The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy
The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.
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30 Apr is in April.
1464 Marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
1465 Coronation of Elizabeth Woodville
1483 Arrest of the Woodville Affinity
1513 Execution of Edmund de la Pole
1536 Arrest of Brereton and Smeaton
1685 Execution of the Wigtown Martyrs
1694 Invitation to William of Orange from the Immortal Seven
On 30th April 783 Himiltrude Queen of the Franks and Lombardy, Holy Roman Empress [aged 29] died.
Chronicon ex Chronicis by Florence and John of Worcester. 30th April 1139. King Stephen at Worcester, Hereford, and Oxford. Within the octave of Easter, which happened on the second of the calends of May (30th April), Stephen, the magnificent king of England, coming to Worcester, with a royal retinue, was received with great festivity by the clergy and the people of the city and neighbourhood, in solemn procession. The prayers being ended, and the blessing given as usual, the king took his royal ring from his finger, and offered it on the altar; and on the morrow it was returned to him, by common consent of the monks. Therefore the king, remarking with surprise the humility and devotion of the flock of the church of Worcester, yea, rather of the Lord, took back his ring, as he had been adjured to do for the love of St. Mary, mother of God. After his departure from Worcester, the king encamped at Ludlow, where he caused forts to be erected in two positions, and stationed strong bodies of troops in them to assault the castle, which held out against him; and then returning, by way of Worcester, marched towards London. Some of the soldiers, unsparing in their execrable warfare, and driven by their headstrong courage, determined to try their strength on Ludlow. To accomplish this undertaking, large bodies of troops began to flock together. It was truly a pitiable sight to behold one poising his spear against another, and running him through; thus putting him to death, without thinking what would be the judgment the spirit would receive. But king Stephen checked such designs, by the terror of his threats; and going a second time to Ludlow, by way of Worcester, settled all things peaceably, and then made a quiet and joyful journey to Oxford—that is, the ox-ford. While he stayed there, a charge of rebellion urgently requiring it, he arrested Roger, bishop of Salisbury, and his nephew, the bishop of Lincoln, and also Roger, his chancellor, for engaging in a treasonable conspiracy against his crown, and committed them to custody. On hearing this, Nigel [aged 39], bishop of Ely, fearing for himself and his adherents, fled with a body of soldiers to Devizes, that he might find protection there. The case of these bishops has been already more fully stated in this work;1 but it appears to have been brought to a point in the present year. In a council afterwards held it was enacted that all fortified towns, castles, and strong places whatever, throughout England, devoted mainly to secular purposes, should submit to the jurisdiction of the king and his barons; but that churchmen, namely, the bishops, whom I will call God's watch-dogs, should not cease to bark in defence of their flock, and take every care lest the invisible wolf, their malignant foe, should tear and scatter the sheep.
Note 1. See before, p. 260.
On 30th April 1245 King Philip III of France was born to King Louis IX of France [aged 31] and Margaret Provence Queen Consort France [aged 24]. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. He married (1) 28th May 1262 his second cousin once removed Isabella Barcelona Queen Consort France, daughter of James I King Aragon and Violant Árpád Queen Consort Aragon, and had issue (2) 21st August 1274 his fourth cousin Maria of Brabant Queen Consort France, daughter of Henry Reginar III Duke Brabant and Adelaide Burgundy Duchess Brabant, and had issue.
On 30th April 1315 Enguerrand de Marigny [aged 55] was hanged. He had been arrested on the orders of Louis X King France I Navarre [aged 25] at the instigation of Charles of Valois [aged 45]. Twenty-eight articles of accusation including charges of receiving bribes were brought against him but none could be found to be true. Charles then brought forward a charge of sorcery which was more effectual. He was condemned at once and hanged on the public gibbet of Montfaucon.
Chronicle of Jean le Bel. And it is to be known that, when the truces were agreed and sealed before Tournai, all the lords and all manner of men struck their camps on both sides, and each returned to his own land. King Philip of France and the barons and lords went to Paris, and there they separated, and each went back to his own country. Among the others, the Duke of Brittany, who had been in the host among the French more prominently than any of the other princes, set out toward his own land and was seized with so great an illness that he passed from this world before he was halfway to his countryENDNOTE1ENDNOTE. This was a great misfortune, for from it afterward came great wars and destruction of men, towns, and castles, as you shall hear. And so that each may be better informed how all these evils came about, I shall recount a part of it, as I know it and as I have inquired and heard told by those who were where I was not.
Si est à sçavoir que, quant les treves furent acordées et seellées devant Tournay, tous les seigneurs et toutes manieres de gens se deslogerrent d'une part et d'aultre, et rala chascun en sa contrée; le roy Philippe de France et les barons et les seigneurs s'en alerrent à Paris et là se departirent, et rala chascun en son pays. Entre les aultres, le duc de Bretaigne, qui avoit esté en l'ost entre les Françoys plus grossement que nul des aultres princes, s'en ala par devers son pays et luy prist maladie si grande qu'il trespassa de ce siecle, ainchois qu'il fust en my chemin de son pays, de quoy ce fut grand dommage, car grandes guerres et destructions de gens, de villes, de chasteaulx en avindrent puis aprez, si comme vous orrez. Et pour chascun mielx infourmer comment tous ces moulx avindrent, j'en conteray une partie, ainsy que je le sçay el que j'en ay enquis et ouy dire à ceulx qui ont esté où je n'ay mie esté.
Note 1. John III, Duke of Brittany, died at Caen on 30th April 1341.
1. Jean III, duc de Bretagne, mourut à Caen le 30 avril 1341. (A. de la Borderie, Études historiques bretonnes, 2e série, p54, et Hist. de Bretagne, t. III, p. 408.)
Archaeologia Volume 35 1853 XXXIII. The following visits, during her [Isabella of France Queen Consort England [aged 63]] stay in London, are recorded. On the 30th of April, the Countess of Warren to supper [aged 62]. On the 1st of May, the Countess of Pembroke [aged 41] to dinner; and the King after dinner. On the 2nd of May, the Countesses of Warren and Pembroke to dinner; and the King [aged 45], the Prince of Wales [aged 27], the Earl of March [aged 29], and others, after dinner. On the 3rd of May, the Countess of Pembroke and the Maréchal D'Audenham to dinner; and the Earl of Arundel [aged 52], "et plures magnates Franciæ1," after dinner. On the 4th, the Count of Tancarville to dinner. On the 5th, the Countesses of Warren and Pembroke and the Maréchal D'Audenham again to dinner; and the Chancellor of England and many French noblemen after dinner. On the 6th the Chief Justice and the Barons of the Exchequer to dinner. On the four following days, the Countesses of Warren, Kent, and Pembroke dine with the Queen; and on the last of the four Sir John de Wynewyk comes to supper. On the 11th, Queen Philippa [aged 47] appears to have dined with Isabella, but the entry is partially obliterated; the Earl Marshal and other noblemen came after dinner. On the 12th, the Countess of Pembroke dined, and the Cardinals ( of Périgord and St. Vitalis ), the Archbishop of Sens, and some French noblemen came after dinner. On Sunday the 13th, the Countess of Warren and others from London, as it is expressed, dined; and the King of France, the Chancellor of England, and others, visited the Queen after dinner.
Note 1. and several magnates of France.
Archaeologia Volume 35 1853 XXXIII. On the 30th of April [1358], Isabella [aged 63] returned to London, where she remained till the 11th of May; having her residence in the house of the Archbishop of York.
It must be remembered that at this period anxious efforts were being made by Edward III. to settle terms of a peace with his captive, John of France; and it can hardly be believed that Isabella was inactive in these negotiations. Her presence at Windsor at the festival of St. George, her residence in London, and her frequent communications with the French captives, warrant us in concluding that she did in fact take part in them; and the eager interest with which she watched their progress is proved by an entry in these accounts of a donation on the 10th of May of the considerable sum of six pounds thirteen shillings ( equal in value to about ninety pounds of the present currency ) to a messenger bringing a letter from Sir William de Wynewyk, at Windsor, certifying her of reports of the conclusion of an agreement between the two sovereigns, and of the same sum given by her, the same day, to a courier bearing a letter from Queen Philippa, convey ing the same intelligence.
On 30th April 1388 Archbishop Alexander Neville [aged 47] was translated to Bishop of St Andrews. He never took possession of the see because the Scots acknowledged the Avignon papacy with their own candidate, Bishop Walter Trail.
On 30th April 1399 William Sawtry aka Salter was taken to Henry le Despenser [aged 58], Bishop of Norwich, ordered he be examined. The examination lasted for two days, held at the Bishop's palace, South Elmham Hall. He charged with heresy and held in an episcopal prison.
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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Chronicle of Gregory. 30th April 1439. And the laste day of Aprylle deyde the Erle of Warwyke [aged 57] at Roone [Map]. Ande the same year the Cardynalle Archebyschoppe of Yorke [aged 59], the Byschoppe of Northewyche [aged 51], the Byschoppe of Syn Davys and many othyr docters, and the Duke of Northefolke [aged 23], the Erle of Stafford [aged 36], the lord Bowcer, and the Lord Hungerforde [aged 39], with a grete mayny, wente unto Calys; and they hadde the Duke of Orlyaunce [aged 44] with them for to trete of pes by twyne Ingelonde and Fraunce. And there mette with them the grete lordys of Fraunce, that is to wyte, of spyrytualle and temporalle, the Archebyschoppe of Raynys [aged 59], whythe many moo byschoppys, the Erle of Wendon [aged 63], a the Bastarde of Orlyaunce [aged 36], and many othyr lordys of Fraunce; and thedyr come the Byschoppe of Spayne and of Colayne, and many moo othyr dyvers contreys that com fro the Counselle of Basylle.
On 30th April 1439 Richard Beauchamp 13th Earl Warwick [aged 57] died at Rouen, France [Map]. His son Henry [aged 14] succeeded 14th Earl Warwick. Cecily Neville Duchess Warwick [aged 15] by marriage Countess Warwick.
In the middle of the Beauchamp Chapel [Map] lieth upon a tomb of marble, in full statue, the effigy of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, in armour, all made of fine latten brass, doubly guilt.
Besides these there stand round about, his tomb, eighteen lesser images, made of brass and gilt, resembling angels, with this label: Glory and for Praise to God - Mercy to the Dead.
The Inscription about his tomb, engraved in brass, in the uncouth diction and spelling, is as follows:
Preith devoutly for the Sowel whom God assoile of one of the moost worshipful Knightes, in his Dayles of Monhode and Conning. Richard Beauchamp, late Earl of Warrewyk. Lord Despenser of Bergevenny, of mony other grete Lordships; whose Body resteth here under this Tumbe in a ful seire voute of Stone set on the bare rooch, the which visited with longe sikness in the Castel of Roan therinne deceased full cristenty the last day of April, the yer of our Lord God MCCCCXXXIX. He being at that time lieutenant, genal and goverin of the Roialmes of Fraunce, and of the Duchie of Normandie by sufficient authorite of oure Sovaigne Lord the King Harry the sixth, the which body with grete deliberacon and ful worshipful Conduit by see and by lond was brought to Warrewik the iiii day of October the yer aboveseide and was leide with ful solemne exequies in a feir Chest made of Stone in this Church, afore the west dore of this Chapel according to his last Wille and Testament therein to reste, til this Chapel by him devised in his lief were made. At the whuche Chapel founded on the rooche and alle the Membres thereof, his Executors dede fully make and apparaille, by the autorite of his said wille & Testament, and thereafter by the same autorite then dide translate ful worshipfully the seide body into the vout abouesaide; honired be God therefore.
