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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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Elizabeth "Mad Duchess" Cavendish Duchess Albermarle Duchess of Montagu 1654-1734

Paternal Family Tree: Cavendish

Maternal Family Tree: Eleanor Gifford 1575-

In 1652 Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 21] and Frances Pierrepont Duchess Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 21] were married. He the son of [her grandfather] William Cavendish 1st Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 59] and [her grandmother] Elizabeth Bassett Countess Newcastle upon Tyne. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Edward IV of England.

John Evelyn's Diary. 13th August 1673. I rode to Durdans, where I dined at my Lord Berkeley's [aged 45] of Berkeley Castle, my old and noble friend, it being his wedding anniversary [Note. 11 Aug 1646 he married Elizabeth Massingberd Countess Berkeley], where I found the Duchess of Albemarle [aged 19], and other company, and returned home on that evening late.

John Evelyn's Diary. 18th September 1683. After dinner, I walked to survey the sad demolition of Clarendon House, that costly and only sumptuous palace of the late Lord Chancellor Hyde, where I have often been so cheerful with him, and sometimes so sad: happening to make him a visit but the day before he fled from the angry Parliament, accusing him of maladministration, and being envious at his grandeur, who from a private lawyer came to be father-in-law to the Duke of York [aged 49], and as some would suggest, designing his Majesty's [aged 53] marriage with the Infanta of Portugal [aged 44], not apt to breed. To this they imputed much of our unhappiness; and that he, being sole minister and favorite at his Majesty's restoration, neglected to gratify the King's suffering party, preferring those who were the cause of our troubles. But perhaps as many of these things were injuriously laid to his charge, so he kept the government far steadier than it has proved since. I could name some who I think contributed greatly to his ruin,-the buffoons and the MISSIS, to whom he was an eye-sore. It is true he was of a jolly temper, after the old English fashion; but France had now the ascendant, and we were become quite another nation. The Chancellor gone, and dying in exile, the Earl his successor sold that which cost £50,000 building, to the young Duke of Albemarle [aged 30] for £25,000, to pay debts which how contracted remains yet a mystery, his son being no way a prodigal. Some imagine the Duchess his daughter [aged 29] [Note. Daughter-in-law?] had been chargeable to him. However it were, this stately palace is decreed to ruin, to support the prodigious waste the Duke of Albemarle had made of his estate, since the old man died. He sold it to the highest bidder, and it fell to certain rich bankers and mechanics, who gave for it and the ground about it, £35,000; they design a new town, as it were, and a most magnificent piazza [square]. It is said they have already materials toward it with what they sold of the house alone, more worth than what they paid for it. See the vicissitudes of earthly things! I was astonished at this demolition, nor less at the little army of laborers and artificers leveling the ground, laying foundations, and contriving great buildings at an expense of £200,000, if they perfect their design.

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John Evelyn's Diary. 10th October 1683. Visited the Duchess of Grafton [aged 15], not yet brought to bed, and dining with my Lord Chamberlain (her father) [aged 65], went with them to see Montague House, a palace lately built by Lord Montague [aged 44], who had married the most beautiful Countess of Northumberland [aged 29]. It is a stately and ample palace. Signor Verrio's [aged 47] fresco paintings, especially the funeral pile of Dido, on the staircase, the labors of Hercules, fight with the Centaurs, his effeminacy with Dejanira, and Apotheosis or reception among the gods, on the walls and roof of the great room above,-I think exceeds anything he has yet done, both for design, coloring, and exuberance of invention, comparable to the greatest of the old masters, or what they so celebrate at Rome. In the rest of the chamber are some excellent paintings of Holbein, and other masters. The garden is large, and in good air, but the fronts of the house not answerable to the inside. The court at entry, and wings for offices seem too near the street, and that so very narrow and meanly built, that the corridor is not in proportion to the rest, to hide the court from being overlooked by neighbours; all which might have been prevented, had they placed the house further into the ground, of which there was enough to spare. But on the whole it is a fine palace, built after the French pavilion-way, by Mr. Hooke, the Curator of the Royal Society. There were with us my Lady Scroope, the great wit, and Monsieur Chardine [aged 39], the celebrated traveler.

