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All About History Books
The 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." Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
Hereford is in Herefordshire.
1055 Battle and Burning of Hereford
1326 Execution of the Despencers
See: Bishop's Palace, Hereford, Franciscan Church, Hereford, Greyfriars Church, Hereford, Hereford Castle [Map], Hereford Cathedral [Map], Market Place, Hereford [Map], Wye Bridge Hereford [Map].
Welsh Border Road describes an unamed Roman Road, and unnumbered by Margery, that went from Caerleon [Map] to Wroxeter, Shropshire [Map], passing through Usk, Monmouthshire [Map], Abergavenny, Monmouthshire [Map], Hereford [Map], Mortimer's Cross, Herefordshire [Map], Wigmore, Herefordshire [Map] and Leintwardine Bridge, Herefordshire [Map] where it crosses the River Teme just after its convergence with the River Clun.
Before 1042 Ralph de Gael 2nd Earl East Anglia was born to Ralph "Staller" Gael 1st Earl East Anglia (age 30) at Hereford [Map].
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 24th October 1055. This year died Earl Siward at York; and his body lies within the minster at Galmanho76, which he had himself ordered to be built and consecrated, in the name of God and St. Olave, to the honour of God and to all his saints. Archbishop Kinsey fetched his pall from Pope Victor. Then, within a little time after, a general council was summoned in London, seven nights before mid-Lent; at which Earl Elgar, son of Earl Leofric, was outlawed almost without any guilt; because it was said against him that he was the betrayer of the king and of all the people of the land. And he was arraigned thereof before all that were there assembled, though the crime laid to his charge was unintentional. The king, however, gave the earldom, which Earl Siward formerly had, to Tosty (age 29), son of Earl Godwin. Whereupon Earl Elgar sought Griffin's territory in North-Wales; whence he went to Ireland, and there gave him a fleet of eighteen ships, besides his own; and then returned to Wales to King Griffin with the armament, who received him on terms of amity. And they gathered a great force with the Irishmen and the Welsh: and Earl Ralph collected a great army against them at the town of Hereford [Map]; where they met; but ere there was a spear thrown the English people fled, because they were on horses. The enemy then made a great slaughter there-about four hundred or five hundred men; they on the other side none. They went then to the town, and burned it utterly; and the large minster [Map]77 also which the worthy Bishop Athelstan had caused to be built, that they plundered and bereft of relic and of reef, and of all things whatever; and the people they slew, and led some away. Then an army from all parts of England was gathered very nigh;78 and they came to Gloucester: whence they sallied not far out against the Welsh, and there lay some time. And Earl Harold (age 33) caused the dike to be dug about the town the while. Meantime men began to speak of peace; and Earl Harold and those who were with him came to Bilsley, where amity and friendship were established between them. The sentence of outlawry against Earl Elgar was reversed; and they gave him all that was taken from him before. The fleet returned to Chester, and there awaited their pay, which Elgar promised them. The slaughter was on the ninth before the calends of November. In the same year died Tremerig, the Welsh bishop, soon after the plundering; who was Bishop Athelstan's substitute, after he became infirm.
Note 76 The church, dedicated to St. Olave, was given by Alan Earl of Richmond, about thirty-three years afterwards, to the first abbot of St. Mary's in York, to assist him in the construction of the new abbey. It appears from a MS. quoted by Leland, that Bootham-bar was formerly called "Galman-hithe", not Galmanlith, as printed by Tanner and others.
Note 77 Called St. Ethelbert's minster; because the relics of the holy King Ethelbert were there deposited and preserved.
Note 78 The place where this army was assembled, though said to be very nigh to Hereford, was only so with reference to the great distance from which some part of the forces came; as they were gathered from all England. They met, I conjecture, on the memorable spot called "Harold's Cross", near Cheltenham, and thence proceeded, as here stated, to Gloucester.
