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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Paternal Family Tree: Luckyn aka Grimston
Maternal Family Tree: Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam 1863
In 1807 [her father] James Grimston Baron Verulam [aged 31] and [her mother] Charlotte Jenkinson were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Charles Jenkinson 1st Earl Liverpool [aged 77].
On 18th April 1810 Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon was born to [her father] James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam [aged 34] and [her mother] Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam.
In 1834 John Foster Barham and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 23] were married. She the daughter of James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam [aged 58] and Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam.
On 5th September 1835 [her brother-in-law] William Craven 2nd Earl Craven [aged 26] and [her sister] Emily Mary Grimston Countess Craven [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Countess Craven in Yorkshire. She the daughter of [her father] James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam [aged 59] and [her mother] Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam. He the son of William Craven 1st Earl Craven and Louisa Brunton Countess Craven [aged 50].
On 20th November 1837 [her step-father] Francis Vernon-Harcourt [aged 36] and [her mother] Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Charles Jenkinson 1st Earl Liverpool. He the son of Archbishop Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt [aged 80] and Anne Leveson-Gower.
In 1838 [her husband] John Foster Barham died.
On 22nd December 1838 John Villiers 3rd Earl Clarendon [aged 81] died. His nephew [her future husband] George [aged 38] succeeded 4th Earl Clarendon, 4th Baron Hyde of Hindon in Wiltshire 1756.
On 3rd July 1839 George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 39] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 29] were married. She by marriage Countess Clarendon. She the daughter of James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam [aged 63] and Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam.
In 1840 [her daughter] Constance Villiers Countess Derby was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 39] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 29]. She married 31st May 1864 Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby, son of Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby and Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham Countess Derby, and had issue.
Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke
Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.
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On 30th October 1840 [her brother-in-law] Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie 4th Earl Radnor [aged 25] and [her sister] Mary Augusta Frederica Grimston [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of [her father] James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam [aged 65] and [her mother] Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam. He the son of William Pleydell-Bouverie 3rd Earl Radnor [aged 61] and Judith St John-Mildmay Countess Radnor [aged 50].
In 1841 [her daughter] Alice Villiers Countess Lathom was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 40] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 30]. She married 17th August 1860 Edward Bootle Wibraham 1st Earl Lathom and had issue.
In 1843 [her daughter] Emily Theresa Villiers Baroness Ampthill was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 42] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 32]. She married 5th May 1868 her fifth cousin once removed Odo Russell 1st Baron Ampthill and had issue.
On 12th September 1844 [her brother] James Walter Grimston 2nd Earl Verulam [aged 35] and [her sister-in-law] Elizabeth Joanna Weyland Countess Verulam [aged 19] were married. He the son of [her father] James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam [aged 68] and [her mother] Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam.
In 1845 [her son] Edward Villiers was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 44] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 34]. He died aged one in 1846.
On 17th November 1845 [her father] James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam [aged 70] died. His son [her brother] James [aged 36] succeeded 2nd Earl Verulam, 2nd Viscount Grimston, 5th Viscount Grimston, 3rd Baron Verulam of Gorhambury in Hertfordshire, 9th Baronet Grimston of Little Waltham in Essex. [her sister-in-law] Elizabeth Joanna Weyland Countess Verulam [aged 20] by marriage Countess Verulam.
In 1846 [her son] Edward Villiers [aged 1] died.
On 11th February 1846 [her son] Edward Villiers 5th Earl Clarendon was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 46] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 35] at the Vice Regal Lodge, Dublin. He married (1) 6th September 1876 his sixth cousin Caroline Elizabeth Agar Countess Clarendon, daughter of James Charles Agar 3rd Earl Normanton and Caroline Susan Augusta Barrington Countess Normanton, and had issue (2) 5th August 1908 Emma Hatch Countess of Clarendon.
In 1847 [her son] George Patrick Hyde Villiers was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 46] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 36].
In 1850 [her daughter] Florence Margaret Villiers was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 49] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 39]. She died aged one in 1851.
In 1851 [her daughter] Florence Margaret Villiers [aged 1] died.