At his head there is a great helm with a crest of a swan with a Coronet around its neck.
At his right foot a muzzled bear which features on the Beauchamp Bear and Ragged Staff badge.
At his left foot a griffin.
Over the said monument is a hearse of brass, gilt, made designedly to support a covering over the curious repository of the remains of this once great Earl.
Round about his tomb, stand fourteen images of brass, all gilt; under the feet of each of them is a coat of arms. These images are resembling fourteen lords and ladies, called weepers.
At the head of the tomb: Henry Beauchamp, Duke of Warwick, and Lady Cecil, his wife, daughter to Richard Nevil, Earl of Salisbury [aged 39].
On the south side: Richard Nevil, Earl of Salisbury;
Edmund Beaufort [aged 33], Duke of Somerset;
Humphrey Stafford [aged 36], Duke of Buckingham;
John Talbot [aged 56], Earl of Shrewsbury;
Richard Nevil [aged 10], Earl of Warwick.
At the foot of the tomb: George Nevil [aged 32], Lord Lattimer, and Elizabeth [aged 22], his wife, daughter to Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick.
On the north side: Anne [aged 12], daughter to Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, wife to Richard, Earl of Warwick.
Eleanor [aged 30], daughter to Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and wife to Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset;
Anne [aged 31], daughter to Ralph Nevill, Earl of Westmoreland, wife to Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham;
Margaret [aged 35], eldest daughter to Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, wife to John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury;
Alice [aged 32], daughter and heiress to Thomas Montague, Earl of Salisbury, wife to Richard Nevil, Earl of Salisbury;
Patent Rolls. 30th April 1456. Commission of oyer and terminer to Henry, duke of Exeter, Humphrey, duke of Buckingham, Jasper, earl of Pembroke [aged 24], Humphrey Stafford, knight, son and heir of the duke of Buckingham, Richard, earl of Salisbury, Henry, earl of Northumberland, John, earl of Worcester, Henry, viscount of Bourghchier, Ralph Butteler of Sudeley, knight, John Bourghchier of Barners, knight, Thomas Stanley of Stanley, knight, William Marowe, mayor of London, John Fortescu, knight, John Prysot, Peter Ardern, William Yelverton, John Markham, Richard Byngham, Ralph Poole, Nicholas Assheton, Robert Danvers, Robert Danby, Walter Mule and Thomas Ursewyk, in London and the suburbs thereof, touching all treasons, insurrections, rebellions, felonies, trespasses, lollardries, convocations, combinations, associations, conspiracies, misprisions, confederacies, false allegiances, riots, routs, robberies, plunderings, homicides, murders, rapes of women, congregations, unlawful gatherings, negligences, falsities, deceptions, contempts, concealments, maintenances, oppressions, extortions, champerties, ambidextrics and other offences committed since Easter last. By K. & C.
Chronicle of Jean de Waurin Books 3-5 [1400-1474]. Then the King replied that indeed he wished to marry, but perhaps it would not be to everyone's liking, yet it would be to his own pleasure. And then, to ascertain his intention, all while smiling, they asked him among whom he would ally himself. To this, he replied with great joy that he wished to marry the daughter [Elizabeth Woodville] of the Lord Rivers. However, he was told that she was not suitable for him, even if she were good and beautiful, because she was not a woman who belonged in any way to the same class as him . He knew this well because she was not the daughter of a duke or an earl, and her mother had been married to a knight from whom she had two children before her marriage. Even if she had been the daughter of the Duchess of Bedford and the niece of the Count of Saint Pol, considering all this, she was not a suitable match for him, not one befitting a prince like him.
Alors respondy le roy que voirement se voulloit il marier, mais par adventure ne serroit ce pas au gre de chascun, neantmoins bien seroit a son plaisir; et adont pour scavoir son entente, tout en sousriant, luy demanderent parmy qui il se volroit alyer, a quoy il respondy, a chiere tres joieuse, quil voulloit avoer a femme la fille du seigneur de La Riviere; mais il luy fut dit quelle nestoit pas contre luy, ja feust elle bonne et belle, mais non pas femme quy en riens apartenist a si hault prince comme il estoit, aussi il le scavoit bien, car elle nestoit fille de duc ne de comte, et que sa mere avoit este mariee a ung chevallier duquel elle avoit eu deux enfans avant son mariage, ja eust elle este fille a la ducesse de Bethfort et niepce au comte de Saint Pol, non obstant ce, tout considere, si nestoit elle pas femme pour luy, ne tele comme a tel prince devoit apartenir.
Chronicle of William of Worcester. On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord [30th April 1465] in the Tower of London, the King [aged 23], in preparation for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth [aged 28], knighted several individuals, whose names follow: [Names not listed]
Die Ascensionis Domini in Turri Londoniæ dominus rex erga coronationem reginæ Elizabethæ creavit milites, quorum nomina sequuntur:
On 30th April 1483 Richard, Duke of Gloucester, [aged 30] met Richard Grey [aged 26] and Anthony Woodville 2nd Earl Rivers [aged 43] at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire [Map] who were accompanying King Edward V of England [aged 12] from Ludlow to London. All three had dinner together.
Croyland Chronicle 1483. 30th April 1483. On reaching Northampton, where the duke of Buckingham [aged 28] joined him, there came thither for the purpose of paying their respects to him, Antony, earl of Rivers [aged 43], the king's uncle, and Richard Grey [aged 26], a most noble knight, and uterine brother to the king, together with several others who had been sent by the king, his nephew, to submit the conduct of everything to the will and discretion of his uncle, the duke of Gloucester [aged 30]. On their first arrival, they were received with an especially cheerful and joyous countenance, and, sitting at supper at the duke's table, passed the whole time in very pleasant conversation. At last, Henry, duke of Buckingham, also arrived there, and, as it was now late, they all retired to their respective lodgings.
Bale's Chronicle [1450-1460]. [30th April 1483] Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, called Protector of England, met the prince and received him reverently at Stony Stratford, and brought him to London. Meanwhile, under the pretext of a discovered treason, he ordered that Anthony Rivers, Lord Scales, the queen Elizabeth's brother, and Lord Richard Woodville, the queen's son, together with Sir Thomas Vaughan, knight, who were the prince's necessary attendants and companions, be arrested and taken to Pontefract.
Ricardus plantagoneth dux Eboraci appellatus protector anglie occurrit principi et eum excipit venerabundus ad Stonyng Stratford et londonium deducit. Interea sub specie comperte proditionis custodiri iubet Anthonium Ryvers dominum Skalys fratrem regine Elyzabethe et dominum Ricardum Wodvyld regine filium et Warham equitem auratum necessarios et comites principis et Pomphretam deduci.
On 30th April 1513 Edmund Pole 3rd Duke of Suffolk [aged 42] was beheaded at Tower Hill [Map] on the instruction of King Henry VIII after having been imprisoned for seven years. Duke Suffolk, Marquess Suffolk and Earl Suffolk, Baron Pole forfeit.
He, Edmund, was the son of Elizabeth York Duchess Suffolk, sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III, and George, Duke of Clarence. He, arguably, had a better claim to the throne of England than King Henry VII if King Edward IV's children were illegitimate, and George's children barred from the succession as a consequence of George'a attainder although Anne St Leger's [aged 37] claim better since she descended from an older sister Anne.
He, Edmund, had been given to King Henry VII of England and Ireland as part of the treaty of Malus Intercursus aka Evil Treaty with the condition that he not be executed. King Henry VII in his will instructed his son King Henry VIII to have him executed; an act which attracted the criticism of Montaigne in Chapter 7 of his Essays.
Wriothesley's Chronicle [1508-1562]. yeare, on the Assension Even [30th April 1513],e Edmonde de la Pole [aged 42]f was beheaded on Tower Hill [Map].
Note e. We should here read May Even as in Arnold and Stow; Ascension Even in 1513 fell on May 4th, whereas the Duke was executed on the 30th April, 1518.
Note f. Edmund de la Pole, son of John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, was nephew of Edward IV and brother of the Earl of Lincoln who was slain at the battle of Stoke; his other brother, Richard de la Pole [aged 33], called the White Rose, was afterwards slain before the city of Pavia, in 1525.
On 30th April 1514 Alexander Stewart 1st Duke Ross was born to King James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor Queen Scotland [aged 24] at Stirling Castle [Map]. He a grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. He died aged one in 1515.
On 30th April 1516 the Evil May Day Riots were a protest against foreigners living in London. Apprentices attacked foreign residents. Some of the rioters were later hanged.
On 30th April 1520 a skirmish took place on the High Street Edinburgh in which around five hundred supporters of James Hamilton 1st Earl Arran [aged 45] fought with a similar number of supporters of Archibald Douglas 6th Earl Angus [aged 31], chiefs of Clan Hamilton and Douglas respectively, over who had control over King James V of Scotland [aged 8].
Around eighty of the Hamilton's were killed with the Douglases victorious as a consequence of around eight hundred more supporters arriving under the leadership of Angus' brother William Douglas Prior of Coldingham [aged 27].
John Montgomerie Master of Eglinton [aged 37] was killed.
Calendar of State Papers Foreign Series Elizabeth I 1558-1559 Volume 1. 14. Thereupon it was decided and concluded that the Queen was an adulteress, and deserved to be burnt alive. The Councillors were summoned to meet at the King's palace at Greenwich, opposite London, on the other side of the river Thames, on April 30 [1536].
Calendar of State Papers Foreign Series Elizabeth I 1558-1559 Volume 1. [30th April 1536] 16. Never shall I forget the sorrow which I felt when I saw the most serene Queen, your most religious mother, carrying you, still a little baby, in her arms and entreating the most serene King, your father, in Greenwich Palace, from the open window of which he was looking into the courtyard, when she brought you to him.
17. I did not perfectly understand what had been going on, but the faces and gestures of the speakers plainly showed that the King was angry, although he could conceal his anger wonderfully well. Yet from the protracted conference of the Council, (for whom the crowd was waiting until it was quite dark, expecting that they would return to London,) it was most obvious to everyone that some deep and difficult question was being discussed.
Spanish Chronicle Chapter 27. The night before [30th April 1536] they held the jousts the King came to Greenwich, and all the gentlemen were very gay, particularly Master Norris [aged 54] and Master Brereton. On the day of the jousts, which was the 1st of May1, Cromwell was going to London and sent for Mark, and said, "Mark, come and dine with me, and after dinner we will return together." Mark, suspecting nothing, accepted the invitation; and when they arrived at Cromwell's house in London, before dinner, he took Mark by the hand and led him into his chamber, where there were six gentlemen of his, and as soon as he hod got him in the chamber he said, "Mark, I have wanted to speak to you for some days, and I have had no opportunity till now. Not only I, but many other gentlemen, have noticed that you are ruffing it very bravely of late. We know that four months ago you had nothing, for your father has hardly bread to eat, and now you are buying horses and arms, and have made showy devices and liveries such as no lord of rank can excel. suspicion has arisen either that you have stolen the money or that someone had given it to you, although it is a great deal for anyone to give unless it were the King or Queen, and the King has been away for a fortnight. I give you notice now that you will have to tell me the truth before you leave here, either by force or good-will."
Mark, understanding as soon as Cromwell began to speak that the affair was no joke, did not know what to say, and became confused. "You had better tell the truth willingly," said Cromwell; and then Mark said that the money had been lent to him; to which Cromwell answered, "How can that be, that the merchants lend so much money, unless on plate, gold, or revenue, and at heavy interest, whilst you have nothing to pledge except that chain you wear. I am sorry you will not tell what you know with a good grace."
