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.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Paternal Family Tree: Brownlow
Maternal Family Tree: Margaret Dewe 1668
On 27th March 1676 [her father] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet (age 16) and [her mother] Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow (age 17) were married at Westminster Abbey [Map]. She by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire. They were half second cousins.
In 1691 Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel was born to [her father] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet (age 31) and [her mother] Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow (age 32).
On 16th July 1697 [her father] John Brownlow 3rd Baronet (age 38) committed suicide after suffering from severe gout. His brother [her uncle] William (age 31) succeeded 4th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map]. Dorothy Mason Baroness Brownlow (age 30) by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire.
Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map] sculpted by William Stanton (age 58).
In 1699 [her brother-in-law] John Cecil 6th Earl Exeter (age 24) and [her sister] Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter (age 18) were married. He the son of John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter (age 51) and Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter (age 50).
On 29th August 1700 John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter (age 52) died. His son [her brother-in-law] John (age 26) succeeded 6th Earl Exeter, 7th Baron Burghley. [her sister] Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter (age 19) by marriage Countess Exeter.
He was buried at St Martin's Church, Stamford [Map]. Monument to John Cecil and his wife Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter (age 51) sculpted by the French sculptor Pierre Etienne Monnot (age 43) who was working in Rome. Neo-classical statuary group. One of the finest tombs of its day in the country, displaying strong antique tendencies as befits its Roman creation.
John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter: Around 1648 he was born to John Cecil 4th Earl Exeter and Frances Manners Countess Exeter. On 2nd May 1670 John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter and Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish 3rd Earl Devonshire and Elizabeth Cecil Countess Devonshire. He the son of John Cecil 4th Earl Exeter and Frances Manners Countess Exeter. They were half third cousin once removed. In February 1678 John Cecil 4th Earl Exeter died. His son John succeeded 5th Earl Exeter, 6th Baron Burghley. Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter by marriage Countess Exeter.
Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter: In 1681 she was born to John Brownlow 3rd Baronet and Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow. In 1699 John Cecil 6th Earl Exeter and she were married. He the son of John Cecil 5th Earl Exeter and Anne Cavendish Countess Exeter. In 1710 Margaret Brownlow died of smallpox. Her estate of £40,000 was divided between her four sisters: Jane Brownlow Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven, Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter, Alicia Brownlow Baroness Guildford and Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel. In 1723 Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter died.
On 6th March 1701 [her uncle] William Brownlow 4th Baronet (age 35) died. His son [her future husband] John (age 10) succeeded 5th Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire and inherited Belton House [Map].
In 1702 John Closterman (age 42). Portrait of Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel (age 11).
In 1703 [her brother-in-law] Francis North 2nd Baron Guildford (age 29) and [her sister] Alicia Brownlow Baroness Guildford (age 19) were married. She by marriage Baroness Guildford.
In 1710 [her sister] Margaret Brownlow (age 23) died of smallpox. Her estate of £40,000 was divided between her four sisters: [her sister] Jane Brownlow Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven, [her sister] Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter (age 29), [her sister] Alicia Brownlow Baroness Guildford (age 26) and Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel (age 19).
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
In June 1711 [her brother-in-law] Peregrine Bertie 2nd Duke Ancaster and Kesteven (age 25) and [her sister] Jane Brownlow Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven were married. He the son of Robert Bertie 1st Duke Ancaster and Kesteven (age 50) and Mary Wynn.
In 1712 John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel (age 21) and Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel (age 21) were married. She by marriage Lady Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire. They were first cousins.
In 1718 [her husband] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel (age 27) was created 1st Viscount Tyconnel. Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel (age 27) by marriage Viscountess Tyconnel.
On 27th July 1721 [her mother] Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow (age 62) died.
In 1723 [her sister] Elizabeth Brownlow Countess Exeter (age 42) died.
On 26th July 1723 Robert Bertie 1st Duke Ancaster and Kesteven (age 62) died. His son [her brother-in-law] Peregrine (age 37) succeeded 2nd Duke Ancaster and Kesteven, 2nd Marquess Lindsay, 5th Earl Lindsey, 18th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. [her sister] Jane Brownlow Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven by marriage Duchess Ancaster and Kesteven.
1725. Philippe Mercier (age 36). [her husband] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel (age 34) and his wife Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel (age 34), seated in an invalid chair, with her cousin and his wife, with Belton House [Map] in the background.
In 1727 [her sister] Alicia Brownlow Baroness Guildford (age 43) died.
Before 1730. Michael Dahl (age 70). Portrait of Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel (age 38). Belton House.
In 1730 Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel (age 39) died.
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.
In 1732 [her former husband] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel (age 41) and Elizabeth Cartwright Viscountess Tyconnel were married. She by marriage Viscountess Tyconnel.
Before 2nd November 1739 Charles Jervas (age 64). Portrait of Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel.
On 27th February 1754 [her former husband] John Brownlow 1st Viscount Tyconnel (age 63) died. Viscount Tyconnel, Baronet Brownlow of Humby in Lincolnshire extinct. John Cust 3rd Baronet (age 35) inherited Belton House [Map].
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Brownlow 
Great x 1 Grandfather: William Brownlow 1st Baronet
GrandFather: Richard Brownlow 2nd Baronet
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Duncombe 
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Duncombe
Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Bennett
Great x 2 Grandmother: Anne Bennett
Father: John Brownlow 3rd Baronet
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Freke of Iwerne Courtney
Great x 2 Grandfather: Thomas Freke
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Swayne of Blandford
Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Swayne
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Freke of Stretton in Dorset
Great x 3 Grandfather: John Taylor of Burton Bradstock
Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Taylor
GrandMother: Elizabeth Freke Lady Brownlow
Eleanor Brownlow Viscountess Tyconnel
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Sherard
Great x 1 Grandfather: John Sherard of Lobthorpe
GrandFather: Richard Sherard of Lobthorpe
Great x 2 Grandfather: Richard Brownlow
Great x 1 Grandmother: Elizabeth Brownlow
Mother: Alice Sherard Baroness Brownlow
Great x 1 Grandfather: Lumley Dewe of Bishop Upton in Hereforeshire
GrandMother: Margaret Dewe