Mary Bosanquet Fletcher

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Mary Bosanquet Fletcher
Mary Bosanquet Fletcher.jpg
Portrait of Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, created while she preached at Madeley
Born
Mary Bosanquet

12 September 1739
Leytonstone, Essex, England
Died8 December 1815(1815-12-08) (aged 76)
Madeley, Shropshire
NationalityBritish
OccupationClass leader (c. 1763–1815)
Preacher (c. 1763–1815)
Philanthropist (1763–1815)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1781; died 1785)​
RelativesSamuel Bosanquet (brother)
ReligionMethodist

Mary Bosanquet Fletcher (/ˈboʊzənˌkɛt/; 12 September 1739 – 8 December 1815) was an English preacher credited with persuading John Wesley, one of the founders of Methodism, to allow women to preach in public. She was born into an affluent family, but after converting to Methodism, rejected her luxurious lifestyle. Bosanquet was involved in charity work throughout her life, operating a school and orphanage until her marriage to John Fletcher. She and her friend Sarah Crosby began preaching and leading class meetings at her orphanage and would become the most popular female preachers of their time.[1] Bosanquet was known as a "Mother in Israel", a Methodist term of honour, for her work in spreading the denomination across England.[2]

Early life[]

Mary Bosanquet was born to Samuel Bosanquet and his wife Mary Dunster in September 1739 in Leytonstone, Essex. At birth, it appeared that her tongue was fused to the inside of her mouth, and she almost died after it was separated.[3]

Bosanquet's family were Anglicans of Huguenot descent. Her father was lord of the manor in Leytonstone, as well as one of the chief merchants in London. Bosanquet had an older sister and two younger brothers.[3] Her brother Samuel became a director of the Bank of England.[4] Bosanquet grew up quite wealthy, wearing fine clothing and holidaying in Bath and Scarborough.[3]

Conversion[]

Bosanquet was introduced to Methodism at about the age of seven,[5][6] when a Methodist servant girl in the household began discussing religion with the two Bosanquet girls.[7] However, the girl was dismissed when the parents objected.[5][6][8]

The Foundery, in Moorfields, the first Methodist society Bosanquet attended

Through her father, Bosanquet was confirmed as an Anglican at St Paul's Cathedral at the age of 13.[3] However, Bosanquet's older sister then introduced her to a member of the London Foundery Society, a Mrs Lefevre.[3][9] This furthered Bosanquet's interest in Methodism, and she began to reject her luxurious lifestyle. By the age of 16 she was refusing trips to the theatre or to spas and had begun to dress simply.[10][11]

In 1757, Bosanquet met Sarah Crosby, who at the time was a Methodist class leader. Meeting Crosby was the final impetus behind Bosanquet's conversion to Methodism. She then dedicated her life to the Church and charity, rejecting her wealth and becoming active in the Foundery Society. She began to visit Sarah Crosby and Sarah Ryan in the Moorfields to learn more about the religion.[12]

By 1760, tensions between Bosanquet and her family had become pronounced. Bosanquet rejected a marriage proposal from a rich young man, which angered her parents. Instead, she told them, she wanted to devote her life to serving God.[13] This, along with her rejection of wealth and her parents' fear that she would convert her brothers to Methodism,[14] led her family to ask her to leave.[12] She moved into unfurnished accommodation in Hoxton Square, where she soon settled in company with Sarah Ryan.[15]

Charity work[]

The Cedars[]

The site of The Cedars, now Leytonstone Methodist chapel
Plaque reads: "On this site stood "The Cedars," wherein Mary Fletcher, née Bosanquet, resided 1763 – 1768. Erected by L.U.D.R.A. 1909."
Plaque to The Cedars on the site where it once stood

Bosanquet had something of a change of heart over her wealth in 1763; she decided to accept it, but use it for charitable purposes. On 24 March 1763, Bosanquet and Sarah Ryan moved to one of the Bosanquet family's properties, nicknamed The Cedars, in Leytonstone.[12][16] She and Ryan felt they were called upon by God to help others.[17] They hoped to establish an orphanage/school modelled on John Wesley's Kingswood School.[18] Ryan had worked at Kingswood, and so provided the expertise Bosanquet needed in order to set up a similar school.[2] They hired a maid, and took in Ryan's orphaned niece, Sarah "Sally" Lawrence. As they took in more residents and Ryan's health declined, they hired Ann Tripp as a governess.[19][17] Over time, other Methodist women joined Bosanquet and Ryan in their efforts, including Sarah Crosby and Mary Clark.[20]