Then he called two stout young fellows of his, and asked for rope and a cudgel, and ordered them to put the rope, which was full of knots, round Mark's head, and twisted it with the cudgel until Mark cried out, "Sir Secretary, no more, I will tell the truth," and then he said, "The Queen gave me the money." "Ah, Mark," said Cromwell, "I know the Queen gave you a hundred nobles, but what you have bought has cost over a thousand, and that is a great gift even for a Queen to servant of low degree such as you. If you do not tell me all the truth I swear by the life of the King I will torture you till you do." Mark replied, "Sir, I tell you truly that she gave it to me." Then Cromwell ordered him a few more twists of the cord, and poor Mark, overcome by the torment, cried out, "No more, Sir, I will tell you everything that has happened." And then he confessed all, and told everything as we have related it, and how it came to pass.
When the Secretary heard it he was terror-stricken, and asked Mark if he knew of anyone else besides himself who had relations with the Queen. Mark, to escape further torture, told all he had seen of Master Norris and Brereton, and swore that he knew no more. Then Cromwell wrote a letter to the King, and sent Mark to the Tower2.
Note 1. May-day ie 01 May 1536.
Note 2. Lingard says that Brereton was arrested first, three days before, but the present Chronicle is probably correct.
Memorial of George Constantyne. 30th April 1536. George. The first that was taken was Markys [aged 24], And he was at Stepneth in examinacyon on Maye even. I can not tell how he was examined, but apon Maye daye in the mornynge he was in the towre, the trewth ys he confessed it, but yet the sayeing was that he was fyrst grevously racked, which I cowlde never know of a trewth.
Memorial of George Constantyne. Deane. But what can ye tell of Brerton?
George. By my troeth, yf any of them was innocent, it was he. For other he was innocente or els he dyed worst of them all.
Deane. How so?
George. Apon thursdaye [30th April 1536] afore Maye daye in the mornynge I spake with hym abowt nyne of the clocke, And he tolde me that there was no waye but one with any matter. For I did aske hym & was bold apon hym because we were borne within foure myles together, And also we wente to grammar scole together. And the same daye afore ij of the clock was he in the towre as ferre as the best. What was layed against hym I know not nor never hearde.
Life of Anne Boleyn by Lancelot du Carle. Here is the beginning of the end of Anne Boleyn. The Letter describes a Lord berating his sister for being flirtatious; we don't know when that conversation occurred. She, in response, and to deflect criticism from herself, points out that Queen Anne has been behaving much worse, with Anne's musician Mark Smeaton, and that Queen Anne has been having 'carnal intimacy' with her brother George Boleyn.
John Hussee's letter to Honour Grenville, Lady Lisle, wife of Henry's illegitimate uncle Arthur, Viscount Lisle, on the 24th of May 1536 [See Letter] has 'As to the confession of the Queen and others, they said little or nothing; but what was said was wondrous discreetly spoken. The first accuser, the lady Worcester [aged 34], and Nan Cobham with one maid mo; but the Lady Worcester was the first ground'. Hussee repeats the claim on the 25th of May 1536: 'As to the Queen's accusers my lady Worcester is said to be the principal.'
The 'most feared Lord of the Council who was brother to Elizabeth Browne Countess of Worcester is William Fitzwilliam 1st Earl of Southampton [aged 46] who in 1536 was Lord Treasurer and on the Privy Council. He was Elizabeth's maternal half-brother.
| Une des Seigneurs du Conseil plus esfroit | A most feared Lord of the Council |
| Voyant sa soeur, qui mainctz signes faisoit | seeing his sister, who was making many signs |
| D'aymer aulcuns par amour deshonneste | of loving someone dishonestly |
| Par bon Conseil fraternel l'admoneste | by good fraternal advice admonished her |
| Qu'elle acqueiot une hontesuse fame | that she was gaining a shameful reputation |
| De mal vivante, et impudicque femme | of bad living, and being a shameless woman, |
| Et grandement son honneur blesseroit | and her honour would be greatly harmed |
| Si de peché tost ne se retiroit | if the sin was not reined in. |
| Adonc voyant cogneue son offense | Having recognised her offense, she said |
| Je cognois bien dist elle que l'on pense | I know well, she said, that you think |
| Que j'ay faulse de loyaulté less droictz | I have violated the rights of loyalty. |
| Le vous nier mon frere le vouldroi | I would deny it to you, my brother, |
| Mais on veiot bien une petite faulte | but I will admit a small fault |
| En moy laissant une beaucoup plus haulte | leaving one much greater one |
| Qui porte effect de plus grand prejudice | who carries a much greater harm |
| Et s'il failloit que du tout je vous diste | if I had to tell you everything |
| Vous cognoistriez que moins de seureté | you would recognise that less security |
| Ya une plus on pente loyaulté, | inclines towards greater loyalty, |
| Mais vous messieurs jugez les columbeaulx | But you sirs judge the doves |
| Et pardonnez aux infames Corbeaulx | And pardon the infamous Crows1. |
| Ainsi vouloit ses faultes admortir | She wanted her faults reduced |
| Par ses pechez en aultre convertir | by turning her sins on another which |
| Une plus petit quand declaré seroit | would be smaller when those were revealed |
| Et commença asseurer son excuse | and began to assure her excuse |
| En luy disant que la plus malheureuse | by saying that the most unfortunate |
| Qui oncques femme dessoubz les cieulx | woman who ever was under the skies |
| Estoit le Royne, et pour le sçavoir mieulx | was the Queen, to know it better. |
| Si n'en voulez mon asseurance croyre | If you don't want to believe me |
| De Marc sçaurez; dist elle dest histoire | Smeaton knows; she said of the story |
| Mais ne veulx oublier a vous dire | but I don't want to forget to tell you |
| Une poinct de tous me semble le pire | one point that seems to me to be worse |
| C'est que souvent son frere est avec elle | it's because her brother is often with her |
| Dedans son lict accointance charnelle | in her bed, in carnal intimacy. |
Note 1. A proverb by Roman poet Juvenal 'Dat veniam corvis, vexat censura columbas' ie 'The judge forgives the crows and harasses the doves' meaning justice may not be as blind as is desirable, or a warning to be cautious of how we judge others, as we may be too fast to condemn those who are innocent.
On 30th April 1539 Barbara Habsburg Spain Duchess Ferrara was born to Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emperor [aged 36] and Anne Jagiellon [aged 35]. She married her third cousin Alfonso Este II Duke Ferrara, son of Ercole Este II Duke Ferrara and Renée of France Duchess of Ferrara.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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Henry Machyn's Diary. 30th April 1552. The sam day the Kynges [aged 14] grase removyd from Westmynster unto Grenwyche [Map] at viij a-cloke in the mornyng.
On 30th April 1553 Louise Lorraine Queen Consort France was born to Nicholas of Lorraine Duke of Mercœur [aged 28] and Marguerite Egmont [aged 36] in Nomeny. She married 14th February 1575 her fourth cousin Henry III King France, son of King Henry II of France and Catherine Medici Queen Consort France.
Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic Henry VIII 1533. 30th April 1553. R. T. 137. 407. Henry VIII.
Commission to Thomas earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, keeper of the Privy Seal, and Master Edw. Foxe, the King's almoner, to conclude a stricter league and amity with Francis I. Westminster, 30 April 25 Hen. VIII.
Modern copy from the French Archives, pp. 2.
Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic Henry VIII 1533. Apr 1553. R. O. 423. The Staple Of Calais.
"Demands to be made of the King's behalf of the merchants of the Staple."
1. That they shall pay the King the sums due this day upon all obligations according to the days of payment. 2. That they shall pay ½d. more on each woolfell that they shall load hereafter to Calais, and 13s. 4d. more on every sack. 3. That they shall bring in bullion for every sack according to law, and not henceforth make any exchanges without licence.
On these conditions the King is willing to take their house and lands in Calais and the Marches, and to accept the other offers made in their supplication, and to grant them liberty to ship and to continue their company, and to pay for no more wools and fells than they shall ship.
In Cromwell's hand, p. 1.
ii. Memoranda on the back of the preceding:—
"For to remember the judgment to be prepared for in the King's great matter.
Item, for the despatch of my lord of Norfolk [aged 80].
Item, the bill for the succession, and to rest upon the same.
Item, for to devise for the coronation, and to see presendementtes for the same.
Item, to devise for lands for the Queen.
Item, for the establishment of the Dowager."
In Cromwell's hand.
Henry Machyn's Diary. 30th April 1557. The xxx day of Aprell was master Perse [aged 29] was mad knyght and baroun.
Note. P. 133. Creations of Thomas Percy to the barony of Percy and earldom of Northumberland. Our chronicler has given correctly the dates of these restorations. The patents are printed in Rymer's collection, xv. 461, 462. In the following August the Earl was made Warden of the Middle and East Marches towards Scotland. Ibid. pp. 468, 472, 475.
On 30th April 1565 Robert "The Elder" Peake [aged 14] commenced his training under Laurence Woodham at the Sign of "The Key" Goldsmith's Row Cheapside.
On 30th April 1614 Thomas Villiers died. Memorial at St Werburgh's Church, Hanbury [Map].
Diary of Anne Clifford. 30th April 1619. The 30th my Lord Southampton [aged 45] was sworn a Privy Councillor at Tibbalds.
On 30th April 1619 Johannes Spilberg was born.
Autobiography Simon D'Ewes. The beloved Marquis of Buckingham [aged 28], not yet satisfied with the censure of Sir Henry Yelverton [aged 54], Knt., late the Attorney-General, passed against him in the Star-Chamber, upon the 10th day of November last foregoing, in 1620, which I have there more fully touched upon, was the means, this Easter Term, to have him called in question for new matters in the Upper House of Parliament. Here he laid open, upon Monday, the 30th day of April, so many of the Marquis's inordinate actions, comparing him to the Spencers, that misled King Edward the Second, of England; as his Lordship had been much better to have let him alone in the Tower, where he still remained prisoner since his former censure, than to have brought him upon the stage again, where his revenge might have cost him dear, had not the King himself, in person, and Prince Charles also appeared in the Upper House against Sir Henry Yelverton; so as the Lords, out of their great wisdoms, fearing at this time to irritate the King by their further questioning the Marquis, his favourite, remitted all further prosecution of those accusations; but sent back Sir Henry Telverton to the Tower1, where he remwned awhile close prisoner.
Note 1. "On Wednesday was Sir Henry Yelverton censured by Parligment, fined ten thousand marks to the King, and five thousand marks to the Marquis of Buckingham, to make hia submission at the bar, and be imprisoned during pleasure. The Lord Marquis remitted the fine unto him, and offered to join with the Lords to his Majesty For mitigation of the rest." - Letter dated May 18th, Harl. MS
On 30th April 1636 Thomas Leventhorpe 2nd Baronet [aged 43] was killed in a duel with Arthur Capell of Little Hadham [aged 50]. His son John [aged 6] succeeded 3rd Baronet Leventhorpe of Shingey Hall in Hertfordshire.
On 30th April 1651 Ferdinand III Holy Roman Emperor [aged 42] and Eleonora Gonzaga Queen Consort Bohemia [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Bohemia. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of Charles Gonzaga Duke Nevers Duke Rethel and Maria Gonzaga Duchess of Montferrat [aged 41]. He the son of Ferdinand of Spain II Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Anna Wittelsbach Holy Roman Empress. They were second cousin twice removed.
