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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On 3rd June 1862 Albert Toft was born.
On 3rd September 1913 Jeanette Octavia Cliff [aged 55] died. She was buried at, and/or has a memorial, at St Marcella's Church, Denbigh [Map] sculpted by Albert Toft [aged 51].
Jeanette Octavia Cliff: On 17th February 1858 she was born to William Cliff. On 20th July 1892 Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Ward and she were married. On 28th October 1902 Lieutenant-Colonel John Foster Manifold and Amy Mary Cliff were married at the Mother Church at Hawarden, Flintshire. Her sister Jeanette Octavia Cliff was a witness, as well as Walter Andrew Urquart and Augustus (Augusta?) Hodges.
Oldham War Memorial was unveiled by General Sir Ian Hamilton on 28th April 1923, before a crowd estimated at over 10,000, and dedicated by the Bishop of Manchester, William Temple. It was sculpted by Albert Toft [aged 60] in 1922. The memorial comprises a bronze group sculpture of five life-size soldiers in full battle dress and carrying their weapons, mounted on top of a 3-metre granite plinth. The sculpture originally faced the church but was subsequently rotated 180 degrees to face towards the town hall rather than the church.
On 18th December 1949 Albert Toft [aged 87] died.
