Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans

Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.

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Biography of Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge 1851-1927

Paternal Family Tree: Coleridge

On 11th August 1846 [his father] John Duke Coleridge 1st Baron Coleridge (age 25) and [his mother] Jane Fortescue Seymour Baroness Coleridge (age 21) were married.

On 19th August 1851 Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge was born to [his father] John Duke Coleridge 1st Baron Coleridge (age 30) and [his mother] Jane Fortescue Seymour Baroness Coleridge (age 26).

On 10th January 1874 [his father] John Duke Coleridge 1st Baron Coleridge (age 53) was created 1st Baron Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon. [his mother] Jane Fortescue Seymour Baroness Coleridge (age 49) by marriage Baroness Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon.

On 3rd August 1876 Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge (age 24) and Mary Alethea Mackarness Baroness Coleridge were married. They were first cousins.

In 1877 Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge (age 25) graduated from Trinity College, Oxford University with an MA.

On 23rd July 1877 [his son] Geoffrey Duke Coleridge 3rd Baron Coleridge was born to Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge (age 25) and [his wife] Mary Alethea Mackarness Baroness Coleridge. Coefficient of inbreeding 6.25%. He married 14th September 1904 his second cousin Mary aka Jessie Alethea Mackarness Baroness Coleridge and had issue.

On 6th February 1878 [his mother] Jane Fortescue Seymour Baroness Coleridge (age 53) died.

In 1885 Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge (age 33) was elected MP Sheffield Attercliffe which seat he held until 1894 when he succeeded his father as Baron Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon.

On 13th August 1885 [his father] John Duke Coleridge 1st Baron Coleridge (age 64) and [his step-mother] Amy Augusta Jackson Lawford Baroness Coleridge were married. She by marriage Baroness Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon.

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 14th June 1894 [his father] John Duke Coleridge 1st Baron Coleridge (age 73) died. His son Bernard (age 42) succeeded 2nd Baron Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon. [his wife] Mary Alethea Mackarness Baroness Coleridge by marriage Baroness Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon.

On 14th September 1904 [his son] Geoffrey Duke Coleridge 3rd Baron Coleridge (age 27) and [his daughter-in-law] Mary aka Jessie Alethea Mackarness Baroness Coleridge (age 24) were married at St Michael's Church, Sandhurst. They were second cousins.

On 4th September 1927 Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge (age 76) died. His son Geoffrey (age 50) succeeded 3rd Baron Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon. [his daughter-in-law] Mary aka Jessie Alethea Mackarness Baroness Coleridge (age 47) by marriage Baroness Coleridge of Ottery St Mary in Devon.

In 1940 [his former wife] Mary Alethea Mackarness Baroness Coleridge died.

Ancestors of Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge

Great x 2 Grandfather: Reverend John Coleridge

Great x 1 Grandfather: Captain James Coleridge

Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Bowden

GrandFather: John Taylor Coleridge

Great x 1 Grandmother: Frances Duke Taylor

Father: John Duke Coleridge 1st Baron Coleridge

GrandMother: Mary Buchanan

Bernard Coleridge 2nd Baron Coleridge

GrandFather: Reverend George Turner Seymour

Mother: Jane Fortescue Seymour Baroness Coleridge