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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Paternal Family Tree: Fermor
On 13th January 1823 [her father] Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret (age 52) and [her mother] Amabel Borough (age 23) were married. The difference in their ages was 29 years. He the son of [her grandfather] George Fermor 2nd Earl Pomfret and [her grandmother] Anna Maria Delagard Countess Pomfret.
On 2nd January 1828 Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh was born to [her father] Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret (age 57) and [her mother] Amabel Borough (age 28).
On 7th April 1830 [her uncle] George Fermor 3rd Earl Pomfret (age 62) died without issue. On His brother [her father] Thomas (age 59) succeeded 4th Earl Pomfret aka Pontefract. [her mother] Amabel Borough (age 30) by marriage Countess Pomfret aka Pontefract.
On 29th June 1833 [her father] Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret (age 62) died. His son [her brother] George (age 8) succeeded 5th Earl Pomfret aka Pontefract, 5th Baron Leominster, 6th Baronet Fermor of Easton Neston in Northamptonshire.
On 10th February 1843 Thomas Hesketh 4th Baronet (age 43) died the day before his 44th birthday. His son [her future husband] Thomas (age 18) succeeded 5th Baronet Fermor-Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire. Memorial at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map].
Thomas Hesketh 4th Baronet: On 11th February 1799 he was born to Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh 3rd Baronet and Sophia Hinde Lady Hesketh. On 3rd April 1824 Thomas Hesketh 4th Baronet and Annette Maria Bomford Lady Hesketh were married. On 27th July 1842 Thomas Dalrymple Hesketh 3rd Baronet died. He was buried at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map]. His son Thomas succeeded 4th Baronet Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire. Annette Maria Bomford Lady Hesketh by marriage Lady Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire.
1845 Francis Grant (age 41). Portrait of Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh (age 16).
In 1846 Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet (age 20) and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh (age 17) were married. She the daughter of Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret and Amabel Elizabeth Borough Countess of Pomfret (age 46).
In 1847 [her son] Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh 6th Baronet was born to [her husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet (age 21) and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh (age 18).
Around February 1848 [her son] Thomas Richard Hesketh was born to [her husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet (age 23) and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh (age 20). He died aged one in 1849.
On 9th May 1849 [her son] Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh 7th Baronet was born to [her husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet (age 24) and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh (age 21). He married 22nd December 1880 Florence Emily Sharon and had issue.
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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On 22nd May 1849 [her son] Thomas Richard Hesketh (age 1) died. Memorial at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map].
Thomas Richard Hesketh: Around February 1848 he was born to Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh.
On 14th June 1863 [her grandmother] Anna Maria Lake (age 88) died. Memorial window at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map] commissioned by her grand-daughter Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh (age 35).
Anna Maria Lake: In 1775 she was born to Gerard Lake 1st Viscount Lake and Elizabeth Barker. On 21st August 1799 Richard Borough 1st Baronet and she were married.
On 8th June 1867 [her brother] George William Fermor 5th Earl Pomfret (age 42) died unmarried. Earl Pomfret aka Pontefract, Baron Leominster, Baronet Fermor of Easton Neston in Northamptonshire extinct.
On 25th February 1870 Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh (age 42) died.
On 20th August 1872 [her former husband] Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet (age 47) died. His son [her son] Thomas (age 25) succeeded 6th Baronet Fermor-Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire. Monument at St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map] by Matthew Noble (age 55).
Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh 6th Baronet: In 1847 he was born to Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet and Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh. In 1876 Thomas Henry Fermor-Hesketh 6th Baronet died unmarried. His brother Thomas succeeded 7th Baronet Fermor-Hesketh of Rufford in Lancashire.
West wall of St Mary The Virgin Church, Rufford [Map] with windows commissioned by Thomas Fermor-Hesketh 5th Baronet in memory of his wife Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh.
Kings Wessex: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England
Kings Gwynedd: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd
Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 26 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth
Kings Powys: Great x 21 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys
Kings Godwinson: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England
Kings England: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Kings Scotland: Great x 22 Grand Daughter of King Duncan I of Scotland
Kings Franks: Great x 29 Grand Daughter of Charles "Charlemagne aka Great" King of the Franks King Lombardy Holy Roman Emperor
Kings France: Great x 24 Grand Daughter of Hugh I King of the Franks
Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 27 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine
Great x 4 Grandfather: Hatton Fermor of Easton Neston Northamptonshire 
15 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Fermor 1st Baronet 16 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Cockayne 
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Fermor 1st Baron Leominster 17 x Great Grand Son of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England
Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Fermor 1st Earl Pomfret 11 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Edward Osborne 1st Baronet 
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Osborne 1st Duke Leeds 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Walmesley Lady Osborne 
8 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 2 Grandmother: Sophia Osborne Baroness Leominster 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Montagu Bertie 2nd Earl Lindsey 
9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward I of England
Great x 3 Grandmother: Bridget Bertie Duchess Leeds 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward I of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Martha Cockayne Countess Holderness
GrandFather: George Fermor 2nd Earl Pomfret 12 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: John Jeffreys
Great x 3 Grandfather: George "Hanging Judge" Jeffreys 1st Baron Jeffreys
Great x 2 Grandfather: John Jeffreys 2nd Baron Jeffreys
Great x 3 Grandmother: Sarah Needham
Great x 1 Grandmother: Henriette Louise Jeffreys Countess Pomfret 11 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Philip Herbert 5th Earl Pembroke 2nd Earl Montgomery 
8 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 3 Grandfather: Philip "Infamous Earl" Herbert 7th Earl Pembroke 4th Earl Montgomery 9 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Villiers Countess Pembroke and Montgomery 
Great x 2 Grandmother: Charlotte Herbert Viscountess Windsor 10 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
Great x 4 Grandfather: Guillaume de Penancoët Seigneur de Kéroualle
Great x 3 Grandmother: Henrietta Kéroualle Countess Pembroke and Montgomery
Father: Thomas Fermor 4th Earl Pomfret 13 x Great Grand Son of King Edward III of England
GrandMother: Anna Maria Delagard Countess Pomfret
Arabella Fermor Lady Hesketh 14 x Great Grand Daughter of King Edward III of England
GrandFather: Richard Borough 1st Baronet
Mother: Amabel Elizabeth Borough Countess of Pomfret
Great x 2 Grandfather: Lancelot Charles Lake of Harrow-on-the-Hill 
Great x 1 Grandfather: Gerard Lake 1st Viscount Lake
Great x 4 Grandfather: Peter Gumley
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Gumley
Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Davis
Great x 2 Grandmother: Laetitia Gumley
GrandMother: Anna Maria Lake
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Barker