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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On 13th August 1852 [her son] Francis Hyde Villiers was born to [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 52] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 42].
Blackburn Standard 11 May 1853. Marriage in High Life.—The marriage of Lord Ribblesdale [aged 25] with Miss Emma Mure [aged 20], youngest daughter of Colonel Mure, M.P., of Caldwell, was solemnised on Saturday, at St. James's Church, in the presence of a distinguished circle of the friends of both families. Among the company present at the church, we remarked—His Excellency the Prussian Minister, Lord and Lady John Russell and family, the Marquis of Lansdowne [aged 72], the [her husband] Earl [aged 53] and Countess [aged 43] of Clarendon, the Countess of Mansfield [aged 79]1, and the Ladies Murray and Miss Barnett, the Countess Howe, Lord Colville, Lord and Lady De Tabley, Mr. G. C. Lewis and Lady Theresa Lewis, Captain the Hon W. J. Colville, Mr. David Mure, Mr. James Mure, Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Mure, Mr. Raikes Currie, M.P., and the Hon. Mrs. Currie, the Right Hon. C. P. Villiers, M.P., Mr. B. Currie, the Hon. Mrs. Cradock, Mr. M. Drummond and the Hon. Mrs. Drummond, the Right Hon. Sir George Clerk and Lady Clerk, Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Stansfield, Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Wickham, Mr. Hallam, Lieut.-Col. Hunter Blair, M.P., and Mrs. Hunter Blair, Mr. C. L. Coming Bruce, M.P., Mr. Villiers Lister, Mr. Arthur Russell, Col. Broke, Q.A.D.C., and Mrs. Broke, Mr. Horace Broke, Mr. Campbell of Bltkewood, Mr. Markham, Mr. Edwin Markham, Mr. W. Warburton, Mr. Archibald Swinton, Mr. James Swinton, and Captain Birch, R.N. The bride was attended to the altar by the following young ladies: —The Misses Mure, the Hon. Elizabeth Lister, Miss Russell, Miss Lister, the Hon. Georgiana Colville, Miss H. Armytage, Miss Boyle, Miss Fraser, Miss Currie, Miss Markham, and Miss Wickham. The ceremony was very impressively performed by the Rev. E. H. Cradock. The bride was given away by her father. After the service bad been concluded, the bride and bridegroom with their friends returned to the Burlington Hotel, where a splendid déjeuner was served to a party of nearly seventy guests. At the breakfast, the health of the newly-wedded pair was proposed by Lord John Russell, and very warmly responded to. Early in the afternoon, Lord and Lady Ribblesdale left town in a carriage and four for the Marquis of Lansdowue's villa at Richmond, where they will pass the few first days of the honeymoon.— Morning Post.
Note 1. This appears to be a reference to the Dowager Countess of Mansfield since the wife of the incumbent Earl, Louisa Ellison, died in 1837.
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On 17th August 1860 [her son-in-law] Edward Bootle Wibraham 1st Earl Lathom [aged 22] and Alice Villiers Countess Lathom [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 60] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 50].
In 1863 [her mother] Charlotte Jenkinson Countess Verulam died.
On 31st May 1864 [her son-in-law] Frederick Arthur Stanley 16th Earl of Derby [aged 23] and Constance Villiers Countess Derby [aged 24] were married. She the daughter of George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 64] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 54]. He the son of Edward Smith-Stanley 14th Earl of Derby [aged 65] and Emma Caroline Bootle-Wilbraham Countess Derby [aged 59].