The women at The Cedars took in members of the poor from London, including those who had strayed from God's path.[15] Residents wore dark purple cotton uniforms and ate together.[21] The children were taught manners, reading, religion, writing, nursing and domestic skills to prepare them for later life.[22] They were punished harshly if they misbehaved.[23]

Bosanquet was not just the owner of the orphanage, but in charge of much of its operations. She would plan and lead worship, administer the finances, teach the children, conduct weekly children's meetings, act as a supervisor for Methodist meetings, and nurse the sick.[24] She would invite sick women into The Cedars to be treated by her; some stayed after being healed to assist Bosanquet in her efforts.[25]

Bosanquet and Sarah Crosby instituted nightly Scriptural readings and prayer,[19] as there was no Methodist society in Leytonstone.[26] To improve the religious environment in the orphanage, the women asked John Wesley to supply them with a preacher. Wesley sent a Mr Murlin to preach, who evidently had success, as the orphanage soon became a Methodist society.[19] Bosanquet and Crosby continued to hold their own religious services on Thursday nights and began to attract large crowds.[27] So successful were they that The Cedars became a centre of Methodism in Leytonstone.[25] Though some Methodist men began to express opposition toward Bosanquet and Crosby's activities, they were unable to stop them.[28]

When Bosanquet and Ryan first moved in, a crowd of villagers would throw dirt at anyone coming out of the house and yell at and spy on the residents.[29] Bosanquet was once told that four men would attend one of the Methodist meetings held at the home in order to break it up. The men came and Bosanquet treated them kindly. She conducted the meeting as usual, and gave each of the men Methodist pamphlets at the end. The men reportedly took the pamphlets, bowed to Bosanquet, and left peacefully.[30]

Black and white annotated map
An 1895 map showing the location of 'The Pastures' (top left), formerly the site of The Cedars

Over the five years that the orphanage was in operation, it supported 35 children and 34 adults.[21][31] There were usually 15 to 20 – mostly girls − staying at The Cedars at a time.[17] The women's work at The Cedars was praised deeply by Wesley.[32][33][34]

Cross Hall[]

In 1768, the school relocated to a farm named Cross Hall in Morley, Yorkshire.[18][35] There Bosanquet and Ryan began a new orphanage and took in 14 girls.[36] The move from The Cedars to Cross Hall was made to decrease costs, as the women were to grow their own food, to give the children a more pleasant environment, and hopefully to improve Ryan's failing health.[37] However, these ends were not accomplished. Bosanquet and the other women had little to no experience of farm life, and growing their own food proved less than successful. Ryan died shortly after their arrival.[25][38]

Bosanquet met criticism for her work at Cross Hall. Some said her punishments of the children were too harsh, others that she was creating a convent, that her educating the children was futile since God was the bringer of success, and some even that she was simply wasting her time.[25] Her family thought that she was wasting her inheritance.[34] Despite these criticisms, however, Bosanquet continued to operate Cross Hall until her marriage. It was then closed on 2 January 1782, but not before Bosanquet had ensured that all the children in her care had been found new homes or an occupation.[39][25]

Friendship with Sarah Ryan[]

See also: Sarah Ryan (Methodist)

While working together at The Cedars, Bosanquet and Sarah Ryan became quite close, Ryan being like a mother to her. John Wesley acknowledged their bond, calling them, "twin souls".[2] After Ryan's death in 1768, Bosanquet fell into a depression, her only consolation being dreams she had of Ryan's survival. Bosanquet's bond with Ryan was so strong that John Fletcher acknowledged Ryan as a part of their partnership during his marriage with Bosanquet.[2]

Preaching and church work[]

While living and working at The Cedars, Bosanquet, with Sarah Crosby, began to hold Methodist meetings at night.[40][19] In the summer of 1771, Bosanquet wrote to John Wesley to defend their work, now continuing at Cross Hall.[41] This is seen as the first full and true defence of women's preaching in Methodism.[42] Bosanquet's argument was that women should be able to preach when they experienced an "extraordinary call", or when God asked them to.[42][43] Wesley accepted the idea and formally began to allow women to preach in Methodism in 1771.[44][45] However, it has been argued by the scholar Thomas M. Morrow that Wesley only allowed women to preach because they were successful in converting people. He did not have a change of heart, and did not allow women to preach in order to make any sort of statement, only as a technique for expanding his denomination.[46]

