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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Bradford Cathedral
St George the Martyr Church, Southwark
St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury
Rochester Cathedral
All Saints' Church, Nocton
Bath, Somerset
On 2nd March 1767 [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 26] and [his mother] Elizabeth Wade [aged 27] were married at St Saviour's Church, Southwark. They had three sons, one of which died in infancy, and three daughters.
In 1777 John "The Younger" Bacon was born to John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 36] and Elizabeth Wade [aged 37] at 17 Newman Street, Marylebone.
On 6th April 1778 Matthew Ridley [aged 66] died. Monument at the Cathedral Church St Nicholas, Newcastle upon Tyne [Map] sculpted by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 37].
On 10th February 1780 Samuel Egerton [aged 68] died. On 19th February 1780 he was buried at St Mary's Church, Rostherne, Tatton [Map]. Monument sculpted by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 39]. Figures representing Hope and Patience.
The monument inscription describes those also buried in the vault: John Egerton, his wife Elizabeth Barbour buried 10th February 1743, her mother Elizabeth Hill [aged 85] buried 17th April 1713 and John and Elizabeth's daughter-in-law Beatrix Copley [aged 22] buried 1st May 1755.
On 1st February 1782 [his mother] Elizabeth Wade [aged 42] died.
In October 1782 [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 41] and [his step-mother] Marthe Holland [aged 26] were married at Marylebone Church. They had five sons and one daughter.
After 1788. Bradford Cathedral [Map]. Monument to William Northrop died 1800 sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 11].
On 7th December 1788 Anne Cust [aged 17] died. Monument in St Peter and St Paul Church, Belton [Map]. Sculpted by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 48] in 1793.
Anne Cust: In 1771 she was born to Brownlow Cust 1st Baron Brownlow and Jocosa Drury Lady Cust.
On 22nd August 1793 John Thomas [aged 81] died. He has a memorial in the South Aisle of the Nave of Westminster Abbey. A grey and white marble with a bust and relief of the Holy Lamb, with a mitre and crozier behind. On either side are a chalice and paten and other emblems of the Eucharist made by [his father] John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 52]. The inscription reads .... Sacred to the memory of the Right Reverend John THOMAS, Doctor of Laws, Bishop of Rochester, Dean of this Collegiate Church, and of the most honourable Order of the Bath. Having passed a well spent boyhood at Carlisle School, he gathered the riper fruits of learning at Oxford, whence, by reason of his intellect, his character, his humane and profound scholarship, he emerged as an ornament to the legal profession. His fame thereafter growing and duly spreading abroad, he adorned his offices by his worthiness, increased his riches by his bounty, governed this church with his wisdom, protected it by his authority, and instructed it by his example. Unweared in his labours, indefatigable in his studies, his constant principle was edification: until, having virtuously fulfilled all life obligations, and for long sore pressed by a cruel disease, which was borne however with indomitable patience, he resigned his soul to God on 20th August 1793 in his 81st year. It fell to the lot of his relative, G.A.T., A.M. [Master of Arts] to offer this vain tribute, this token of sorrow, mean though it be.
On 7th August 1799 John "The Elder" Bacon [aged 58] died from inflammation of the bowels at his house in 17 Newman Street, Marylebone. His son John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 22] inherited his workshop and business, and completed his father's unfinished commissions: the statue of William Jones in St Paul's Cathedral, William Mason in Westminster Abbey, and a relief for East India House.
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.
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On 8th September 1801 John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 24] and Susanna Sophia Taylor [aged 19] were married at St George the Martyr Church, Southwark [Map]. He the son of John "The Elder" Bacon and Elizabeth Wade.
1805. St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury [Map]. Monument to Thomas Starky sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 28].
1806. Rochester Cathedral [Map]. Monument to John Henniker 1st Baron Henniker sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 29].
On 25th December 1806 [his daughter] Christiana Bacon was born to John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 29] and [his wife] Susanna Sophia Taylor [aged 24]. She married 10th July 1827 Reverend John Medley.
1809. St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury [Map]. Monument to John Jennings sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 32].
1815. St Margaret's Church, Wrenbury [Map]. Monument to Elinor Starky sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 38].
On 4th February 1816 Robert Hobart 4th Earl Buckinghamshire [aged 55] died from a fall from a horse. His nephew George [aged 26] succeeded 5th Earl Buckinghamshire, 5th Baron Hobart, 9th Baronet Hobart of Intwood in Norfolk. Monument at All Saints' Church, Nocton [Map] sculpted by John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 39].
George Hobart-Hampden 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire: On 1st May 1789 he was born to George Vere Hobart. On 1st February 1849 George Hobart-Hampden 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire died. His brother Augustus succeeded 6th Earl Buckinghamshire, 6th Baron Hobart, 10th Baronet Hobart of Intwood in Norfolk.
On 10th July 1827 [his son-in-law] Reverend John Medley [aged 22] and Christiana Bacon [aged 20] were married at St Mary and St Peter's Church, Salcombe Regis. Her father John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 50] was a witness. She the daughter of John "The Younger" Bacon and Susanna Sophia Taylor [aged 45].
On 30th April 1841 [his daughter] Christiana Bacon [aged 34] died of consumption. She was buried at St Thomas' Church, Exeter.
Journals of Caroline Fox Chapter XIII 1847. 12th October 1847. Burnard tells amusing stories of his brother sculptors, and their devices to hide their ignorance on certain questions. Chantrey, after sustaining a learned conversation with Lord Melbourne [aged 68] to his extremest limits, saved his credit by, "Would your Lordship kindly turn your head on the other side and shut your mouth." Spoke of Bacon [aged 70], the sculptor, after having given up his craft for twenty-five years, resuming it, at the request of his dying [his daughter] daughter, to make her monument, and finding himself as much at home with his tools as ever.
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 July 1859 John "The Younger" Bacon [aged 82] died at Bath, Somerset [Map].
GrandFather: Thomas Bacon 
Father: John "The Elder" Bacon
Mother: Elizabeth Wade