Snippet 18 - THE EVENTS THAT SURROUND US

 Snippet 18 - THE EVENTS THAT SURROUND US

(Written by Warren Maloney 18th February 2025)

WE LIVE WITHIN OUR TIME AGE

As much as we wish, we cannot avoid the Events that surround us. An example of this is shown in the lives and times of William Helm and Grace Dunderdale[1]. They spent their whole lives separately and together in the small Village of Chipping, Lancashire, England[2].

Both their families can be traced through 3 previous generations in the Village – a small farming community nestled in a pretty valley and on the edge of a large forest.

Their parents had experienced the beheading of their King, the brutality of the Cromwell reign, the return of Royalty, and had accommodated themselves to the fight over Religion that had raged for over 100 years.

There was a truce of sorts when William & Grace were born, and both Village churches were open – St Bartholomew’s for the Anglicans, and St Mary’s for the few Catholics remaining. But it was safer to be Protestant! So, they were!

By the time they were 7 years old, the bubonic plaque had swept through taking family members and friends – contagion was through shared clothing with flea infestations[3]. Followed closely behind was the news of the Great Fire in London which had raged for 6 days and destroyed so much heritage[4].

William & Grace married at St Bartholmew’s when they were in their mid-20s. But that decade brought mammoth social changes – the Catholic King, James II, gained control briefly before the “Glorious Revolution” when he was deposed, and the Dutch Protestant Royalty of William II ascended the throne[5].

The Village Catholic Church closed. and Protestantism was enshrined by Parliament as the only Power 13 years later[6]. But massive Changes continued in the next decade – Scotland’s power was curtailed[7], a devastating war against Spain and France commenced[8], and England won its never-to-be forgotten Battle of Blenheim[9].

William & Grace’s marriage lasted 21 years through all this turmoil. Their two children, Thomas & Ann[10], established the next generation in Chipping as the Great Empire of Britain conquered the 18th Century World.

We can simply focus on the details of our Lives day by day, year by year, OR we can put those lives into the context of surviving the Events of History – much like St Bartholmew’s, proudly adjusting 400 years later!



[1] William Helm (1660-1707) & Grace Louisa Dunderdale (Helm) (1658-1735) were paternal 8th Great Grandparents of Warren Maloney & the Maloney/Smith/Testro Generation

[10] Thomas Helm (1686-1756) & Ann Helm (1688-1728)


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