On 30th April 1662 Mary Stewart II Queen England Scotland and Ireland was born to James, Duke of York [aged 28] and Anne Hyde Duchess of York [aged 25] at St James's Palace [Map]. She married 4th November 1677 her first cousin King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland, son of William Orange Nassau II Prince Orange and Mary Stewart Princess Orange.
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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John Evelyn's Diary. 30th April 1663. Came his Majesty [aged 32] to honor my poor villa with his presence, viewing the gardens, and even every room of the house, and was pleased to take a small refreshment. There were with him the Duke of Richmond [aged 24], Earl of St. Alban's [aged 58], Lord Lauderdale [aged 46], and several persons of quality.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1664. My poor Lady Sandwich [aged 39] is fallen sick three days since of the meazles.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1664. My Lord Digby's [aged 51] business is hushed up, and nothing made of it; he is gone, and the discourse quite ended.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1667. Up, and Mr. Madden come to speak with me, whom my people not knowing have made to wait long without doors, which vexed me. Then comes Sir John Winter [aged 67] to discourse with me about the forest of Deane, and then about my Lord Treasurer [aged 60], and asking me whether, as he had heard, I had not been cut for the stone, I took him to my closet, and there shewed it to him, of which he took the dimensions and had some discourse of it, and I believe will shew my Lord Treasurer it.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1667. Thence to the office, where we sat all the morning, but little to do, and then to the 'Change [Map], where for certain I hear, and the News book declares, a peace between France and Portugal. Met here with Mr. Pierce, and he tells me the Duke of Cambridge [aged 3] is very ill and full of spots about his body, that Dr. Frazier [aged 57] knows not what to think of it.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1668. So home, and there took up Mrs. Turner [aged 45] and carried her to Mile End [Map] and drank, and so back talking, and so home and to bed, I being mighty cold, this being a mighty cold day, and I had left off my waistcoat three or four days. This evening, coming home in the dusk, I saw and spoke to our Nell, Pain's daughter, and had I not been very cold I should have taken her to Tower Hill [Map] para together et toker her. Thus ends this month; my wife in the country, myself full of pleasure and expence; and some trouble for my friends, my Lord Sandwich [aged 42], by the Parliament, and more for my eyes, which are daily worse and worse, that I dare not write or read almost any thing. The Parliament going in a few days to rise; myself so long without accounting now, for seven or eight months, I think, or more, that I know not what condition almost I am in, as to getting or spending for all that time, which troubles me, but I will soon do it. The Kingdom in an ill state through poverty; a fleete going out, and no money to maintain it, or set it out; seamen yet unpaid, and mutinous when pressed to go out again; our Office able to do little, nobody trusting us, nor we desiring any to trust us, and yet have not money for any thing, but only what particularly belongs to this fleete going out, and that but lamely too. The Parliament several months upon an Act for £300,000, but cannot or will not agree upon it, but do keep it back, in spite of the King's desires to hasten it, till they can obtain what they have a mind, in revenge upon some men for the late ill managements; and he is forced to submit to what they please, knowing that, without it, he shall have no money, and they as well, that, if they give the money, the King [aged 37] will suffer them to do little more; and then the business of religion do disquiet every body, the Parliament being vehement against the Nonconformists, while the King seems to be willing to countenance them. So we are all poor, and in pieces-God help us! while the peace is like to go on between Spain and France; and then the French may be apprehended able to attack us. So God help us!
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1669. Thence to the frame-maker's one Morris, in Long Acre, who shewed me several forms of frames to choose by, which was pretty, in little bits of mouldings, to choose by. This done, I to my coach-maker's, and there vexed to see nothing yet done to my coach, at three in the afternoon; but I set it in doing, and stood by it till eight at night, and saw the painter varnish which is pretty to see how every doing it over do make it more and more yellow; and it dries as fast in the sun as it can be laid on almost; and most coaches are, now-a-days done so, and it is very pretty when laid on well, and not pale, as some are, even to shew the silver. Here I did make the workmen drink, and saw my coach cleaned and oyled; and, staying among poor people there in the alley, did hear them call their fat child Punch, which pleased me mightily that word being become a word of common use for all that is thick and short. At night home, and there find my wife hath been making herself clean against to-morrow; and, late as it was, I did send my coachman and horses to fetch home the coach to-night, and so we to supper, myself most weary with walking and standing so much, to see all things fine against to-morrow, and so to bed. God give a blessing to it! Meeting with Mr. Sheres, he went with me up and down to several places, and, among others, to buy a perriwig, but I bought none; and also to Dancre's [aged 44], where he was about my picture of Windsor, which is mighty pretty, and so will the prospect of Rome be.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1669. Up, and by coach to the coachmaker's: and there I do find a great many ladies sitting in the body of a coach that must be ended by to-morrow: they were my Lady Marquess of Winchester, Bellassis, and other great ladies; eating of bread and butter, and drinking ale. I to my coach, which is silvered over, but no varnish yet laid on, so I put it in a way of doing; and myself about other business, and particularly to see Sir W. Coventry [aged 41], with whom I talked a good while to my great content; and so to other places-among others, to my tailor's: and then to the belt-maker's, where my belt cost me 55s., of the colour of my new suit; and here, understanding that the mistress of the house, an oldish woman in a hat hath some water good for the eyes, she did dress me, making my eyes smart most horribly, and did give me a little glass of it, which I will use, and hope it will do me good.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1669. So to the Mr. Cutler's, and there did give Tom, who was with me all day a sword cost me 12s. and a belt of my owne; and set my own silver-hilt sword a-gilding against to-morrow. This morning I did visit Mr. Oldenburgh, and did see the instrument for perspective made by Dr. Wren [aged 45], of which I have one making by Browne; and the sight of this do please me mightily.
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 30th April 1669. At noon my wife come to me at my tailor's, and I sent her home and myself and Tom dined at Hercules' Pillars; and so about our business again, and particularly to Lilly's [aged 50], the varnisher about my prints, whereof some of them are pasted upon the boards, and to my full content.
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 30th April 1680 John Ker 1st Duke Roxburghe was born to Robert Ker 3rd Earl Roxburghe [aged 22] and Margaret Hay Countess Roxburghe. He married before 1709 Mary Finch Duchess Roxburghe, daughter of Daniel Finch 2nd Earl Nottingham 7th Earl Winchilsea and Essex Rich Countess Nottingham, and had issue.
On 13th April 1685 Margaret Wilson [aged 18], Agnes Wilson and Margaret McLachlan were indicted as being guilty of the Rebellion of Bothwell Bridge, Aird's Moss, 20 Field Conventicles and 20 House Conventicles.. They were found guilty on all charges, and sentenced to be "tied to palisades fixed in the sand, within the floodmark of the sea, and there to stand till the flood o'erflowed them". Agnes Wilson was subsequently granted freedom on a bond of 100 Pounds Scots. Reprieves were written out for the two Margarets with a date of 30th April 1685.
On 30th April 1694 Charles Talbot 1st Duke Shrewsbury [aged 33] was created 1st Duke Shrewsbury, 1st Marquess Alton by King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland [aged 43] in recognition of Charles Talbot 1st Duke Shrewsbury 1660-1718's support of the Glorious Revolution he having been one of the signatories of the Invitation to William of Orange from the Immortal Seven.
On 30th April 1713 Charles Fitzroy 2nd Duke Grafton [aged 29] and Henrietta Somerset Duchess Grafton [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Duchess Grafton. He the son of Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Grafton and Isabella Bennet Duchess Grafton [aged 45]. They were half fifth cousin once removed. He a grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 30th April 1718 Ernest Augustus Hanover 1st Duke of York and Albany [aged 43] was appointed 530th Knight of the Garter by King George I [aged 57].
On 30th April 1718 Archbishop William Dawes 3rd Baronet [aged 46] died. His son Darcy [aged 25] succeeded 4th Baronet Dawes of Putney.
On 30th April 1718 Catherine Brockholes Duchess Norfolk was born to John Brockholes and Mary Johnson [aged 29]. She married before 1740 Charles Howard 10th Duke of Norfolk and had issue.
On 30th April 1723 Louisa Egerton Countess Gower was born to Scroop Egerton 1st Duke Bridgewater [aged 41] and Rachel Russell Duchess Bridgewater [aged 16]. She married 1748 her fifth cousin Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Marquess Stafford, son of John Leveson-Gower 1st Earl Gower and Evelyn Pierrepont Baroness Gower, and had issue.
On 30th April 1789 President George Washington [aged 57] was elected 1st President of the United States of America.
After 30th April 1789. Monument to Isabella Pilkington [aged 8] at Wakefield Cathedral [Map].
Isabella Pilkington: On 29th August 1780 she was born to Michael Pilkington 6th Baronet. On 30th April 1809 Isabella Pilkington died.
On 30th April 1792 William Weddell of Newby [aged 55] died. He was buried in Ripon Cathedral [Map]. Monument with bust by Joseph Nollekens [aged 54].
William Weddell of Newby: On 13th May 1736 he was born.
On 30th April 1810 Charles James Yorke [aged 12] died of scarlet fever.
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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On 30th April 1823 George Douglas Campbell 8th Duke Argyll was born to John Douglas Edward Henry Campbell 7th Duke Argyll [aged 45] and Joan Glassel [aged 48] at Ardencaple Castle [Map]. He married (1) 1844 Elizabeth Georgiana Leveson-Gower Duchess Argyll, daughter of George Sutherland Leveson-Gower 2nd Duke Sutherland and Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Howard Duchess Sutherland, and had issue (2) 1881 Amelia Maria Claughton Duchess Argyll, daughter of Bishop Thomas Legh Claughton.
After 30th April 1827. Memorial to John Giffard died 05 May 1819 and Ambrose Harding Giffard, eldest son of John, died 30 Apr 1827, at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Weare Giffard [Map].
On 30th April 1841 Christiana Bacon [aged 34] died of consumption. She was buried at St Thomas' Church, Exeter.
Ten Years' Digging. On the 30th of April a barrow [Map] [Burton Moor Barrow [Map]] near Over Haddon, in land called Grindlow, was examined as completely as the meeting of three walls on its summit would allow. It had been much mutilated; but fortunately the primitive interments lay too deep to receive injury from the labours of those in search of stone, by whom an important interment of secondary date had been destroyed. The original deposit had been made on the rock a little below the natural surface, and about 5 feet from the top of the mound; it comprised three skeletons, laid in the usual contracted position, two of which were females; with them were one or two rude instruments of flint, and a fine collection of jet ornaments, 73 In number, which form a very handsome necklace. Of these 26 are cylindrical beads, 39 are conical studs, pierced at the back by two holes meeting at an angle in the centre; and the remaining 8 are flat dividing plates, ornamented in the front with a punctured chevron pattern, superficially drilled in the jet; 7 of them are laterally perforated with three holes, to admit of their being connected by a triple row of the cylindrical beads, whilst the 8th, which is of bone, ornamented in the same style, has nine holes at one side, which diminish to three on the other by being bored obliquely. Above these bodies, which were covered with stone, the mound was of unmixed earth, very compact and clayey, and between the stone and earth were many pieces of calcined bone, and numerous splinters of the leg bones of large animals, some of which are likely to have been used as points for weapons. In the earth near the summit of the barrow were some relics of a later interment, probably of a distinguished Saxon, with whom had been deposited a circular enamel, of which only the silver plated frame remained, the latter is engrailed on the front, and engraved with a lozengy pattern round the edge; and a bowl of thin bronze, very neatly made, with a simple hollow moulding round the edge, which when complete was 7 inches diameter, and appears to have had two handles soldered or cemented to the sides. The bowl was broken when found, and no handles were discovered; but it is probable that both they and some other ornaments, as well as another of the bone plates with 9 perforations, which is wanting to complete the necklace, would have been found if the triple wall could have been removed, as the point of junction was directly over the place where the interments lay, which were exhumed by a dangerous undercutting.
