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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Christchurch Priory is in Christchurch, Dorset [Map], Priories in England.
On 4th September 1815 Harriet Susan Dashwood (age 32) died. Memorial in Christchurch Priory [Map] sculpted by John Flaxman (age 60).
Harriet Susan Dashwood: In 1783 she was born to Francis Bateman Dashwood. On 17th June 1806 James Edward Harris 2nd Earl Malmesbury and she were married. He the son of James Harris 1st Earl Malmesbury and Harriet Maria Amyand Countess Malmesbury.
1854. Monument to Percy Bysshe Shelley in Christchurch Priory [Map]. Sculpted by Henry Weekes (age 46). The monument possibly contains Shelley's heart, possibly liver, which resisted cremation and was retrieved by Edward Trelawny who was present at the cremation.
The monument verse forty of fifty-five of Shelley's Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats, Author of Endymion, Hyperion, etc:
He has out-soared the shadow of our night;
Envy and calumny, and hate and pain,
And that unrest which men miscall delight,
Can touch him not and torture not again;
From the contagion of the world's slow stain.
He is secure, and now can never mourn.
A heart grown cold, a head grown gray in vain;
Nor when the spirit's self has ceased to burn,
With sparkless ashes load an unlamented urn.
On 17th May 1876 Corisande Emma Bennet Countess Malmesbury (age 68) died. Memorial in Christchurch Priory [Map] sculpted by Gaetano Trentanove (age 18).
Sacred To The Memory Of Corisande Emma Countess Of Malmesbury, Daughter Of Charles Fifth Earl Of Tankerville, And Corisande, Daughter Of The Duke De Gramont. Born Aug. 19, 1807. Died May 17, 1876.
From her it never was our fate to find a deed ungentle or a word unkind, the mildes manners with the bravest mind."
Corisande Emma Bennet Countess Malmesbury: On 10th August 1807 she was born to Charles Augustus Bennet 5th Earl Tankerville and Corisande Armandine Sophie Léonie Hélène Gramont Countess Tankerville. On 13th May 1830 James Harris 3rd Earl Malmesbury and she were married. She by marriage Countess Malmesbury. She the daughter of Charles Augustus Bennet 5th Earl Tankerville and Corisande Armandine Sophie Léonie Hélène Gramont Countess Tankerville. He the son of James Edward Harris 2nd Earl Malmesbury and Harriet Susan Dashwood.
After 1911. Monument to Fanny White-White. Christchurch Priory [Map].
After 1985. Monument to Donald Bailey; inventor of the Bailey Bridge. Christchurch Priory [Map].