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John of Worcester. 24th October 1055. Earl Ralph, the cowardly son of king Edward's (age 52) sister, having assembled an army, fell in with the enemy two miles from the city of Hereford [Map], on the ninth of the calends of November [24th October]. He ordered the English, contrary to their custom, to fight on horseback; but just as the engagement was about to commence, the earl, with his French and Normans, were the first to flee. The English seeing this, followed their leader's example, and nearly the whole of the enemy's army going in pursuit, four or five hundred of the fugitives were killed, and many were wounded. Having gained the victory, king Griffyth and earl Algar entered Hereford [Map], and having slain seven of the canons who defended the doors of the principal church, and burnt the monastery built by bishop Athelstan, that true servant of Christ, with all its ornaments, and the relics of St. Ethelbert, king and martyr, and other saints, and having slain some of the citizens, and made many other captives, they returned laden with spoil.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1067. The child Edric and the Britons were unsettled this year, and fought with the castlemen at Hereford [Map], and did them much harm. The king (age 39) this year imposed a heavy guild on the wretched people; but, notwithstanding, let his men always plunder all the country that they went over; and then he marched to Devonshire, and beset the city of Exeter, Devon [Map] eighteen days. There were many of his army slain; out he had promised them well, and performed ill; and the citizens surrendered the city because the thanes had betrayed them.
. 15th June 1138. The king having spent some time at Hereford [Map] departed with his troops. The city, thus deprived of the royal presence, was burnt, beyond the river Wye, by the before-named Geoffrey, on the eighteenth of the calends of July [the 15th June], none of our own people, but seven or eight of the Welsh, having been killed. I omit saying anything of the blood-shed of many others, for I am ignorant respecting it; but this I pray:
May Christian souls in everlasting rest
Be with the saints, their warfare ended, blest;
And John1 corrected, if there ought occur,
In which the reader finds his pages err!
Note 1. We are here furnished with the name of the writer of this continuation of the Chronicle of He must have been living when Ordericus Vitalis visited Worcester, in his journey to England, about the year 1124. Both their works and probably their lives closed in 1141. Ordericus tells us that he saw at Worcester the continuation on which John was, doubtless, engaged at the time of his visit; but he is mistaken in attributing the original Chronicle to this John, instead of Florence. See the remarks in the preface to this volume, and a note in vol. i., p. 493, of Ordericus Vitalis, Bohn's Antiq. Lib.
Around 1220 Gilbert Talbot was born to Richard Talbot (age 40) and Aline Aliva Basset (age 31) at Hereford [Map].
Before 13th April 1234 Richard Talbot (age 54) died at Hereford [Map].
On 24th November 1326 Hugh "Younger" Despencer 1st Baron Despencer (age 40) was hanged, drawn and quartered in Hereford [Map]. Baron Despencer forfeit.
Simon of Reading was also hanged, drawn and quartered the same day.
Isabella of France Queen Consort England (age 31) and Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March (age 39) were present - see Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker.
On 31st May 1328 the Mortimer family leveraged their new status at a lavish ceremony that celebrated the marriages of two of Roger Mortimer's (age 41) daughters at Hereford [Map].
Edward Plantagenet (age 8) and Beatrice Mortimer (age 6) were married. She the daughter of Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March and Joan Geneville Baroness Mortimer 2nd Baroness Geneville (age 42). He the son of Thomas of Brotherton 1st Earl Norfolk (age 27) and Alice Hales Countess Norfolk. They were half third cousin once removed. He a grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King John of England.
Laurence Hastings 1st Earl Pembroke (age 9) and Agnes Mortimer Countess of Pembroke (age 11) were married. She the daughter of Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March and Joan Geneville Baroness Mortimer 2nd Baroness Geneville. He the son of John Hastings 2nd Baron Hastings 14th Baron Abergavenny and Juliana Leybourne Countess Huntingdon (age 25). They were third cousin once removed. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King John of England.
King Edward III of England (age 15) and his mother Isabella of France Queen Consort England (age 33) attended as well as Roger Mortimer 1st Earl March.
On 16th September 1362 Elizabeth Lisle (age 54) died at Hereford [Map].
On 18th February 1375 John Talbot (age 38) died in Hereford [Map].
On 16th April 1375 John Hastings 2nd Earl Pembroke (age 27) died. He was buried at Hereford [Map]. His son John (age 2) succeeded 3rd Earl Pembroke, 5th Baron Hastings, 16th Baron Abergavenny Feudal Creation.
In 1426 Robert Wingfield (age 23) was knighted by King Henry VI of England and II of France (age 4) at Hereford [Map].
