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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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Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet 1578-1652

Paternal Family Tree: Liddell

On 9th September 1576 [his father] Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth Castle [aged 21] and [his mother] Margaret Watson [aged 20] were married at St Nicholas Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne [Map].

In 1578 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet was born to Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth Castle [aged 23] and Margaret Watson [aged 22].

In 1586 [his mother] Margaret Watson [aged 30] died.

On 13th January 1586 [his father] Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth Castle [aged 31] and [his step-mother] Jane Mitford [aged 13] were married in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

In 1596 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 18] and Isabel Anderson were married. They had fourteen children most of whom predeceased him.

In or before 1606 [his son] Thomas Liddell was born to Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 27] and [his wife] Isabel Anderson.

In 1607 [his son] Francis Liddell was born to Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 29] and [his wife] Isabel Anderson. He married 1. in or before 1633 Elizabeth Tonge 2. in or after 1643 Agnes Chaytor.

In 1609 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 31] was appointed High Sheriff of Newcastle upon Tyne.

On 19th August 1619 [his father] Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth Castle [aged 64] died.

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Memoires of Jacques du Clercq

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 15th March 1620 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 42] was admitted to Gray's Inn.

In 1625 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 47] was appointed Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland [Map].

In 1627 [his son] Thomas Liddell [aged 21] died.

In or before 1633 [his son] Francis Liddell [aged 25] and [his daughter-in-law] Elizabeth Tonge were married. They had eleven children.

In 1634 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 56] was appointed Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland [Map].

In 1636 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 58] was appointed Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland [Map].

In April 1640 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 62] was elected MP Newcastle upon Tyne in the Short Parliament.

On 2nd November 1642 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 64] was created 1st Baronet Liddell of Ravensworth Castle.

In or after 1643 [his son] Francis Liddell [aged 36] and [his daughter-in-law] Agnes Chaytor were married.

In 1652 Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet [aged 74] died. His grandson [his grandson] Thomas succeeded 2nd Baronet Liddell of Ravensworth Castle.

[his daughter] Mary Liddell was born to Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet and Isabel Anderson. She married Nicholas Cole 1st Baronet and had issue.

Ancestors of Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet 1578-1652

Grandfather: Thomas Liddell of Newcastle upon Tyne

Father: Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth Castle

Thomas Liddell 1st Baronet

Grandfather: John Watson of Newcastle

Mother: Margaret Watson