Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough
A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'
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Paternal Family Tree: Wray
In 1555 William Wray 1st Baronet was born to [his father] Christopher Wray [aged 31] and [his mother] Anne Girlington.
On 6th April 1580 William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 25] and Lucy Montagu were married.
In 1583 [his brother-in-law] George St Paul 1st Baronet [aged 21] and [his sister] Frances Wray Countess Warwick were married.
On 20th December 1583 Edward Arden [aged 50] was hanged, drawn and quartered at Smithfield [Map] for having plotted against Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland [aged 50] with his son-in-law John Somerville [deceased] who had implicated him during torture. He was tried by [his father] Christopher Wray [aged 59].
On 19th December 1583 John Somerville committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell.
The heads of John Somerville and Edward Arden were set on London Bridge [Map] next to the head of the Gerald Fitzgerald 14th Earl Desmond [deceased].
On 27th November 1586 [his son] John Wray 2nd Baronet was born to William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 31] and [his wife] Lucy Montagu. He married September 1607 Grisilla Bethell Lady Glentworth and had issue.
In May 1591 [his son] Nathaniel Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 36] and [his wife] Lucy Montagu. He died aged less than one years old.
In July 1591 [his son] Nathaniel Wray died.
On 7th May 1592 [his father] Christopher Wray [aged 68] died. He was buried in St Michael's Church, Glentworth [Map]. Monument to Sir Chistopher and his wife [his mother] Anne Girlington. Elizabethan Period. Elephant and Castle Crest. Pink, white and blue-grey marble. Two recumbent effigies, Sir Christopher above and a little behind his wife, he in red robes, black cap and thick ruff; she in black robes, large ruff and hood. Four kneeling white marble daughters below. Ornate tomb recess above with flanking pink marble columns with white and gold Corinthian Capitals. Undersurface of Recess decorated with white and gold bay leaves. Plaque inscribed above with raised plaque above with Sir Christopher's son at prayer flanked by coats of arms and obelisks.
Anne Girlington: Christopher Wray and she were married. she was born to Nicholas Girlington. After 7th May 1592 Anne Girlington was buried at St Michael's Church, Glentworth [Map]. Before 18th October 1602 John Darcy 2nd Baron Darcy Aston and Anne Babington were married. She by marriage Baroness Darcy of Aston. They were sixth cousins.
In 1594 William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 39] was appointed High Sheriff of Lincolnshire.
In or before 1595 Nicholas Clifford of Bobbing Kent and [his future wife] Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 18] were married.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 14th June 1595 Godfrey Foljambe [aged 36] died at Bedale. On 12th February 1623 [his sister] Isabel Wray Baroness Darcy died. Monument in St Mary and All Saints Church, Chesterfield [Map] to Godfrey Foljambe and Isabel Wray Baroness Darcy.
Godfrey Foljambe: Godfrey Foljambe and Isabel Wray Baroness Darcy were married. On 21st November 1558 he was born to Godfrey Foljambe and Troth Tyrwhitt at Walton, Derbyshire [Map].
Isabel Wray Baroness Darcy: she was born to Christopher Wray and Anne Girlington. After 14th June 1595 William Bowes and she were married. On 7th May 1617 John Darcy 3rd Baron Darcy Aston and she were married. She by marriage Baroness Darcy of Aston.
After 14th June 1595 [his brother-in-law] William Bowes [aged 44] and [his sister] Isabel Wray Baroness Darcy were married.
In June 1596 [his son] Philip Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 41] and [his wife] Lucy Montagu.
On 1st March 1599 [his wife] Lucy Montagu died. She was buried at Lincoln Cathedral [Map].
In 1601 [his son] Christopher Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 46] and [his future wife] Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 24]. He married 3rd August 1623 his fourth cousin once removed Albinia Cecil, daughter of Edward Cecil 1st Viscount Wimbledon and Theodosia Noel, and had issue.
Before May 1601 William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 46] and Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 24] were married. The difference in their ages was 21 years.
Before 23rd October 1603 [his son] George Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 48] and [his wife] Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 27]. He died aged two point eight nine two seven five in 1606.
Before 7th April 1605 [his son] Charles Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 50] and [his wife] Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 28].
In 1606 [his son] George Wray [aged 2] died.
In September 1607 [his son] John Wray 2nd Baronet [aged 20] and [his daughter-in-law] Grisilla Bethell Lady Glentworth [aged 18] were married.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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Before 27th October 1610 [his daughter] Frances Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 55] and [his wife] Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 34]. She married 25th March 1623 her third cousin Anthony Irby and had issue.
On 25th November 1611 a further tranche of Baronets was created by King James I of England and Ireland and VI of Scotland [aged 45]...
Edward Devereux 1st Baronet [aged 67] was created 1st Baronet Devereux of Castle Bromwich. Catherine Arden Baroness Devereux [aged 53] by marriage Lady Devereux of Castle Bromwich.
Francis Englefield 1st Baronet [aged 50] was created 1st Baronet Englefield of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire.
Harbottle Grimston 1st Baronet [aged 42] was created 1st Baronet Grimston of Bradfield.
John Portman 1st Baronet [aged 36] was created 1st Baronet Portman of Orchard Portman in Somerset.
William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 56] was created 1st Baronet Wray of Glentworth in Lincolnshire. [his wife] Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 35] by marriage Lady Wray of Glentworth in Lincolnshire.
Thomas Puckering 1st Baronet [aged 19] was created 1st Baronet Puckering of Weston in Hertfordshire.
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On 21st October 1614 [his son-in-law] Francis Foljambe 1st Baronet [aged 24] and [his daughter] Elizabeth Wray Lady Walton were married.
In 1616 [his brother-in-law] Robert Rich 1st Earl Warwick [aged 56] and [his sister] Frances Wray Countess Warwick were married. She by marriage Baroness Rich of Leez.
On 7th May 1617 [his brother-in-law] John Darcy 3rd Baron Darcy Aston [aged 45] and [his sister] Isabel Wray Baroness Darcy were married. She by marriage Baroness Darcy of Aston.
On 13th August 1617 William Wray 1st Baronet [aged 62] died. His son John [aged 30] succeeded 2nd Baronet Wray of Glentworth in Lincolnshire. Grisilla Bethell Lady Glentworth [aged 28] by marriage Lady Wray of Glentworth in Lincolnshire.
Around 1637 [his former wife] Frances Drury Lady Glentworth [aged 60] died.
[his son] Charles Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet and Lucy Montagu.
[his son] Edward Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet and Lucy Montagu. He married 27th March 1622 Elizabeth Norreys 3rd Baroness Norreys Rycote, daughter of Francis Norreys 1st Earl Berkshire and Bridget Vere Baroness Norreys Rycote, and had issue.
[his father] Christopher Wray and [his mother] Anne Girlington were married.
[his son] Benjamin Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet and Lucy Montagu.
[his son] Christopher Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet and Lucy Montagu.
[his daughter] Elizabeth Wray Lady Walton was born to William Wray 1st Baronet and Lucy Montagu. She married 21st October 1614 Francis Foljambe 1st Baronet 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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[his son] Nathaniel Wray was born to William Wray 1st Baronet and Lucy Montagu.
GrandFather: Thomas Wray
Father: Christopher Wray
Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Jackson
GrandMother: Joan Jackson
GrandFather: Nicholas Girlington
Mother: Anne Girlington