On 10th January 1684 Edward Montagu 2nd Baron Montagu [aged 67] died. His son Ralph [aged 45] succeeded 3rd Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire.

On 14th August 1684 [her brother-in-law] Thomas Tufton 6th Earl of Thanet [aged 39] and [her sister] Catherine Cavendish Countess Isle Thanet [aged 19] were married. She by marriage Countess of Thanet. The difference in their ages was 20 years. She the daughter of [her father] Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 54] and [her mother] Frances Pierrepont Duchess Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 53]. He the son of John Tufton 2nd Earl of Thanet and Margaret Sackville Countess Isle Thanet. They were fifth cousin once removed.

On 6th October 1688 Christopher Monck 2nd Duke Albemarle [aged 35] died in Jamaica. Duke Albemarle and Earl Torrington in Devon extinct.

On 1st March 1690 John Holles 1st Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 28] and [her sister] Margaret Cavendish Duchess Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 28] were married. She by marriage Countess Clare. She the daughter of [her father] Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 59] and [her mother] Frances Pierrepont Duchess Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 59]. He the son of Gilbert Holles 3rd Earl de Clare and [her aunt] Grace Pierrepont Countess de Clare [aged 57]. They were first cousins.

On 23rd September 1695 Frances Pierrepont Duchess Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 65] died.

In 1705 John Montagu 2nd Duke Montagu [aged 15] and Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 15] were married. She the daughter of John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough [aged 54] and Sarah Jennings Duchess of Marlborough [aged 44]. He the son of [her husband] Ralph Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 66] and Elizabeth Wriothesley Countess Northumberland. They were third cousins.

On 9th March 1709 Ralph Montagu 1st Duke Montagu [aged 70] died. He was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map]. His son John [aged 19] succeeded 2nd Duke Montagu, 4th Baron Montagu of Boughton in Northamptonshire. Mary Churchill Duchess of Montagu [aged 19] by marriage Duchess Montagu.

On 20th April 1712 [her sister] Catherine Cavendish Countess Isle Thanet [aged 47] died.

On 24th December 1716 [her sister] Margaret Cavendish Duchess Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 55] died. She was buried in the St Mary and St Laurence's Church, Bolsover [Map].

Before 11th September 1734 Elizabeth "Mad Duchess" Cavendish Duchess Albermarle Duchess of Montagu [aged 80] died. On 11th September 1734 she was buried at Westminster Abbey [Map].

Royal Ancestors of Elizabeth "Mad Duchess" Cavendish Duchess Albermarle Duchess of Montagu 1654-1734

Kings Wessex: Great x 19 Grand Daughter of King Edmund "Ironside" I of England

Kings Gwynedd: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of Owain "Great" King Gwynedd

Kings Seisyllwg: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of Hywel "Dda aka Good" King Seisyllwg King Deheubarth

Kings Powys: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Maredudd ap Bleddyn King Powys

Kings Godwinson: Great x 20 Grand Daughter of King Harold II of England

Kings England: Great x 6 Grand Daughter of King Edward IV of England

Kings Scotland: Great x 14 Grand Daughter of King William I of Scotland

Kings France: Great x 12 Grand Daughter of King Philip IV of France

Kings Duke Aquitaine: Great x 23 Grand Daughter of Ranulf I Duke Aquitaine

Kings Spain: Great x 15 Grand Daughter of Alfonso VII King Castile VII King Leon

Ancestors of Elizabeth "Mad Duchess" Cavendish Duchess Albermarle Duchess of Montagu 1654-1734

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish 6 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Catherine Scudamore 5 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Cavendish 7 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Carrington Smith