In February 1773, Bosanquet went against Wesley's protocol for women preachers by referencing a text in her sermon. Though Wesley had supported women preaching in public after Bosanquet's letter in 1771, he was still hesitant about allowing women to preach in the same ways as men. However, Wesley seemed impressed by her preaching style, and allowed her to continue.[40]

While Bosanquet was daring and defensive when it came to her preaching, she was not entirely confident in it. In many of her diary entries and letters she expressed anxiety about leading worship. Bosanquet was only able to continue with her work due to the support of her friends and fellow preachers.[47] Her preaching attracted large numbers of people − in September 1776 she addressed a crowd of 2,000 in Golcar.[40][48][49] Several times in her life, Bosanquet's friends encouraged her to become a travelling preacher, due to her success and ability, but she did not take up the idea and found her passions to be more centred locally.[50]

Marriage and ministry[]

John Fletcher, Mary Bosanquet's husband

John Fletcher and Mary Bosanquet first met in 1756 or 1757 at The Foundery.[51] Fletcher was a Swiss-born clergyman who assisted John Wesley.[52] At this time he considered proposing to Bosanquet but decided against it, thinking she was too rich to accept and it would be better if he devoted himself to God.[53]

In June 1781, Bosanquet received a letter from Fletcher, saying he admired her and had done so since they first met.[39][51] They were married at Batley Church in Yorkshire on 12 November 1781.[54]

She and Fletcher moved to Madeley, Shropshire, on 2 January 1782 and started a joint ministry there as what was considered the first "clergy couple" among the Methodists.[40][55][56] Apparently, Madeley residents were enthralled by their preaching.[56][57] Previous attempts to convert and preach to the residents had been unsuccessful.[58] Not only did Bosanquet preach, but she nursed the sick, met Methodist classes, and held Methodist meetings.[55] She and Fletcher worked to run a school in Madeley, teaching religion, reading and writing.[59] The marriage was short, however, as Fletcher died on 14 August 1785.[58][60]

Later life[]

In 1785, Wesley attempted to persuade Bosanquet to leave Madeley for a ministry with the Methodists in London. She refused, believing she was called to carry on her late husband's work in the parish.[61] Bosanquet continued to exercise some control over the local church hierarchy. Her husband's successor let her advise him on curate appointments.[62] She was also allowed to continue living in the vicarage for the rest of her life.[63][62] She continued to preach at Madeley and started to do so at the nearby villages of Coalbrookdale and Coalport.[64] She continued to serve as a Methodist class leader for children and adults.[65]

In 1793, Bosanquet discovered a lump in her breast, which she tried to dissolve by praying and taking goosegrass juice as a herbal remedy. Nine months later, Bosanquet claimed the method had worked and the lump disappeared.[66] However, it reappeared some years later. Further remedies were tried to unknown effect, but Bosanquet did have a lump in her breast upon her death.[40]

In 1800, Mary Tooth moved in with Bosanquet, and Bosanquet began to train Tooth as her successor.[67] She continued her work within the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion until shortly before she died. It was reported that in 1814, when she was 75 years old, that she still preached five times a week.[40] Her last sermon was given on 25 July 1815,[17] and three months before her death she ceased also to take religious meetings and hold classes.[40][17]

Death[]

St Michael's Church, where Bosanquet was buried

Mary Bosanquet died on 9 December 1815, and was buried at St Michael's Church, Madeley, in a shared grave with her husband.[17] In her last days, she had been placed under the care of her friend and successor, Mary Tooth.[40]

Legacy[]

The Fletcher family held a prominent position at the church in Madeley for three generations. Reports have shown that the churches at Madeley were more popular than those in neighbouring regions even as late as 1851, 36 years after Bosanquet's death.[40]

In 1895 Agnes Cotton opened a home for girls in Leytonstone.[68] Cotton purchased what had been The Cedars. She renamed the house as The Pastures, and in time opened a larger home on the same site.[68]

Works[]

Bosanquet published several evangelical pamphlets in her lifetime, addressed mainly to women.[69] For example, Jesus, Altogether Lovely (1766) advises single women to remain faithful to Jesus.[70] An Aunt's Advice to a Niece (1780) outlines further religious instruction for baptism and confirmation.[71] Thoughts on Communion with Happy Spirits (1785) discusses the death of her husband,[71] pondering whether he is still with her in a spiritual sense.[72]

Bosanquet published several of her letters in the Methodist Arminian Magazine.[71] Though she did not personally write the work, she transcribed and preserved The Vision, an account of a religious dream.[73] A transcript of one of Mary Bosanquet's sermons was discovered recently. Dated 8 June 1794, the sermon was delivered in the vicarage at Madeley and speaks of being faithful and loving towards God.[74]

After Bosanquet's death, Methodist biographer Henry Moore compiled letters and diary entries of Bosanquet's and published them as an anthology entitled The Life of Mrs. Mary Fletcher.[71]

List of published works[]

Accounts[]

  • Fletcher, Mary (1791). An Account of the Death of the Rev. Mr. Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley, in Shropshire.
  • Fletcher, Mary (1808). An Account of the Death of Sarah Lawrence.