The Times. 25th January 1865. MARRIAGE IN HIGH LIFE. The marriage of the Earl of Coventry [aged 26] and [her niece] Lady Blanche Craven [aged 22], third daughter of [her brother-in-law] Earl Craven [aged 55], was solemnized yesterday morning at St. George's Church, Hanover-square. The bridegroom and the friends of both families assembled at the church at 11 o'clock, and shortly afterwards were joined by the bride, accompanied by her [her sister] mother, the Countess Craven [aged 48]. The bride was received by her father at the church door, and, attended by eight bridesmaids, proceeded at once to the communion table, in front ot which a numerous company had assembled, including the [her husband] Earl [aged 65] and Countess of Clarendon [aged 54] and Lady Emily Villiers [aged 22], the Countess of Verulam [aged 40] and Lady Harriet Grimston [aged 20], Viscount [aged 49] and Viscountess Folkestone [aged 43] and Hon. Miss Bouverie, the Countess of Sefton [aged 27] and Lady Cecilia Molyneux, Viscount Chelsea [aged 24], and Lady Caroline Townley [aged 27] and Miss Townley, Viscount Uffington [aged 23], Sir Henry [aged 58] and Lady Sophia Des Voeux, Hon. Mr. and Mrs Coventry, Hon. Gerald [aged 35] and Lady Maria Ponsonby [aged 28], Mr. Oswald andl Miss Oswald, Dr. Quin, Mr. Cecil Boothby [aged 51], Mr. James Oswald, Miss Talbot, Viscount [aged 32] and Viscountess Grey de Wilton [aged 28], Lady Evelyn Bruce [aged 25], Hon. Mrs. Grimston and Miss Grimston, &c.
The Hon. and Rev. Edward Grimston [aged 52], uncle of the bride, performed the religious rite. After the registration of the marriage the wedding party left the church, and procceded to the Earl and Countess Craven's mansion in Charles-street, Mayfair. At 2 o'clock the newly-wedded couple took their departure for Croome Court, the Earl of Coventry's seat, near Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire [Map], there to pass the honeymoon. At Croome Pirton and Severn Stoke, Worcestershire, the marriage was celebrated yesterday by the tenantry and neighbours of the Earl of Coventry. The tenantry of the Crome Pirton and Severn Stoke estates, to ths number of about 100, dined together in two parties yesterday at Severn Stoke and High-green. At Pirton and Severn Stoke garlands of evergreens and flags were hung out over the roads, and at night a bonfire was lighted at High-green. The rejoicings have extended over all his Lordship's large estates in the southern portion of Worcestershire. The inhabitants of Worcester [Map] celebrated the marriage by hoisting flags from tile windows and streamers across the streets. The bells from the various churches rang merry peals all day.
On 24th January 1865 George Coventry 9th Earl Coventry and Blanche Craven Countess Coventry were married. She by marriage Countess Coventry. She the daughter of William Craven 2nd Earl Craven and Emily Mary Grimston Countess Craven.
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On 5th May 1868 [her son-in-law] Odo Russell 1st Baron Ampthill [aged 39] and Emily Theresa Villiers Baroness Ampthill [aged 25] were married. She the daughter of George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 68] and Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 58]. They were fifth cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 9th April 1869 William Pleydell-Bouverie 3rd Earl Radnor [aged 89] died. His son [her brother-in-law] Jacob [aged 53] succeeded 4th Earl Radnor, 5th Viscount Folkestone, 5th Baron Longford, 7th Baronet Bouverie of St Catherine Cree Church in London. [her sister] Mary Augusta Frederica Grimston [aged 47] by marriage Countess Radnor.
On 27th June 1870 [her husband] George William Villiers 4th Earl Clarendon [aged 70] died. His son Edward [aged 24] succeeded 5th Earl Clarendon, 5th Baron Hyde of Hindon in Wiltshire 1756.
In 1874 Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon [aged 63] died.
Great x 4 Grandfather: Capell Luckyn 2nd Baronet
Great x 3 Grandfather: William Luckyn 3rd Baronet
Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Grimston
Great x 2 Grandfather: William Grimston 1st Viscount Grimston
Great x 1 Grandfather: James Grimston 2nd Viscount Grimston
GrandFather: James Grimston 3rd Viscount Grimston
Father: James Walter Grimston 1st Earl Verulam
Great x 1 Grandfather: Edward Walter
GrandMother: Harriet Walter Viscountess Grimston
Katherine Grimston Countess Clarendon
Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Jenkinson of Walcot Oxfordshire
Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Jenkinson 1st Baronet
Great x 2 Grandfather: Robert Jenkinson 2nd Baronet
Great x 1 Grandfather: Colonel Charles Jenkinson
GrandFather: Charles Jenkinson 1st Earl Liverpool