Around 1450. The Wye Bridge Hereford [Map] is six-bay 15th-century bridge across the River Wye in Hereford [Map]. All six bays have cutwaters and pedestrian refuges built into the parapeted top. In 1490 a gatehouse was added to the southern end of the bridge to control access to the town. In 1645 the bridge was damaged during the Civil War. The bridge was rebuilt in the 17th century and widened in 1826.
Chronicle of Gregory [1400-1467]. 2nd February 1461. Alle so Edwarde Erle of Marche (age 18), the Duke of Yorke is son and heyre, hadde a gre jornaye at Mortymer is Crosse in Walys the secunde day of Februar nexte soo folowynge, and there he put to flyght the Erle of Penbroke (age 29), the Erle of Wylteschyre (age 40). And there he toke and slowe of knyghtys and squyers, and of the,a to the nomber of iij M1 [3000]., &c.
Ande in that jornay was Owyn Tetyr (age 61) take and brought unto Herforde este, an he was be heddyde at the market place [Map], and his hedde sette a-pone the hygheyste gryce of the market crosse, and a madde woman kembyd his here and wysche a way the blode of his face, and she gate candellys and sette a-boute him brennynge, moo then a C [Note. One hundred]. Thys Owyne Tytyr was fadyr unto the Erle of Penbroke, and hadde weddyd Quene Kateryn, Kyng Harry the VI (age 39). is modyr, wenyng and trustyng all eway that he shulde not be hedyd tylle he sawe the axe and the blocke, and whenn that he was in his dobelet he trustyd on pardon and grace tylle the coler of his redde vellvet dobbelet was ryppyd of. Then he said, "That hede shalle ly on the stocke that was wonte to ly on Quene Kateryns lappe," and put his herte and mynde holy unto God, and full mekely toke his dethe.
Alle soo the same day that the Erle of Marche shulde take his jornaye towarde Mortymer is Crosse fro Herforde este [Map]b, he mousterd his many without the towne wallys in a mersche that is callyd Wyg mersche. And ovyr him men sayc iij [3] sonnys schynyng.
Note a. So in MS.
Note b. Haverfordwest. [Note. While the note suggests Haverfordwest we believe this is a reference to Hereford?]
Note c. And over him men say three suns shining. A reference to the Parhelion which occurred on the morning of the Battle of Mortimer's Cross.
All About History Books
The 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. Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback.
In 1472 Thomas Cornwall 6th Baron Burford (age 65) died at Hereford [Map]. His son Edmund (age 24) succeeded 7th Baron Burford of Burford in Shropshire.
In 1506 Richard Herbert was born to Richard Herbert (age 64) and Margaret Cradock at Hereford [Map].
On 17th September 1510 Hugh Shirley (age 42) died at Hereford [Map].
In 1642 Humphrey Edwin was born to William Edwin at Hereford [Map].
Vesta Monumenta. 1738. Plate 1.49. Bishop's Palace, Hereford. Drawn by William Stukeley (age 50) in 1721. Engraved by George Vertue (age 54). The chapel was demolished by 1746 except for the north wall, which is adjacent to the cloister.
On 17th November 1326 Edmund Fitzalan 2nd or 9th Earl of Arundel (age 41) was beheaded at Hereford [Map]. Earl Arundel forfeit. According to the Llandaff Chronicle he was executed by a "worthless wretch" ("villissimi ribaldi") with a blunt sword requiring twenty-two strokes although I have been unable to find a copy of the Chronicle to confirm this story. He was initially buried at the Franciscan Church, Hereford, subsequently reburied at his family's traditional place of burial Haughmond Abbey [Map].
After 17th November 1326 Edmund Fitzalan 2nd or 9th Earl of Arundel (deceased) was buried at Franciscan Church, Hereford.
On 2nd February 1461 following the battle Owen Tudor (age 61) was beheaded in the Market Place, Hereford [Map]. He was buried thereafter in Greyfriars Church, Hereford in a tomb paid for by his son David Owen (age 2). Somewhat curious that his other son Jasper Tudor 1st Duke Bedford (age 29) didn't contribute although the political situation may have made it difficult to do so.
Memorial to Owen Tudor in the Market Place, Hereford [Map]. Somewhat incongruously between a toddlers merry-go-round and a baked potato stall on the day of our visit.