Autobiographical accounts[]

Letters[]

Pamphlets[]

Sermons[]

  • Fletcher, Mary (2010) [1794]. Wilson, D. R. (ed.). "A Sermon by Mary Fletcher (née Bosanquet), On Exodus 20, Preached at Madeley in the Parish Vicarage on the Evening of Whitsunday, 8 June 1794". Wesley and Methodist Studies. 2: 120–122. JSTOR 42909787.

Transcriptions[]

References[]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Chilcote 1991, p. 76.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Lawrence 2011, p. 81.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Burge 1996, p. 11.
  4. ^ Burke 1836, p. 318.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Brown 1983, p. 136.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Morrow 1967, p. 65.
  7. ^ Chilcote 1993, p. 67.
  8. ^ Keeling 1889, p. 58.
  9. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 66.
  10. ^ Burge 1996, pp. 11–12.
  11. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 68.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c Burge 1996, p. 12.
  13. ^ Brown 1983, p. 138.
  14. ^ Lawrence 2011, p. 58.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Chilcote 1993, p. 68.
  16. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 75.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Brown 1983, p. 54.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b Chilcote 2007, p. 32.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Chilcote 1993, p. 69.
  20. ^ Chilcote 1991, p. 119.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b Chilcote 2007, p. 33.
  22. ^ Brown 1983, pp. 55, 56.
  23. ^ Brown 1983, p. 55.
  24. ^ Brown 1983, p. 57.
  25. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Brown 1983, p. 58.
  26. ^ Brown 1983, p. 44.
  27. ^ Chilcote 1993, pp. 69–70.
  28. ^ Chilcote 1993, p. 70.
  29. ^ Keeling 1889, p. 65.
  30. ^ Brown 1983, p. 140.
  31. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 77.
  32. ^ Burge 1996, p. 15.
  33. ^ Chilcote 1991, p. 126.
  34. ^ Jump up to: a b Brown 1983, p. 59.
  35. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 81.
  36. ^ Chilcote 1993, p. 72.
  37. ^ Chilcote 1991, p. 129.
  38. ^ Keeling 1889, p. 68.
  39. ^ Jump up to: a b Chilcote 1993, p. 103.
  40. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Hargreaves 2005
  41. ^ Burton 2008, p. 164.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b Chilcote 1993, p. 78.
  43. ^ Lloyd 2009, p. 34.
  44. ^ Eason 2003, p. 78.
  45. ^ Lloyd 2009, p. 35.
  46. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 15.
  47. ^ Chilcote 1993, p. 87.
  48. ^ Chilcote 1993, p. 88.
  49. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 85.
  50. ^ Chilcote 1993, p. 90.
  51. ^ Jump up to: a b Keeling 1889, p. 72.
  52. ^ Forsaith & Hammond 2011, p. 209.
  53. ^ Brown 1983, p. 142.
  54. ^ Brown 1983, p. 144.
  55. ^ Jump up to: a b Brown 1983, p. 145.
  56. ^ Jump up to: a b Chilcote 1993, p. 104.
  57. ^ Keeling 1889, p. 74.
  58. ^ Jump up to: a b Chilcote 1991, p. 184.
  59. ^ Burton 2008, p. 272.
  60. ^ Brown 1983, p. 146.
  61. ^ Wilson 2009
  62. ^ Jump up to: a b Keeling 1889, p. 77.
  63. ^ Brown 1983, p. 147.
  64. ^ Chilcote 1991, p. 186.
  65. ^ Burton 2008, p. 273.
  66. ^ Morrow 1967, p. 100.
  67. ^ Lenton 2011, p. 141.
  68. ^ Jump up to: a b Martin 2008
  69. ^ Blain, Clements & Grundy 1990, p. 380.
  70. ^ Chilcote 2007, p. 138.
  71. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Chilcote 2007, p. 148.
  72. ^ Brown 1983, p. 152.
  73. ^ Cope & Kime 2016, p. 52.
  74. ^ Fletcher 2010, pp. 120–122.

