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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Ellen Terry is in Actors.
On 20th February 1847 Ellen Terry was born to [her father] Benjamin Terry [aged 29].
1863. [her future husband] George Frederick Watts [aged 45]. Portrait of Ophelia. Model Ellen Terry [aged 15]. Re-worked in 1877.
The painting itself presents the moment just before Ophelia meets her watery death in Hamlet, Act IV, scene vii, a moment which is reported but not enacted on stage:
There is a willow grows aslant a brook
That shows his hoar leaves in the glassy stream,
Therewith fantastic garlands did she come,
Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples…
Around 1864. [her future husband] George Frederick Watts [aged 46]. Portrait of Ellen Terry [aged 16] entitled "Choosing" around the time she and Watts were married.
On 20th February 1864 George Frederick Watts [aged 46] and Ellen Terry [aged 17] were married. The difference in their ages was 29 years.
In or after 1867 [her brother-in-law] Arthur James Lewis [aged 43] and [her sister] Kate Terry [aged 22] were married. The difference in their ages was 20 years.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1868. 8th November 1868. November 8 (Sunday). Dined at Club, Simeon Solomon [aged 28] there. He. introduced me to Mr. Oscar Browning. Billiards. Cooper said that there was a report that the young lady who threw herself off London Bridge a few days ago and was drowned, was no other than poor Ellen Terry [aged 21] (Mrs. G. F. Watts) and that it was after a quarrel with her sister about her continuing on the stage.
In 1870 William Schomberg Kerr 8th Marquess Lothian [aged 38] died without issue. His brother Schomberg [aged 36] succeeded 9th Marquess Lothian. Victoria Alexandrina Montagu-Douglas-Scott Marchioness Lothian [aged 25] by marriage Marchioness Lothian. Monument at St Andrew's Church, Blickling [Map] sculpted by [her husband] George Frederick Watts [aged 52] in 1878.
William Schomberg Kerr 8th Marquess Lothian: In 1832 he was born to John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian and Cecil Chetwynd-Talbot Marchioness Lothian. On 14th November 1841 John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian died at Blickling Hall, Norfolk [Map]. His son William succeeded 8th Marquess Lothian, 11th Earl Lothian, 9th Earl Lothian. He inherited the Blickling, Norfolk estate and made significant changes. On 12th August 1857 William Schomberg Kerr 8th Marquess Lothian and Constance Harriet Mahonesa Talbot Marchioness Lothian were married. She by marriage Marchioness Lothian. She the daughter of Henry John Chetwynd-Talbot 3rd Earl Talbot 18th Earl of Shrewsbury and Sarah Elizabeth Beresford Countess Talbot Shrewsbury Waterford. He the son of John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian and Cecil Chetwynd-Talbot Marchioness Lothian. They were first cousins.
Schomberg Henry Kerr Kerr 9th Marquess Lothian: On 2nd December 1833 he was born to John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian and Cecil Chetwynd-Talbot Marchioness Lothian. In 1865 Schomberg Henry Kerr Kerr 9th Marquess Lothian and Victoria Alexandrina Montagu-Douglas-Scott Marchioness Lothian were married. She the daughter of Walter Scott 5th Duke Buccleuch 7th Duke Queensberry and Charlotte Anne Thynne Duchess Buccleuch Duchess Queensbury. He the son of John Kerr 7th Marquess Lothian and Cecil Chetwynd-Talbot Marchioness Lothian. They were sixth cousins. On 17th January 1900 Schomberg Henry Kerr Kerr 9th Marquess Lothian died. His daughter Robert succeeded 10th Marchioness Lothian, 12th Countess Lothian, 10th Countess Lothian.
Victoria Alexandrina Montagu-Douglas-Scott Marchioness Lothian: On 20th November 1844 she was born to Walter Scott 5th Duke Buccleuch 7th Duke Queensberry and Charlotte Anne Thynne Duchess Buccleuch Duchess Queensbury. On 19th June 1938 Victoria Alexandrina Montagu-Douglas-Scott Marchioness Lothian died.
1874. Frederick Hollyer [aged 35]. Photograph of Ellen Terry [aged 26] and person unknown.
On 20th November 1886 [her husband] George Frederick Watts [aged 69] and Mary Fraser Tytler [aged 36] were married. The difference in their ages was 32 years.
The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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In 1887 Ightham Mote, Kent was rented by American railway magnate William Jackson Palmer and his family and for three years became a centre for artists and writers of the Aesthetic Movement, with visitors including John Singer Sargent [aged 30], Henry James and Ellen Terry [aged 39]s.
1890. Frederick Hollyer [aged 51]. Photograph of Ellen Terry [aged 42].
The Royal Academy Conversazione, 1891, by George Henry Grenville Manton [aged 36].
John Seymour Lucas, Dame Alice Ellen Terry [aged 43], Sir William Quiller Orchardson, Rachel, Countess of Dudley [aged 23], Marcus Stone, Henry Stacy Marks, Sir Henry Irving, Unidentified man, Unidentified man, Sir John Everett Millais [aged 61], William Charles Thomas Dobson.
Unidentified woman, James Sant, William Powell Frith, Sir Hubert von Herkomer [aged 41], Unidentified woman, Briton Riviere, Unidentified man, John Pettie, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema [aged 54], Frederic Leighton [aged 60], Baron Leighton.
Philip Hermogenes Calderon, Walter William Ouless, Thomas Faed, Robert Walker Macbeth, Edward Onslow Ford [aged 38], William Frederick Yeames, Unidentified woman, Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones [aged 57], Unidentified man.
Mary Anderson, John Calcott Horsley, possibly Joanna Margaret Hadley, Unidentified man, Henry Tanworth Wells, possibly Alice Joanna Street, Marion Harry Spielmann, Unidentified woman.
In 1896 [her father] Benjamin Terry [aged 78] died.
On 1st July 1904 [her husband] George Frederick Watts [aged 87] died.
On 6th January 1924 [her sister] Kate Terry [aged 79] died.
On 21st July 1928 Ellen Terry [aged 81] died.