Hereford Castle is also in Castles in Herefordshire.
. 1138. Stephen marches to Hereford. The festival being concluded, the king, having heard that the castle of Hereford [Map] was fortified against him, put himself at the head of a powerful expedition, and pitched his camp against it, finding on his arrival that the report he had heard was true. Wherefore he remained there for the space of nearly four or five weeks, and issued orders throughout England that bodies of troops should march to support him in putting down all who opposed his royal title.
On 2nd February 1461 following the battle Owen Tudor (age 61) was beheaded in the Market Place, Hereford [Map]. He was buried thereafter in Greyfriars Church, Hereford in a tomb paid for by his son David Owen (age 2). Somewhat curious that his other son Jasper Tudor 1st Duke Bedford (age 29) didn't contribute although the political situation may have made it difficult to do so.
Memorial to Owen Tudor in the Market Place, Hereford [Map]. Somewhat incongruously between a toddlers merry-go-round and a baked potato stall on the day of our visit.
Chronicle of Gregory [1400-1467]. 2nd February 1461. Alle so Edwarde Erle of Marche (age 18), the Duke of Yorke is son and heyre, hadde a gre jornaye at Mortymer is Crosse in Walys the secunde day of Februar nexte soo folowynge, and there he put to flyght the Erle of Penbroke (age 29), the Erle of Wylteschyre (age 40). And there he toke and slowe of knyghtys and squyers, and of the,a to the nomber of iij M1 [3000]., &c.
Ande in that jornay was Owyn Tetyr (age 61) take and brought unto Herforde este, an he was be heddyde at the market place [Map], and his hedde sette a-pone the hygheyste gryce of the market crosse, and a madde woman kembyd his here and wysche a way the blode of his face, and she gate candellys and sette a-boute him brennynge, moo then a C [Note. One hundred]. Thys Owyne Tytyr was fadyr unto the Erle of Penbroke, and hadde weddyd Quene Kateryn, Kyng Harry the VI (age 39). is modyr, wenyng and trustyng all eway that he shulde not be hedyd tylle he sawe the axe and the blocke, and whenn that he was in his dobelet he trustyd on pardon and grace tylle the coler of his redde vellvet dobbelet was ryppyd of. Then he said, "That hede shalle ly on the stocke that was wonte to ly on Quene Kateryns lappe," and put his herte and mynde holy unto God, and full mekely toke his dethe.
Alle soo the same day that the Erle of Marche shulde take his jornaye towarde Mortymer is Crosse fro Herforde este [Map]b, he mousterd his many without the towne wallys in a mersche that is callyd Wyg mersche. And ovyr him men sayc iij [3] sonnys schynyng.
Note a. So in MS.
Note b. Haverfordwest. [Note. While the note suggests Haverfordwest we believe this is a reference to Hereford?]
Note c. And over him men say three suns shining. A reference to the Parhelion which occurred on the morning of the Battle of Mortimer's Cross.
Around 1450. The Wye Bridge Hereford [Map] is six-bay 15th-century bridge across the River Wye in Hereford [Map]. All six bays have cutwaters and pedestrian refuges built into the parapeted top. In 1490 a gatehouse was added to the southern end of the bridge to control access to the town. In 1645 the bridge was damaged during the Civil War. The bridge was rebuilt in the 17th century and widened in 1826.
1819. James Lonsdale (age 41). Portrait of Charles Howard 11th Duke of Norfolk looking over the Wye Bridge [Map] and Hereford Cathedral [Map].
The River Wye rises on Plynlimon [Map] after which it travels through, under, or near, Rhayader [Map], Newbridge-on-Wye [Map], Builth Wells [Map], Llanstephan Suspension Bridge [Map], Glasbury-on-Wye [Map], Hay-on-Wye [Map], Clifford Castle, Herefordshire [Map], Bredwardine, Byford, Herefordshire [Map], Wye Bridge Hereford [Map], Holme Lacy, Herefordshire [Map], Capler Camp, Herefordshire [Map], through Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire [Map], past Goodrich Castle, Gloucestershire [Map], Monmouth, Monmouthshire [Map], Tintern Abbey [Map] and Chepstow Castle [Map] joining the Severn Estuary 800m south-east of Thornwell, Monmouthshire [Map].