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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In 1769 [his father] William Pierce Ashe à Court 1st Baronet (age 22) and Catherine Bradford were married.
In 1778 [his father] William Pierce Ashe à Court 1st Baronet (age 31) and [his mother] Laetitia Wyndham Lady à Court were married.
On 11th July 1779 William à Court 1st Baron Heytesbury was born to [his father] William Pierce Ashe à Court 1st Baronet (age 32) and [his mother] Laetitia Wyndham Lady à Court.
In 1795 [his father] William Pierce Ashe à Court 1st Baronet (age 48) was created 1st Baronet à Court. [his mother] Laetitia Wyndham Lady à Court by marriage Lady à Court.
On 3rd October 1808 William à Court 1st Baron Heytesbury (age 29) and Maria Rebecca Bouverie Baroness Heytesbury (age 24) were married at St George's Church, Hanover Square.
On 11th July 1809 [his son] William à Court-Holmes 2nd Baron Heytesbury was born to William à Court 1st Baron Heytesbury (age 30) and [his wife] Maria Rebecca Bouverie Baroness Heytesbury (age 25). He married 3rd October 1833 Elizabeth Holmes Baroness Heytesbury, daughter of Leonard Worsley-Holmes 9th Baronet, and had issue.
In 1812 William à Court 1st Baron Heytesbury (age 32) was elected MP Dorchester.
On 22nd July 1817 [his father] William Pierce Ashe à Court 1st Baronet (age 70) died. His son William (age 38) succeeded 2nd Baronet à Court. [his wife] Maria Rebecca Bouverie Baroness Heytesbury (age 33) by marriage Lady à Court.
In 1821 [his mother] Laetitia Wyndham Lady à Court died.
In 1828 William à Court 1st Baron Heytesbury (age 48) was created 1st Baron Heytesbury of Heytesbury in Wiltshire. [his wife] Maria Rebecca Bouverie Baroness Heytesbury (age 44) by marriage Baroness Heytesbury of Heytesbury in Wiltshire.
This is a translation of the 'Memoires of Jacques du Clercq', published in 1823 in two volumes, edited by Frederic, Baron de Reissenberg. In his introduction Reissenberg writes: 'Jacques du Clercq tells us that he was born in 1424, and that he was a licentiate in law and a counsellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the castellany of Douai, Lille, and Orchies. It appears that he established his residence at Arras. In 1446, he married the daughter of Baldwin de la Lacherie, a gentleman who lived in Lille. We read in the fifth book of his Memoirs that his father, also named Jacques du Clercq, had married a lady of the Le Camelin family, from Compiègne. His ancestors, always attached to the counts of Flanders, had constantly served them, whether in their councils or in their armies.' The Memoires cover a period of nineteen years beginning in in 1448, ending in in 1467. It appears that the author had intended to extend the Memoirs beyond that date; no doubt illness or death prevented him from carrying out this plan. As Reissenberg writes the 'merit of this work lies in the simplicity of its narrative, in its tone of good faith, and in a certain air of frankness which naturally wins the reader’s confidence.' Du Clercq ranges from events of national and international importance, including events of the Wars of the Roses in England, to simple, everyday local events such as marriages, robberies, murders, trials and deaths, including that of his own father in Book 5; one of his last entries.
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On 3rd October 1833 [his son] William à Court-Holmes 2nd Baron Heytesbury (age 24) and [his daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Holmes Baroness Heytesbury (age 18) were married.
On 6th October 1844 [his wife] Maria Rebecca Bouverie Baroness Heytesbury (age 61) died.
On 31st May 1860 William à Court 1st Baron Heytesbury (age 80) died. His son William (age 50) succeeded 2nd Baron Heytesbury of Heytesbury in Wiltshire, 3rd Baronet à Court.
Father: William Pierce Ashe à Court 1st Baronet
William à Court 1st Baron Heytesbury
GrandFather: Henry Wyndham
Mother: Laetitia Wyndham Lady à Court