Note. Photo of the necklace on display at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield [Map].
On 30th April 1857 Mary Hanover Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 81] died.
The Diary of George Price Boyce 1859. 30th April 1859. Found Simeon Solomon [aged 18] and Poynter [aged 23] in Burges' room and appropriated (by leave) a caricature by Simeon of Morris and his wife.
On 30th April 1869 Philip de László was born in Budapest.
30th April 1875. The Bunker's Hill colliery at Audley, Staffordshire, was the property of Messrs. William Rigby and Company with Mr. George Sumner as the manager. An explosion took place at the colliery which claimed the lives of forty men and boys. The colliery was close to the Talk o' th' Hill and Bignall Hall Collieries at which there had been previous disasters. Every precaution was taken for the safety of the men and on the morning of the disaster one hundred went to work in the pit including thirty five into the Eight Feet Banbury seam to work about 800 yards from the shaft.
Those who died: J. Ashmore, C. Baddeley, T. Beech, D. Boston, W. Boughey, J. Boyd, E. Breeze, J. Buckley, G. Burton, J. Carter, J. Chadwick, D. Charlesworth, I. Cooper, R. Dale H.Dean, T. Dean, D. Fox, E. Hancock, J. Hancock, W. Hancock, J. Higgins, G. Holland, J. Holland, T. Holland, R. Jackson, T. Lawton, J. Lucas, J. Marshall, T. Mason, W. Maxwell, H. Moore, W. Moore, S. Morris, J. Nield, T. Peats, W. Proudlove, J. Rogers, J. Stevenson, J. Stubbs, N. Sumner, T. Thompson, J. Yearsley One unnamed.
The inquest into the disaster was opened at the Swan Inn, Talk o' th' Hill, by Mr. J. Booth, Coroner. Mr. Wynne, the Inspector made a thorough inspection of the workings and Mr. S.B. Gilroy, Assistant Inspector, thought the mine was well managed but Mr. Wynne commented
For more than twenty years I have been pointing out what a "farce" it is to prohibit the use of naked lights in mines and yet allow powder to be used and have indulged in the hope that self-preservation would prevail over the more idle method of getting coal by blasting but I am now satisfied that the only safe course to take, is to prohibit all explosives in coal mines, and in a few years the coal owners would wonder how they could have allowed their coals to be blow to atoms and the roofs shaken as they have been for many years and the colliers would find that, having got rid of the impure fumes of the powder and dangers of explosions, together with the comparative safety from falls of roof, they were amply repaid for an extra hour of labour the wedging process would entail. Nothing could more clearly show the advantage of wedging over those of powder than to state of the two downbrows of 600 yards each, which effectually withstood the enormous strain which must have been put on them by the force of the air that must have been driven from the seat of the explosion, to the top of the upcast shaft, not so much as a hundredweight of coal was blown down in them or in the dips the slightest degree injured, or indeed was that proportion of the levels which was driven without blasting.
The only reason assigned for the change from wedging to blasting was, that Mr. Rigby could not compete with his neighbours if he wedged the coal and they blasted theirs so that to meet competition he was obliged to increase production and lessen cost.
In the report made by Mr. Dowdswell there was no doubt that the explosion was caused by a shot fired in a thirling on the East side of the engine brow and he was satisfied that there had been no breach of the rules and the fireman had taken all precautions before he fired the shot. It was thought that the method for firing the shots by a touch paper was most dangerous. It was thought that the fireman went to light the fuse and retired to a place which he thought was safe and opened his lamp to light the touch paper and it was thought that the gas came from the floor of the mine.
The jury returned and open verdict and recommended that blasting should be discontinued in all mines in which safety lamps were used. They also recommended that in opening out new workings, the ventilation should be set by bratticing and not by air pipes.
After 30th April 1875. All Saints Church, Old Rode. In Memory of Daniel Fox who was killed in the Bunker's Hill Colliery Explosion.
After 30th April 1875. All Saints Church, Old Rode. In Memory of Thomas Beech who was killed in the Bunker's Hill Colliery Explosion.
On 30th April 1881 Dorothea Maria Saxe Coburg Gotha Duchess Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg was born to Ferdinand Philipp Saxe Coburg Gotha [aged 36] and Louise Wettin [aged 23]. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.57%. She married 2nd August 1898 Ernst Gunther Oldenburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg, son of Frederick Christian Oldenburg II Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg and Adelheid Hohenlohe Langenburg Duchess Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg.
Life's Ebb And Flow Chapter IV. [30th April 1881]. And so the tale unfolds. Our [Francis Greville 5th Earl Warwick 5th Earl Brooke [aged 28] and Frances Evelyn "Daisy" Maynard Countess Warwick [aged 19]] marriage took place in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey, and the newspapers of the day made much of the "most brilliant wedding of a dozen seasons." I remember my surprise as I drove from our house in Carlton Gardens to the Abbey to find the way lined with interested crowds.
Among the guests were the Prince [aged 39] and Princess of Wales [aged 36], Prince and Princess Christian, the Duke [aged 30] and Duchess of Connaught [aged 20], Princess Louise [aged 33] (Marchioness of Lorne), Princess Mary Adelaide [aged 47] (Duchess of Teck) and the Duke of Teck (parents of Queen Mary), with Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany [aged 28], as my husband's best man. The crush filled the Abbey from the choir to the door.
My twelve bridesmaids were all girl friends and relatives. They were: Blanche Maynard [aged 17], my sister (now Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox [aged 33]), Lady Eva Greville [aged 21], my husband's only sister, my stepsisters, Millicent [aged 13], Sybil [aged 9], and Angela St. Clair Erskine [aged 4] (later Duchess of Sutherland, Countess of Westmorland, and Lady A. Forbes), Countess Feodore Gleichen [aged 19] (later a renowned sculptor), Lady Florence Bridgman [aged 22] (the present Countess of Harewood and mother of Viscount Lascelles [aged 34]), Miss Wombwell [aged 19] (Countess of Dartrey), Miss Mills, the first Lord Hillingdon's daughter, Miss Violet Lindsay [aged 25] (now Violet, Duchess of Rutland), and Miss Ethel Milner [aged 30] (later Countess of Durham).
Life's Ebb And Flow Chapter IV. [30th April 1881]. Our dear friend, the Bishop of St. Albans [aged 72] (Claughton), helped by our neighbour the rector of Little Easton [Map], the Rev. G. Tufnell, along with two London clergy, officiated at our wedding. It pleased me very much to have the benediction pronounced by Dean Stanley [aged 65], who had kept in the background during the ceremony. The register was signed by the Prince of Wales [aged 39], Prince Leopold [aged 28], and Lords Warwick and Rosslyn. Our honeymoon was spent at beautiful Ditton Park, which was lent us by the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, and there, in lovely May weather, we had a fortnight on the river, boating and canoeing. But, alas for romance, there was one worldly honour given us that demanded all our self-control. We were commanded to dine at Windsor Castle on the day after our wedding, and I was asked to wear my bridal dress, orange blossoms and all! I must confess that Her Majesty's [aged 61] kindness on that occasion went far to soothe the shyness of a bride in her teens. The Queen took from my corsage a spray of orange blossom to keep as a souvenir and said many charming things about the beauty of my frock. Her Majesty so much admired what she was pleased to call the "lovely" dress, that I had a note next day from Lady Churchill [aged 59], then in waiting, to say that the Queen wished so very much to possess a photograph of me if I would have myself taken in the gown, and hoping I was not too tired from the long standing.
On 30th April 1884 father and daughter, Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke [aged 46] and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 21], were both married on the same, or near, days, he taking advantage pf his relatives being in Darmstadt for his daughter's wedding. He, apparently, didn't approve of his daughter's choice of his first cousin Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven [aged 29] since they, Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven would live in Britain.
Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven were married. She the daughter of Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke and Princess Alice Saxe Coburg Gotha. They were first cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
In the evening Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke and Alexandrina Hutten Czapska [aged 29] were married. She being his former mistress. Apparently, they separated within a week and the marriage was annulled within three months.
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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Chester Chronicle, and Cheshire and North Wales General Advertiser. 30th April 1892. The Duchess Of Westminster [aged 35] At Wybunbury.
Laying The Foundation Stone Of A New Church.
A new epoch in the church history at Wybunbury [St Chad's Church, Wybunbury [Map]] was celebrated on Monday afternoon, when the Duchess of Westminster, in the presence of a large gathering of churchpeople, formally laid the foundation stone of a new church.
The ceremony was one which the Duke of Westminster had promised to perform, but owing to unavoidable circumstances, His Grace was unable to attend.
A procession of church choirs, consisting of Nantwich, Wisaston, Audlem, and Wybunbury (surpliced for the first time) was formed at the Wybunbury Girls' School, and, headed by the bishop [aged 47], the Rev. C.A. Stolterforth (Vicar), the Rev. F.G. Blackburne (Nantwich), the Rev. W.C. Reid, and the ministers of neighbouring parishes, marched, singing an appropriate processional hymn, to the site whereon the new church is to be erected.
The service here was in keeping with hearty church worship. The words of the hymns and psalms had special significance to the occasion, and the voices all sang with one accord the praises of the hour.
Upon the raised platforms were gathered some of the best county families. The Duchess of Westminster was supported by Lord Arthur Grosvenor [aged 31], and there were also on the platform showing the same interest in the founding of the new church which his ancestors, who lie in the tombs of old Wybunbury churches, are reputed to have evinced in church work in the parish, Mr Louis Delves Broughton [aged 34] and Mrs Broughton [aged 27]. Mr Twemlow, of Betley Court, was also an interested spectator, as was Judge Hughes who came over from Chester and mingled amongst the crowd.
The Duchess very gracefully performed the foundation stone laying, after which Lord Arthur Grosvenor apologised for the absence of His Grace, who said that he had been laid up with a cold for two or three days. In conclusion he wished every success to the building of the new church.
The Bishop, in the course of some remarks, said that they were refounding the old Church of St Chad's upon St Mark's Day, and St Mark's Day was peculiarly appropriate for such a work because the very keynote of St Mark's Day, as the character and life of the apostle was set before them in Holy Scripture, and in the service of their prayer book, was stability and recovered stability. He was sure that everyone here hoped that the work started today would be carried on with all that thoroughness or workmanship could bestow upon it, and that future generations would look back to the work begun today as worthy of both man and God. In conclusion the bishop gave hearty expression to the thanks of the congregation to the Duchess of Westmnister, to Sir Henry Bristowe and Miss Bristowe to whose energy and zeal he alluded, as also to the active work of the late Mr Acton, who was one of the churchwardens, and to whose memory he paid a tribute of respect, and to those who by their presence and support had assisted in the progress of the movement.
After the ceremony, tea was provided in a tent, and an organ recital was given in the evening.
