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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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In 1605 Edward Ford was born to [his father] William Ford of Harting (age 35) at Up Park.
Before 22nd May 1634 Edward Ford (age 29) and Sarah Ireton (age 29) were married.
On 22nd May 1634 [his daughter] Catherine Anna Ford was born to Edward Ford (age 29) and [his wife] Sarah Ireton (age 29) She married (1) 2nd March 1648 Alexander Culpepper, son of John Culpepper 1st Baron Culpeper and Philippa Snelling (2) 1649 Ralph Grey 2nd Baron Grey Werke, son of William Grey 1st Baron Grey Werke and Cecilia Wentworth Lady Grey, and had issue.
Before 18th November 1642 Edward Ford (age 37) was appointed High Sheriff of Sussex.
On 18th November 1642 Parliament ordered the arrest of Edward Ford (age 37).
After 18th November 1642 Edward Ford (age 37) surrendered Arundel Castle [Map] after a seventeen day siege.
On 4th October 1643 Edward Ford (age 38) was knighted by King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland (age 42) at Oxford, Oxfordshire [Map].
On 2nd March 1648 [his son-in-law] Alexander Culpepper (age 19) and [his daughter] Catherine Anna Ford (age 13) were married.
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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Around 1649 [his son-in-law] Ralph Grey 2nd Baron Grey Werke (age 19) and [his daughter] Catherine Anna Ford (age 14) were married.
On 21st March 1649 parliament ordered that Edward Ford (age 44) should pay for his delinquency one full third of the value of his estate.
On 9th July 1649 parliament made an order for remitting the remainder of his Edward Ford's (age 44) fine and discharging his sequestration.
In 1653 [his father] William Ford of Harting (age 83) died.
In 1656 Edward Ford (age 51) was employed, with Oliver Cromwell's encouragement, and at the request of the citizens of London, in devising an engine for raising the River Thames water into all the higher streets of the city, a height of ninety-three feet. This he accomplished in a year's time, and at his own expense; and the same "rare engine" was later employed for draining mines and lands.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 22nd September 1663. I up, well refreshed after my journey, and to my office and there set some things in order, and then Sir W. Pen (age 42) and I met and held an office, and at noon to dinner, and so by water with my wife to Westminster, she to see her father and mother, and we met again at my Lord's lodgings, and thence by water home again, where at the door we met Sir W. Pen and his daughter coming to visit us, and after their visit I to my office, and after some discourse to my great satisfaction with Sir W. Warren about our bargain of masts, I wrote my letters by the post, and so home to supper and to bed. This day my wife showed me bills printed, wherein her father, with Sir John Collidon and Edward Ford (age 58), have got a patent for curing of smoky chimneys1. I wish they may do good thereof, but fear it will prove but a poor project.
Note 1. The Patent numbered 138 is printed in the appendix to Wheatley's "Samuel Pepys and the World he lived in" (p. 241). It is drawn in favour of John Colladon, Doctor in Physicke, and of Alexander Marchant, of St. Michall, and describes "a way to prevent and cure the smoakeing of Chimneys, either by stopping the tunnell towards the top, and altering the former course of the smoake, or by setting tunnells with checke within the chimneyes". Edward Ford's name does not appear in the patent.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 6th November 1663. After dinner came in Captain Grove, and he and I alone to talk of many things, and among many others of the Fishery, in which he gives the such hopes that being at this time full of projects how to get a little honestly, of which some of them I trust in God will take, I resolved this afternoon to go and consult my Lord Sandwich (age 38) about it, and so, being to carry home Mrs. Hunt, I took her and my wife by coach and set them at Axe Yard [Map], and I to my Lord's and thither sent for Creed and discoursed with him about it, and he and I to White Hall, where Sir G. Carteret (age 53) and my Lord met me very fortunately, and wondered first to see me in my perruque, and I am glad it is over, and then, Sir G. Carteret being gone, I took my Lord aside, who do give me the best advice he can, and telling me how there are some projectors, by name Edward Ford (age 58), who would have the making of farthings1, and out of that give so much to the King (age 33) for the maintenance of the Fishery; but my Lord do not like that, but would have it go as they offered the last year, and so upon my desire he promises me when it is seasonable to bring me into the commission with others, if any of them take, and I perceive he and Mr. Coventry (age 35) are resolved to follow it hard.
Note 1. Edward Ford, son of Sir William Ford of Harting, born at Up Park in 1605. "After the Restoration he invented a mode of coining farthings. Each piece was to differ minutely from another to prevent forgery. He failed in procuring a patent for these in England, but obtained one for Ireland. He died in Ireland before he could carry his design into execution, on September 3rd, 1670" ("Dictionary of National Biography ").
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 3rd December 1664. Up, and at the office all the morning, and at noon to Mr. Cutler's, and there dined with Sir W. Rider and him, and thence Sir W. Rider and I by coach to White Hall to a Committee of the Fishery; there only to hear Edward Ford's (age 59) proposal about farthings, wherein, O God! to see almost every body interested for him; only my Lord Annesly (age 43), who is a grave, serious man. My Lord Barkeley (age 62) was there, but is the most hot, fiery man in discourse, without any cause, that ever I saw, even to breach of civility to my Lord Anglesey (age 50), in his discourse opposing to my Lord's. At last, though without much satisfaction to me, it was voted that it should be requested of the King (age 34), and that Edward Ford's proposal is the best yet made.
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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
On 3rd September 1670 Edward Ford (age 65) died at Ireland. His body was brought to England, and interred in the family burial-place at Harting.