged 29].
Around 1773. Benjamin West [aged 34]. Portrait of the artist's wife Elizabeth Shewell and their son Raphael.
Elizabeth Shewell: In 1765 Benjamin West and she were married at St Martin in the Fields Church [Map].
Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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1777. Benjamin West [aged 38]. Portrait of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Strelitz Queen Consort England [aged 32].
1778. Benjamin West [aged 39]. Portrait of the Mary Palmer Lady Beauchamp-Proctor [aged 18].
Mary Palmer Lady Beauchamp-Proctor: In 1760 she was born. On 5th May 1778 Thomas Beauchamp-Proctor 2nd Baronet and she were married. She by marriage Lady Beauchamp-Proctor of Langley Park in Norfolk. In 1848 she died.
In 1790 Thomas Phillips [aged 19] travelled to London with an introduction to Benjamin West [aged 51] who found him employment on the painted-glass windows of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle [Map].
1793. Benjamin West [aged 54]. Self-Portrait.
Before 1795. Benjamin West [aged 56]. Thomas Grosvenor [aged 60].
Around 1801. Benjamin West [aged 62]. Milkmaids in St James' Park [Map] with Westminster Abbey [Map] Beyond.
Before 1802. Benjamin West [aged 63]. Richard Grosvenor 1st Earl Grosvenor [aged 70].
1805. Benjamin West [aged 66]. Portrait of the artist's wife Elizabeth Shewell and their son Benjamin West III.
1812. Benjamin West [aged 73]. Portrait of John Eardley-Wilmot [aged 64].
John Eardley-Wilmot: In 1748 he was born to John Eardley-Wilmot. On 23rd June 1815 John Eardley-Wilmot died in Bengal, India.
1814. Benjamin West [aged 75]. Portrait of William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke Portland.
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 11th March 1820 Benjamin West [aged 81] died.