The site of the new church is the site upon which the old church was built, and upon which, in fact, at least four Wybunbury churches have stood. The church at Wybunbury has a grand history. The records of the parish, although incomplete, prove that so far back as 1290 Wybunbury had its church and also its vicar. The identification of the latter is somewhat scanty, but the church records clearly set forth that Roberts was the name of the vicar at this early period. But there are forthcoming fragments of early church architecture which the workmen in digging up the foundations have come upon, that prove there was a church esxisting here even before 1290. They unearthed in a well-preserved state a stone so distinctly shaped and chiselled that the architect, Mr Spooner (Charles Sydney Spooner, 1862-1938 - Stu), who has had 20 years of experience of architecture, was persuaded that it belonged to the Norman style of architecture, or First Pointed or Transitional period. The stone was discovered in the rubble of the church, and had probably lain there for hundreds of years. The date is from 1130 to 1150, and it suggested that at some time it formed part of a circular doorway. Other stones have been discovered, several of which are of the 15th Century style of architecture, and it is supopsed that these once formed part of an arch. The fabric of the church of 1838, which in architectural phraseology was of the Churchwarden Gothic Style, has been demolished, with the exception of a good part of the south wall. The foundations of the demolished were very building were unsound, and the beams which supported this structure has shifted several inches. The builder of 50 years ago succeeded in restoring to the tower the perpendicular, a gigantic work, as in that day the tower had got out of position to the extent of 5 feet 6 inches.
The new church will be built central with the tower, and will be as near as possible a facsimile of the fifteenth-century church. There will be no galleries which formed part of the old church. The organ and vestry will be built in the south chancel aisle, and in the north chancel aisle there will be a Morning Chapel.
The foundation will consist of monolithic slabs of Portland Cement. The concrete for the foundation will be a thickness of 3 feet six inches, and the whole will be bound together by a network of inter-ties. The stones which have been unearthed will again be utilised for building up the new church, and a number of brass plates, which bear the names of long since dead parishioners who lie within the tombs of the church, will be carefully put back again. One of these plates is of great antiquity and is one of half a dozen similar plates in the county.
The cost of the new church will be about £6,000. Towards this amount a considerable sum has already been raised. The Duke of Westminster sent a donation of £100, and a collection on the ground realised a considerable sum. The work will be completed in about 12 months.
The architect is Mr James Brookes, the well-known church architect, of Wellington Street, Strand, London, and the clerk of the works is Mr Spooner. Messrs Treasure & Son, of Shrewsbury, are the contractors; and Mr John Bebbington is foreman of the works.
On 30th April 1900 Lieutenant-General Richard Wilbraham [aged 89] died at Rode Hall, Cheshire. Memorial at All Saints Church, Old Rode. He was the last of the male line of Wilbraham's. His estate, including Rode Hall, Cheshire was inherited by his daughter Katharine Frances Wilbraham Lady Wilbraham [aged 50] and her husband George Barrington Baker Wilbraham 5th Baronet [aged 55].
Katharine Frances Wilbraham Lady Wilbraham: On or before 23rd May 1849 she was born to Lieutenant-General Richard Wilbraham and Elizabeth Frances Egerton. Coefficient of inbreeding 7.04%. On 4th April 1872 George Barrington Baker Wilbraham 5th Baronet and she were married. On 4th October 1911 Frederick Edward Baker aka Rhodes 4th Baronet died unmarried. His brother George succeeded 5th Baronet Baker of Loventor in Totnes in Devon. She by marriage Lady Baker of Loventor in Totnes in Devon.
On 30th April 1914 Gerald Wellesley 7th Duke Wellington [aged 28] and Dorothy Violet Ashton Duchess Wellington [aged 24] were married. The marriage necessary to produce an heir. He bi-sexual, she also. The marriage resulted in two children followed by separation although not divorce. She the daughter of Robert Ashton and Lucy Cecilia Dunn-Garnder Countess Scarborough. He the son of Arthur Charles Wellesley 4th Duke Wellington [aged 65] and Kathleen Emily Bulkeley Williams Duchess Wellington [aged 65].
On 30th April 1922 Friedrich Ernst Peter Glücksburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glücksburg was born to Wilhelm Friedrich Christian Glücksburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glücksburg [aged 30] and Marie Melita Hohenlohe Langenburg Duchess Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glücksburg [aged 23]. He a great x 2 grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
On 30th April 1924 William Humble Ward 2nd Earl of Dudley [aged 56] and Gertrude "Gertie" Millar Countess of Dudley [aged 45] were married. She by marriage Countess of Dudley of Dudley Castle in Staffordshire. He the son of William Ward 1st Earl of Dudley and Georgina Moncrieffe Countess Dudley [aged 77].
After 30th April 1936. Memorial to Alfred Edward Housman [deceased] whose ashes were scattered in the Churchyard of St Laurence's Church, Ludlow [Map].
Alfred Edward Housman: On 26th March 1859 Alfred Edward Housman was baptised at Christ Church, Catshill. On 26th March 1859 he was born to Edward Housman and Sarah Jane Williams at Valley House, Fockbury. The eldest of seven children. In 1877 Alfred Edward Housman won an open scholarship to St John's College, Oxford University, and went there to study classics. On 30th April 1936 he died.
30th April 1941. Tatler. The Hon. Lady Mosley [aged 30].
On 30th April 1946 Carl XVI King Sweden was born to Prince Gustaf Adolf Bernadotte [aged 40] and Sibylla Saxe Coburg Gotha [aged 38]. He a great x 2 grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.86%. He married 19th June 1976 Silvia Sommerlath Queen Consort Sweden.
On 30th April 2018 Henry John Fitzroy 12th Duke of Beaufort [aged 65] and Georgia Powell Duchess of Beaufort [aged 49] were married. He the son of David Fitzroy 11th Duke Beaufort [aged 90] and Caroline Jane Thynne 11th Duchess Beaufort.
On 30th April 1245 King Philip III of France was born to King Louis IX of France [aged 31] and Margaret Provence Queen Consort France [aged 24]. He a great x 2 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. He married (1) 28th May 1262 his second cousin once removed Isabella Barcelona Queen Consort France, daughter of James I King Aragon and Violant Árpád Queen Consort Aragon, and had issue (2) 21st August 1274 his fourth cousin Maria of Brabant Queen Consort France, daughter of Henry Reginar III Duke Brabant and Adelaide Burgundy Duchess Brabant, and had issue.
Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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On 30th April 1331 Gaston Phoebus Foix III Count Foix was born to Gaston Foix II Count Foix [aged 23] and Eleanore Comminges Countess Foix. He married 1349 Agnes Évreux Countess Foix and had issue.
On 30th April 1514 Alexander Stewart 1st Duke Ross was born to King James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor Queen Scotland [aged 24] at Stirling Castle [Map]. He a grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. He died aged one in 1515.
On 30th April 1539 Barbara Habsburg Spain Duchess Ferrara was born to Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emperor [aged 36] and Anne Jagiellon [aged 35]. She married her third cousin Alfonso Este II Duke Ferrara, son of Ercole Este II Duke Ferrara and Renée of France Duchess of Ferrara.
On 30th April 1553 Louise Lorraine Queen Consort France was born to Nicholas of Lorraine Duke of Mercœur [aged 28] and Marguerite Egmont [aged 36] in Nomeny. She married 14th February 1575 her fourth cousin Henry III King France, son of King Henry II of France and Catherine Medici Queen Consort France.
On 30th April 1553 Thomas Bishopp 1st Baronet was born to Thomas Bishopp of Henfield in Surrey [aged 47] and Elizabeth Belknap. He married (1) 19th September 1577 Anne Cromer (2) 1589 Jane Weston and had issue.
On 30th April 1564 Francis Hay 9th Earl Erroll was born to Andrew Hay 8th Earl Erroll [aged 33] and Jean Hay [aged 24]. He married (1) his fourth cousin Elizabeth Douglas Countess Erroll, daughter of William Douglas 6th Earl Morton and Agnes Leslie Countess Morton, and had issue (2) his third cousin Mary Stewart Countess Erroll, daughter of John Stewart 4th Earl Atholl and Elizabeth Gordon Countess Atholl (3) 27th June 1584 his fourth cousin Margaret Stewart Countess Erroll, daughter of James Stewart 1st Earl of Moray Regent and Agnes Keith Countess Moray and Mar.
On 30th April 1619 Johannes Spilberg was born.
On 30th April 1630 William Spencer was born to William Spencer 2nd Baron Spencer [aged 39] and Penelope Wriothesley Baroness Spencer Wormleighton [aged 31]. He married before 1687 his fourth cousin Elizabeth Gerard, daughter of Dutton Gerard 3rd Baron Gerard and Elisabeth O'Brien Baroness Gerard.
On 30th April 1654 Robert Digby 3rd Baron Digby was born to Kildare Digby 2nd Baron Digby [aged 23].
On 30th April 1662 Mary Stewart II Queen England Scotland and Ireland was born to James, Duke of York [aged 28] and Anne Hyde Duchess of York [aged 25] at St James's Palace [Map]. She married 4th November 1677 her first cousin King William III of England, Scotland and Ireland, son of William Orange Nassau II Prince Orange and Mary Stewart Princess Orange.
On 30th April 1680 John Ker 1st Duke Roxburghe was born to Robert Ker 3rd Earl Roxburghe [aged 22] and Margaret Hay Countess Roxburghe. He married before 1709 Mary Finch Duchess Roxburghe, daughter of Daniel Finch 2nd Earl Nottingham 7th Earl Winchilsea and Essex Rich Countess Nottingham, and had issue.
Jean de Waurin's Chronicle of England Volume 6 Books 3-6: The Wars of the Roses
Jean de Waurin was a French Chronicler, from the Artois region, who was born around 1400, and died around 1474. Waurin’s Chronicle of England, Volume 6, covering the period 1450 to 1471, from which we have selected and translated Chapters relating to the Wars of the Roses, provides a vivid, original, contemporary description of key events some of which he witnessed first-hand, some of which he was told by the key people involved with whom Waurin had a personal relationship.
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On 30th April 1691 Henry Ingram 7th Viscount Irvine was born to Arthur Ingram 3rd Viscount Irvine [aged 25]. He married 3rd May 1728 Ann Scarborough Viscountess Irvine.
On 30th April 1700 Percy Freke 2nd Baronet was born to Ralph Freke 1st Baronet [aged 25] and Elizabeth Meade.
On 30th April 1718 Catherine Brockholes Duchess Norfolk was born to John Brockholes and Mary Johnson [aged 29]. She married before 1740 Charles Howard 10th Duke of Norfolk and had issue.
On 30th April 1723 Louisa Egerton Countess Gower was born to Scroop Egerton 1st Duke Bridgewater [aged 41] and Rachel Russell Duchess Bridgewater [aged 16]. She married 1748 her fifth cousin Granville Leveson-Gower 1st Marquess Stafford, son of John Leveson-Gower 1st Earl Gower and Evelyn Pierrepont Baroness Gower, and had issue.
On 30th April 1725 Charles Dormer 8th Baron Dormer was born to John Dormer 7th Baron Dormer [aged 33]. He married (1) 9th August 1749 Mary Talbot and had issue (2) 23rd January 1768 Elizabeth Hamilton Baroness Dormer and had issue.
On 30th April 1726 Richard Leveson-Gower was born to John Leveson-Gower 1st Earl Gower [aged 31] and Evelyn Pierrepont Baroness Gower [aged 35].
On 30th April 1729 Thomas Brudenell 1st Earl Ailesbury was born to George Brudenell 3rd Earl Cardigan [aged 43] and Elizabeth Bruce 3rd Countess Cardigan [aged 40]. He married (1) 17th February 1761 Susanna Hoare Countess Ailesbury and had issue (2) 14th February 1788 his fourth cousin twice removed Anne Elizabeth Rawdon Countess Ailesbury, daughter of John Rawdon 1st Earl Moira and Elizabeth Hastings Countess Moira.
