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The Chronicle of the Abbey of Evesham is a remarkable medieval history of one of England’s great Benedictine monasteries. Beginning with the abbey’s legendary and royal foundations, it traces the fortunes of Evesham through centuries of religious devotion, political conflict, legal struggle, rebuilding, reform, and royal patronage. At the heart of the chronicle is the abbey’s determination to defend its ancient liberties. Its monks record disputes with bishops, appeals to popes and papal legates, contested elections of abbots, lawsuits over lands and privileges, and the long struggle to preserve Evesham’s exemption from episcopal control. Alongside these institutional battles are vivid accounts of saints and miracles, including St Ecgwine, St Odulf and the royal martyr St Wistan, whose relics and cult formed an important part of the abbey’s identity. The chronicle also preserves a wealth of detail about everyday monastic life. It describes the building and repair of churches, cloisters, chapels, halls, mills, granges and fishponds; the acquisition of estates and revenues; the making of vestments, shrines, bells and liturgical books; and the provision of food, clothing, recreation and medical care for the monks. Successive abbots emerge not merely as religious superiors but as administrators, builders, patrons, diplomats and defenders of the community. Extending into the later Middle Ages, the narrative reflects the changing political world around Evesham, from the Norman Conquest and the Angevin kings to the Wars of the Roses and the reign of Henry VIII. The result is both a history of a single monastery and a richly detailed record of medieval English religious, legal, economic and political life. This edition offers modern readers direct access to one of the most important monastic chronicles of medieval England, revealing how the monks of Evesham understood their saints, their privileges, their rulers and their place in history.

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Robert Napier 2nd Baronet 1602-1661

Maternal Family Tree: Mary Robinson

Before 1601 [his father] Robert Napier 1st Baronet [aged 40] and Elizabeth Staper were married without issue.

Before 1602 [his father] Robert Napier 1st Baronet [aged 41] and Margaret Barnes were married without issue.

Before 10th August 1602 [his father] Robert Napier 1st Baronet [aged 42] and [his mother] Mary Robinson were married.

On 10th August 1602 Robert Napier 2nd Baronet was born to Robert Napier 1st Baronet [aged 42] and Mary Robinson.

On 30th April 1623 Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 20] and Frances Thornhurst [aged 18] were married.

In 1625 Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 22] was elected MP Corfe Castle, Dorset which seat he held until 1626.

Before 5th April 1626 [his wife] Frances Thornhurst [aged 21] died.

In 1628 Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 25] was elected MP Weymouth which seat he held until 1629.

Before 1633 David Cecil 3rd Earl Exeter [aged 32] and [his future sister-in-law] Elizabeth Egerton Countess Exeter were married. She the daughter of [his future father-in-law] John Egerton 1st Earl Bridgewater [aged 53] and [his future mother-in-law] Frances Stanley Countess Bridgewater [aged 49].

Before 31st January 1633 Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 30] and Penelope Egerton Lady Napier [aged 24] were married. She the daughter of John Egerton 1st Earl Bridgewater [aged 54] and Frances Stanley Countess Bridgewater [aged 50].

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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 31st January 1633 [his daughter] Frances Napier Lady Barkham was born to Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 30] and [his wife] Penelope Egerton Lady Napier [aged 24]. She married 1. after Henry Richardson 3rd Baron Cramond 2. 28th June 1660 Edward Barkham 2nd Baronet, son of Edward Barkham 1st Baronet and Francis Berney, and had issue.

In 1636 [his son] John Napier 4th or 1st Baronet was born to Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 33] and [his wife] Penelope Egerton Lady Napier [aged 27]. He married 29th August 1666 Elizabeth Biddulph, daughter of Theophilus Biddulph 1st Baronet, and had issue.

On 22nd April 1637 [his father] Robert Napier 1st Baronet [aged 77] died. His son Robert [aged 34] succeeded 2nd Baronet Napier of Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire. [his wife] Penelope Egerton Lady Napier [aged 28] by marriage Lady Napier of Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire.

In 1641 [his brother-in-law] John Egerton 2nd Earl Bridgewater [aged 17] and Elizabeth Cavendish Countess Bridgewater [aged 14] were married. She the daughter of William Cavendish 1st Duke Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 48] and Elizabeth Bassett Countess Newcastle upon Tyne [aged 49]. He the son of [his father-in-law] John Egerton 1st Earl Bridgewater [aged 62] and [his mother-in-law] Frances Stanley Countess Bridgewater. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry VII of England and Ireland. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King Edward IV of England.

After 1650 Richard Vaughan 2nd Earl Carbery [aged 50] and [his sister-in-law] Alice Egerton Countess Carbery were married. She by marriage Countess Carbery. She the daughter of [his father-in-law] John Egerton 1st Earl Bridgewater and [his mother-in-law] Frances Stanley Countess Bridgewater. He the son of John Vaughan 1st Earl Carbery and Margaret Meyrick.

Around 1658 [his wife] Penelope Egerton Lady Napier [aged 49] died.

On 28th June 1660 [his son-in-law] Edward Barkham 2nd Baronet [aged 32] and [his daughter] Frances Napier Lady Barkham [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Edward Barkham 2nd Baronet.

In March 1661 Robert Napier 2nd Baronet [aged 58] died. His grandson Robert succeeded 3rd Baronet Napier of Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire although it appears he may have been disinherited by his grandfather and probably never assumed the title.

[his son] Robert Napier was born to Robert Napier 2nd Baronet and Frances Thornhurst. He married Margaret Littleton, daughter of Edward Littleton 1st Baronet and Hester Courteen Lady Littleton, and had issue.

Robert Napier 2nd Baronet 1602-1661

Ancestors of Robert Napier 2nd Baronet 1602-1661