Great x 3 Grandmother: Alice Smith

Great x 1 Grandfather: Charles Cavendish 8 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Harwick

Great x 3 Grandfather: John Hardwick 7 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Pinchbeck 6 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford 8 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Leeke of Hasland 7 x Great Grandson of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Elizabeth Leeke 8 x Great Granddaughter of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Margaret Vaux

Grandfather: William Cavendish 1st Duke Newcastle upon Tyne 4 x Great Grandson of King Edward IV of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Robert Ogle 4th Baron Ogle 5 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Robert Ogle 5th Baron Ogle Great Grandson of King Edward IV of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Anne Lumley Baroness Ogle Granddaughter of King Edward IV of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Cuthbert Ogle 7th Baron Ogle 2 x Great Grandson of King Edward IV of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Catherine Ogle 8th Baroness Ogle 3 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward IV of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Reginald Carnaby

Great x 2 Grandmother: Catherine Carnaby Baroness Ogle 7 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Forster III

Great x 3 Grandmother: Dorothy Forster 6 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Dorothy Ogle 5 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England

Father: Henry Cavendish 2nd Duke Newcastle upon Tyne 5 x Great Grandson of King Edward IV of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Bassett 13 x Great Grandson of King Henry I "Beauclerc" England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Bassett 12 x Great Grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Meverell 11 x Great Granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: William Bassett 13 x Great Grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 1 Grandfather: William Bassett 11 x Great Grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Ralph Fitzherbert 8 x Great Grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: Anthony Fitzherbert of Hamstall Ridware 9 x Great Grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Marshall

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Fitzherbert 10 x Great Granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Richard Cotton

Great x 3 Grandmother: Maud aka Matilda Cotton

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Brereton

Grandmother: Elizabeth Bassett Countess Newcastle upon Tyne 12 x Great Granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England

Elizabeth "Mad Duchess" Cavendish Duchess Albermarle Duchess of Montagu 6 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward IV of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Pierrepont 8 x Great Grandson of King John of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: George Pierrepont 9 x Great Grandson of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Joan Empson

Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Pierrepont 10 x Great Grandson of King John of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: William Thwaites

Great x 3 Grandmother: Winifred Thwaites

Great x 1 Grandfather: Robert Pierrepont 1st Earl Kingston 9 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Cavendish 6 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: William Cavendish 7 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Alice Smith

Great x 2 Grandmother: Frances Cavendish 8 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: John Hardwick 7 x Great Grandson of King Edward I of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Bess of Hardwick Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford 8 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward I of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Elizabeth Leeke 8 x Great Granddaughter of King John of England

Grandfather: William Pierrepont of Thoresby 8 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Francis Talbot 5th Earl of Shrewsbury 4 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandfather: George Talbot 6th Earl of Shrewsbury 5 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Mary Dacre 5 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: Henry Talbot 6 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandfather: Thomas Manners 1st Earl of Rutland 4 x Great Grandson of King Edward III of England

Great x 3 Grandmother: Gertrude Manners Countess Shrewsbury and Waterford 5 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 4 Grandmother: Eleanor Paston Countess Rutland 10 x Great Granddaughter of King John of England

Great x 1 Grandmother: Gertrude Talbot Baroness Pierrepont Holme Pierrepoint 7 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandmother: Elizabeth Rayner

Mother: Frances Pierrepont Duchess Newcastle upon Tyne 9 x Great Granddaughter of King Edward III of England

Great x 2 Grandfather: John Harries of Cruckton in Shropshire

Great x 1 Grandfather: Thomas Harries aka Harris 1st Baronet

Great x 3 Grandfather: Thomas Prowde of Sutton

Great x 2 Grandmother: Eleanor Prowde

Grandmother: Elizabeth Harries aka Harris

Great x 2 Grandfather: Roger Gifford

Great x 1 Grandmother: Eleanor Gifford