On 30th April 1743 John Beckett 1st Baronet was born to John Beckett [aged 38] and Elizabeth Wilkson [aged 27]. He was bvaptised in Barnsley on 2nd June 1743. He married 3rd March 1774 Mary Wilson Lady Beckett, daughter of Bishop Christopher Wilson and Anne Gibson, and had issue.
On 30th April 1753 Edward Ward was born to Bernard Ward 1st Viscount Bangor [aged 33] and Ann Bligh Viscountess Bangor.
On 30th April 1762 George Murray 5th Earl Dunmore was born to John Murray 4th Earl Dunmore [aged 32] and Charlotte Stewart Countess Dunmore [aged 32]. He married 1803 his first cousin Susan Hamilton Countess Dunmore, daughter of Archibald Hamilton 9th Duke Hamilton 6th Duke Brandon and Harriet Stewart, and had issue.
On 30th April 1781 Frances Basset 2nd Baroness Basset was born to Francis Basset 1st Baron Dunstanville and Basset Stratton [aged 23].
On 30th April 1784 Montagu Bertie 5th Earl of Abingdon was born to Willoughby Bertie 4th Earl of Abingdon [aged 44] and Charlotte Warren. He married (1) 27th August 1807 Emily Gage Countess of Abingdon and had issue (2) 11th March 1841 Frederica Kerr Countess of Abingdon.
On 30th April 1785 Spencer Rodney 5th Baron Rodney was born to George Rodney 2nd Baron Rodney [aged 31] and Anne Harley Baroness Rodney [aged 25].
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 30th April 1788 John Charles Ramsden was born to John Ramsden 4th Baronet [aged 32] and Louise Ingram Lady Ramsden [aged 22]. He married 4th May 1814 Isabella Dundas, daughter of Thomas Dundas 1st Baron Dundas and Charlotte Fitzwilliam Baroness Dundas, and had issue.
On 30th April 1809 Charles Nightingale 12th Baronet was born to Charles Ethelston Nightingale 11th Baronet [aged 24] and Maria Dickonson Lady Nightingale [aged 20] at Shoreditch [Map]. Coefficient of inbreeding 4.88%.
On 30th April 1813 Bertram Wodehouse was born to John Wodehouse 2nd Baron Wodehouse [aged 42] and Charlotte Norris Baroness Woodhouse.
On 30th April 1823 George Douglas Campbell 8th Duke Argyll was born to John Douglas Edward Henry Campbell 7th Duke Argyll [aged 45] and Joan Glassel [aged 48] at Ardencaple Castle [Map]. He married (1) 1844 Elizabeth Georgiana Leveson-Gower Duchess Argyll, daughter of George Sutherland Leveson-Gower 2nd Duke Sutherland and Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Howard Duchess Sutherland, and had issue (2) 1881 Amelia Maria Claughton Duchess Argyll, daughter of Bishop Thomas Legh Claughton.
On 30th April 1824 Charles Edward Pepys 2nd Earl of Cottenham was born to Charles Christopher Pepys 1st Earl of Cottenham [aged 43] and Charlotte Maria Wingfield.
On 30th April 1825 William Alleyne Cecil 3rd Marquess Exeter was born to Brownlow Cecil 2nd Marquess Exeter [aged 29] and Frances Isabella Selina Poyntz Marchioness of Exeter [aged 22]. He married 17th October 1848 Georgina Sophia Pakenham Marchioness Exeter, daughter of Thomas Pakenham 2nd Earl Longford and Georgiana Lygon Countess Longford.
On 30th April 1834 John Lubbock 1st Baron Avebury was born to John Lubbock 3rd Baronet [aged 31] and Harriet Hotham [aged 23]. He married (1) 10th April 1856 Ellen Frances Horden Lady Lubbock and had issue (2) 17th May 1884 Alice Lane Fox-Pitt Baroness Avebury, daughter of Augustus Henry Fox Pitt-Rivers and Alice Margaret Stanley, and had issue.
On 30th April 1840 Mary Isabella Hollond Lady Every was born.
On 30th April 1869 Philip de László was born in Budapest.
On 30th April 1877 Susan de la Poer Beresford was born to John Beresford 5th Marquess Waterford [aged 32] and Blanche Somerset Marchioness of Waterford [aged 21]. She married 28th April 1902 Major Hugh Danway, son of Major-General Hugh Richard Dawnay 8th Viscount Downe and Cecilia Maria Charlotte Molyneux, and had issue.
On 30th April 1881 Dorothea Maria Saxe Coburg Gotha Duchess Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg was born to Ferdinand Philipp Saxe Coburg Gotha [aged 36] and Louise Wettin [aged 23]. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.57%. She married 2nd August 1898 Ernst Gunther Oldenburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg, son of Frederick Christian Oldenburg II Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg and Adelheid Hohenlohe Langenburg Duchess Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Augustenburg.
On 30th April 1887 Arthur Henry Talbot Chetwynd 7th Baronet was born to Arthur Chetwynd [aged 29].
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 April 1907 John Somers Cocks 8th Baron Somers was born to Arthur Somers Cocks 7th Baron Somers [aged 42].
On 30th April 1922 Friedrich Ernst Peter Glücksburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glücksburg was born to Wilhelm Friedrich Christian Glücksburg Duke Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glücksburg [aged 30] and Marie Melita Hohenlohe Langenburg Duchess Schleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glücksburg [aged 23]. He a great x 2 grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
On 30th April 1946 Carl XVI King Sweden was born to Prince Gustaf Adolf Bernadotte [aged 40] and Sibylla Saxe Coburg Gotha [aged 38]. He a great x 2 grandson of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.86%. He married 19th June 1976 Silvia Sommerlath Queen Consort Sweden.
On 30th April 1951 Robert Grimston 3rd Baron Grimston was born to Robert Walter Sigismund Grimston 2nd Baron Grimston [aged 25] and June Mary Ponsonby Baroness Grimston [aged 27].
On 30th April 1964 Robert Eden 8th and 10th Baronet was born to John Eden 1st Baron Eden of Winton [aged 38].
On 30th April 1623 Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 20] and Frances Thornhurst [aged 18] were married.
On 30th April 1629 Robert Carr 2nd Baronet [aged 14] and Mary Gargrave Lady Carr were married at St James' Church, Clerkenwell. She by marriage Lady Carr of Sleaford in Lincolnshire.
On 30th April 1651 Ferdinand III Holy Roman Emperor [aged 42] and Eleonora Gonzaga Queen Consort Bohemia [aged 21] were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Bohemia. The difference in their ages was 21 years. She the daughter of Charles Gonzaga Duke Nevers Duke Rethel and Maria Gonzaga Duchess of Montferrat [aged 41]. He the son of Ferdinand of Spain II Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Anna Wittelsbach Holy Roman Empress. They were second cousin twice removed.
On 30th April 1669 John Paulet 5th Marquess Winchester [aged 71] and Isabella Stafford-Howard Marchioness Winchester were married. She by marriage Marchioness Winchester. She the daughter of William Howard 1st Viscount Stafford [aged 54] and Mary Stafford Countess Stafford [aged 49]. He the son of William Paulet 4th Marquess Winchester and Lucy Cecil Marchioness Winchester. They were third cousin twice removed.
On 30th April 1674 Nicholas Crispe 2nd Baronet [aged 31] and Judith Adrian Lady Crispe were married. She by marriage Lady Crispe of Hammersmith in Middlesex.
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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On 30th April 1702 Charles Knollys 4th Earl Banbury [aged 39] and Mary Woods [aged 18] were married at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street. The difference in their ages was 21 years. He the son of Nicholas Knollys 3rd Earl Banbury and Anne or Abigail Sherard.
On 30th April 1713 Charles Fitzroy 2nd Duke Grafton [aged 29] and Henrietta Somerset Duchess Grafton [aged 22] were married. She by marriage Duchess Grafton. He the son of Henry Fitzroy 1st Duke Grafton and Isabella Bennet Duchess Grafton [aged 45]. They were half fifth cousin once removed. He a grandson of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 30th April 1747 William Milner 2nd Baronet [aged 22] and Elizabeth Mordaunt were married.
On 30th April 1771 James Cornwallis 4th Earl Cornwallis [aged 28] and Catherine Mann were married. He the son of Charles Cornwallis 1st Earl Cornwallis and Elizabeth Townshend Countess Cornwallis.
On 30th April 1779 Charles Hamilton 8th Earl Haddington [aged 25] and Sophia Hope [aged 20] were married. She the daughter of John Hope 2nd Earl Hopetoun [aged 74] and Anne Ogilvy Countess Hopetoun. He the son of Thomas Hamilton 7th Earl Haddington [aged 58] and Mary Lloyd Countess Rothes. They were second cousin once removed.
On 30th April 1850 Thomas Lyon Bowes 12th Earl Strathmore and Kinghorne [aged 27] and Charlotte Maria Barrington Countess of Strathmore [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Countess Strathmore and Kinghorne. They were third cousins. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Charles II of England Scotland and Ireland.
On 30th April 1853 Charles Frederick Abney-Hastings 1st Baron Donington [aged 30] and Edith Maud Rawdon-Hastings 10th Countess Loudon [aged 19] were married. She the daughter of George Augustus Francis Rawdon-Hastings 2nd Marquess Hastings and Barbara Yelverton Marchioness Hastings [aged 42].
On 30th April 1863 Edmund Charles Nugent 3rd Baronet [aged 24] and Evelyn Henrietta Gascoigne Lady Nugent were married.
On 30th April 1868 Richard George Glyn 3rd Baronet [aged 36] and Frances Geraldine Fitzgerald Lady Glyn [aged 24] were married. She by marriage Lady Glyn of Gaunts in Dorset.
On 30th April 1881 Francis Greville 5th Earl Warwick 5th Earl Brooke [aged 28] and Frances Evelyn "Daisy" Maynard Countess Warwick [aged 19] were married at the King Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey [Map]. See her autobiography Life's Ebb and Flow Page 38. He the son of George Greville 4th Earl Warwick 4th Earl Brooke [aged 63] and Anne Charteris Countess Warwick [aged 52]. They were fourth cousin once removed.
On 30th April 1884 father and daughter, Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke [aged 46] and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven [aged 21], were both married on the same, or near, days, he taking advantage pf his relatives being in Darmstadt for his daughter's wedding. He, apparently, didn't approve of his daughter's choice of his first cousin Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven [aged 29] since they, Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven would live in Britain.
Prince Louis of Battenburg 1st Marquess Milford Haven and Victoria Hesse Darmstadt Marchioness Milford Haven were married. She the daughter of Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke and Princess Alice Saxe Coburg Gotha. They were first cousin once removed. She a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
In the evening Prince Louis Hesse Darmstadt IV Grand Duke and Alexandrina Hutten Czapska [aged 29] were married. She being his former mistress. Apparently, they separated within a week and the marriage was annulled within three months.
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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On 30th April 1914 Gerald Wellesley 7th Duke Wellington [aged 28] and Dorothy Violet Ashton Duchess Wellington [aged 24] were married. The marriage necessary to produce an heir. He bi-sexual, she also. The marriage resulted in two children followed by separation although not divorce. She the daughter of Robert Ashton and Lucy Cecilia Dunn-Garnder Countess Scarborough. He the son of Arthur Charles Wellesley 4th Duke Wellington [aged 65] and Kathleen Emily Bulkeley Williams Duchess Wellington [aged 65].
On 30th April 1917 Lieutenant-Colonel Howard Lister Cooper Baron Lucas and Nan Ino Cooper 10th Baroness Lucas [aged 36] were married. He by marriage Baron Lucas of Crudwell.
On 30th April 1924 William Humble Ward 2nd Earl of Dudley [aged 56] and Gertrude "Gertie" Millar Countess of Dudley [aged 45] were married. She by marriage Countess of Dudley of Dudley Castle in Staffordshire. He the son of William Ward 1st Earl of Dudley and Georgina Moncrieffe Countess Dudley [aged 77].
On 30th April 1934 Roger Makins 1st Baron Sherfield [aged 30] and Alice Brooks Davis were married.
On 30th April 1957 Alexander Lambert Hood 7th Viscount Hood [aged 43] and Diana Maud Lyttelton Viscountess Hood [aged 37] were married.
On 30th April 2018 Henry John Fitzroy 12th Duke of Beaufort [aged 65] and Georgia Powell Duchess of Beaufort [aged 49] were married. He the son of David Fitzroy 11th Duke Beaufort [aged 90] and Caroline Jane Thynne 11th Duchess Beaufort.
On 30th April 783 Himiltrude Queen of the Franks and Lombardy, Holy Roman Empress [aged 29] died.
On 30th April 1315 Enguerrand de Marigny [aged 55] was hanged. He had been arrested on the orders of Louis X King France I Navarre [aged 25] at the instigation of Charles of Valois [aged 45]. Twenty-eight articles of accusation including charges of receiving bribes were brought against him but none could be found to be true. Charles then brought forward a charge of sorcery which was more effectual. He was condemned at once and hanged on the public gibbet of Montfaucon.
On 30th April 1341 John III Duke Brittany [aged 55] died at Caen [Map]. Earl Richmond suspended. The succession of the Duchy of Brittany was disputed between Joan "Lame" Capet Countess Penthièvre [aged 22] and John Montfort IV Duke Brittany [aged 46] leading to the War of the Breton Succession. His niece Joan succeeded Duchess Brittany 1221 Dreux. Charles of Blois Duke Brittany [aged 22] by marriage Duke Brittany 1221 Dreux. His half brother John succeeded IV Duke Brittany 1221 Dreux. Joanna of Flanders Duchess Brittany [aged 46] by marriage Duchess Brittany 1221 Dreux.
On 30th April 1513 Edmund Pole 3rd Duke of Suffolk [aged 42] was beheaded at Tower Hill [Map] on the instruction of King Henry VIII after having been imprisoned for seven years. Duke Suffolk, Marquess Suffolk and Earl Suffolk, Baron Pole forfeit.
He, Edmund, was the son of Elizabeth York Duchess Suffolk, sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III, and George, Duke of Clarence. He, arguably, had a better claim to the throne of England than King Henry VII if King Edward IV's children were illegitimate, and George's children barred from the succession as a consequence of George'a attainder although Anne St Leger's [aged 37] claim better since she descended from an older sister Anne.
He, Edmund, had been given to King Henry VII of England and Ireland as part of the treaty of Malus Intercursus aka Evil Treaty with the condition that he not be executed. King Henry VII in his will instructed his son King Henry VIII to have him executed; an act which attracted the criticism of Montaigne in Chapter 7 of his Essays.
On 30th April 1520 a skirmish took place on the High Street Edinburgh in which around five hundred supporters of James Hamilton 1st Earl Arran [aged 45] fought with a similar number of supporters of Archibald Douglas 6th Earl Angus [aged 31], chiefs of Clan Hamilton and Douglas respectively, over who had control over King James V of Scotland [aged 8].
Around eighty of the Hamilton's were killed with the Douglases victorious as a consequence of around eight hundred more supporters arriving under the leadership of Angus' brother William Douglas Prior of Coldingham [aged 27].
John Montgomerie Master of Eglinton [aged 37] was killed.
On 30th April 1529 Christian Lyon Countess Erroll [aged 47] died.
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 April 1530 Gilbert Tailboys 1st Baron Tailboys [aged 32] died. He was buried at Church of St Mary and All Saints, South Kyme. His son George [aged 7] succeeded 2nd Baron Tailboys of Kyme.
On 30th April 1533 John George Marquis of Montferrat [aged 45] died.
On 30th April 1539 John Bourchier 1st Earl Bath [aged 68] died. He was buried at St Brannock's Church, Braunton. His son John [aged 40] succeeded 2nd Earl Bath, 4th Count Eu, 12th Baron Fitzwarin. Eleanor Manners Countess Bath [aged 36] by marriage Countess Bath.
On 30th April 1544 Thomas Audley 1st Baron Audley Walden [aged 56] died. He was buried at Saffron Walden, Essex [Map]. Baron Audley Walden in Essex extinct.
On 30th April 1563 Henry Stafford 1st Baron Stafford [aged 61] died at Caus Castle [Map]. His son Henry succeeded 2nd Baron Stafford. On 6th May 1563 Henry Stafford 1st Baron Stafford was buried at Church of All Saints Worthen, Shropshire.
On 30th April 1636 Thomas Leventhorpe 2nd Baronet [aged 43] was killed in a duel with Arthur Capell of Little Hadham [aged 50]. His son John [aged 6] succeeded 3rd Baronet Leventhorpe of Shingey Hall in Hertfordshire.
On 30th April 1689 Faith Acklom Lady Milbanke [aged 39] died.
On 30th April 1712 Jane Garrard Lady Spencer [aged 74] died.
On 30th April 1718 Archbishop William Dawes 3rd Baronet [aged 46] died. His son Darcy [aged 25] succeeded 4th Baronet Dawes of Putney.
On 30th April 1740 Grace Wilbraham Countess Dysart [aged 78] died.
On 30th April 1755 Edmund Bacon 6th Baronet [aged 74] died. His second cousin once removed Richard [aged 60] succeeded 7th Baronet Bacon of Redgrave in Suffolk. The two Baronetcies of Baronet Bacon of Redgrave in Suffolk and Baronet Bacon of Mildenhall in Suffolk were combined.
On 30th April 1760 Frances Pelham Lady Poole died.
The History of William Marshal was commissioned by his son shortly after William’s death in 1219 to celebrate the Marshal’s remarkable life; it is an authentic, contemporary voice. The manuscript was discovered in 1861 by French historian Paul Meyer. Meyer published the manuscript in its original Anglo-French in 1891 in two books. This book is a line by line translation of the first of Meyer’s books; lines 1-10152. Book 1 of the History begins in 1139 and ends in 1194. It describes the events of the Anarchy, the role of William’s father John, John’s marriages, William’s childhood, his role as a hostage at the siege of Newbury, his injury and imprisonment in Poitou where he met Eleanor of Aquitaine and his life as a knight errant. It continues with the accusation against him of an improper relationship with Margaret, wife of Henry the Young King, his exile, and return, the death of Henry the Young King, the rebellion of Richard, the future King Richard I, war with France, the death of King Henry II, and the capture of King Richard, and the rebellion of John, the future King John. It ends with the release of King Richard and the death of John Marshal.
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On 30th April 1765 James Carnegie 3rd Baronet [aged 49] died. His son David [aged 11] de jure 7th Earl Southesk, 3rd Baronet Carnegie of Pittarrow in Kincardine.
On 30th April 1766 Thomas Pakenham 1st Baron Longford [aged 52] died. His son Edward [aged 23] succeeded 2nd Baron Longford.
On 30th April 1778 Mary Leveson-Gower Lady Wrottesley died.
On 30th April 1792 John Montagu 4th Earl Sandwich [aged 73] died. He was buried at All Saints Church, Barnwell [Map]. His son John [aged 48] succeeded 5th Earl Sandwich.
On 30th April 1792 William Weddell of Newby [aged 55] died. He was buried in Ripon Cathedral [Map]. Monument with bust by Joseph Nollekens [aged 54].
William Weddell of Newby: On 13th May 1736 he was born.
On 30th April 1794 Thomas Allin 4th Baronet died unmarried. Baronet Allin of Somerleyton in Suffolk extinct.
On 30th April 1814 Edward Hoare 2nd Baronet [aged 69] died. His son Joseph [aged 39] succeeded 3rd Baronet Hoare of Annabella in County Cork.
On 30th April 1831 Elizabeth Spencer Countess Pembroke and Montgomery [aged 94] died.
On 30th April 1837 William Henry Lyttelton 3rd Baron Lyttelton [aged 55] died at Spencer House. His son George [aged 20] succeeded 4th Baron Lyttelton of Frankley in Worcestershire, 4th Baron Westcote, 10th Baronet Lyttelton of Frankley.
On 30th April 1857 Mary Hanover Duchess Gloucester and Edinburgh [aged 81] died.
On 30th April 1860 Frances Rowley Baroness Langford [aged 85] 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 30th April 1866 Harriet Mullen Lady Chamberlain died.
On 30th April 1890 Caroline Amelia Gordon-Lennox Countess Bessborough [aged 70] died.
On 30th April 1894 Ellinor Harriet Hurt Sitwell Lady Williams died.
On 30th April 1900 Lieutenant-General Richard Wilbraham [aged 89] died at Rode Hall, Cheshire. Memorial at All Saints Church, Old Rode. He was the last of the male line of Wilbraham's. His estate, including Rode Hall, Cheshire was inherited by his daughter Katharine Frances Wilbraham Lady Wilbraham [aged 50] and her husband George Barrington Baker Wilbraham 5th Baronet [aged 55].
Katharine Frances Wilbraham Lady Wilbraham: On or before 23rd May 1849 she was born to Lieutenant-General Richard Wilbraham and Elizabeth Frances Egerton. Coefficient of inbreeding 7.04%. On 4th April 1872 George Barrington Baker Wilbraham 5th Baronet and she were married. On 4th October 1911 Frederick Edward Baker aka Rhodes 4th Baronet died unmarried. His brother George succeeded 5th Baronet Baker of Loventor in Totnes in Devon. She by marriage Lady Baker of Loventor in Totnes in Devon.
On 30th April 1901 William Fitz-Clarence 2nd Earl Munster [aged 76] died. His son Geoffrey [aged 41] succeeded 3rd Earl Munster, 3rd Viscount Fitzclarence, 3rd Baron Tewkesbury.
On 30th April 1904 Joseph Wallis O'Bryen Hoare 5th Baronet [aged 75] died. His son Sydney [aged 43] succeeded 6th Baronet Hoare of Annabella in County Cork.
On 30th April 1916 Michael Edward Hicks-Beach 1st Earl St Aldwyn [aged 78] died. His eldest son Michael Hugh Hicks-Beach [deceased] had predeceased by one week having been killed in action. His grandson Michael [aged 3] succeeded 2nd Earl St Aldwyn of Coln St Aldwyn in Gloucestershire, 10th Baronet Hicks-Beach of Beverston in Gloucestershire.
On 30th April 1918 Charles Douglas-Home 12th Earl of Home [aged 84] died. His son Charles [aged 44] succeeded 13th Earl of Home. Lilian Lambton Countess of Home [aged 36] by marriage Countess of Home.
On 30th April 1924 Henry Charles Hardinge 3rd Viscount Hardinge [aged 66] died. His son Caryl [aged 18] succeeded 4th Viscount Hardinge of Lahore and Kings Newton in Derbyshire.
On 30th April 1970 George Milles 4th Earl Sondes [aged 56] died. His son Henry [aged 29] succeeded 5th Earl Sondes, 5th Viscount Throwley, 9th Baron Sondes.