Bibliography

  • Blain, Virginia; Clements, Patricia; Grundy, Isobel, eds. (1990). The Feminist Companion to Literature in English: Women Writers from the Middle Ages to the Present. London: Batsford. ISBN 978-0713458480.
  • Brown, Earl Kent (1983). Women of Mr. Wesley's Methodism. Edwin Mellen. ISBN 978-0889465381.
  • Burge, Janet (1996). Women Preachers in Community: Sarah Ryan, Sarah Crosby, Mary Bosanquet. Foundery Press. ISBN 9781858520629.
  • Burke, John (1936). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank, But Uninvested with Heritable Honours. H. Colburn.
  • Burton, Vicki Tolar (2008). Spiritual Literacy in John Wesley's Methodism: Reading, Writing, and Speaking to Believe. Baylor University Press. ISBN 9781602580237.
  • Chilcote, Paul W . (2007). Early Methodist Spirituality: Selected Women's Writings. Kingswood Books. ISBN 9780687334162.
  • Chilcote, Paul Wesley (1991). John Wesley and the Women Preachers of Early Methodism. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810824140.
  • Chilcote, Paul Wesley (1993). She Offered Them Christ: The Legacy of Women Preachers in Early Methodism. Eugene, O.R.: Wipf and Stock. ISBN 1579106684.
  • Cope, Rachel; Kime, Bradley (2016). "'The Vision': A Dream Account Collected and Preserved by Mary Bosanquet Fletcher". Wesley and Methodist Studies. 8 (1): 52–66. doi:10.5325/weslmethstud.8.1.0052. JSTOR 10.5325/weslmethstud.8.1.0052.
  • Eason, Andrew Mark (2003). Women in God's Army: Gender and Equality in the Early Salvation Army. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 9780889208216.
  • Fletcher, Mary (2010). Wilson, D. R. (ed.). "A Sermon by Mary Fletcher (née Bosanquet), On Exodus 20, Preached at Madeley in the Parish Vicarage on the Evening of Whitsunday, 8 June 1794". Wesley and Methodist Studies. 2: 120–122. JSTOR 42909787.
  • Forsaith, Peter S.; Hammond, Geordan, eds. (2011). Religion, Gender, and Industry: Exploring Church and Methodism in a Local Setting. Cambridge: Pickwick Publications. ISBN 978-1608996421.
  • Hargreaves, John A. (22 September 2005). "Fletcher [née Bosanquet], Mary". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  • Keeling, Annie E. (1889). "Chapter II: A Sister of the Poor − Mrs. Fletcher (Mary Bosanquet) − Born, 1739; Died, 1815". Eminent Methodist Women. C. W. Kelly. pp. 56–82.
  • Krueger, Christine L. (1992). The Reader's Repentance: Women Preachers, Women Writers, and Nineteenth-Century Social Discourse. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226454887.
  • Lawrence, Anna M. (2011). "The Best of Bonds". One Family Under God: Love, Belonging, and Authority in Early Transatlantic Methodism. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 72–95. ISBN 9780812243307. JSTOR j.ctt3fhccb.6.
  • Lenton, John H. (2011). "Support Groups for Methodist Women Preachers 1803–1851". Religion, Gender and Industry: Exploring Church and Methodism in a Local Setting. James Clarke & Co. Ltd. pp. 137–155. ISBN 9780227173879. JSTOR j.ctt1cgfbqr.13.
  • Lloyd, Jennifer (2009). Women and the Shaping of British Methodism: Persistent Preachers, 1807–1907. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-84779-323-2. JSTOR j.ctt155j83t.
  • Mack, Phyllis (2008). Heart Religion in the British Enlightenment: Gender and Emotion in Early Methodism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521889186.
  • Martin, Mary Clare (3 January 2008). "Cotton, Agnes". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  • "Mary Fletcher, nee Bosanquet, portrait". Leodis. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  • Morrow, Thomas M. (1967). Early Methodist Women. London: Epworth Press.
  • Wilson, D. R. (2009). "Thou Shal[t] Walk With Me in White: Afterlife and Vocation in the Ministry of Mary Bosanquet Fletcher". Wesley and Methodist Studies. Center for Process Studies. 1: 71–85.

Further reading[]

  • Fletcher, Mary (1819). Moore, Henry (ed.). The Life of Mrs. Mary Fletcher. Philadelphia: Jonathan Pounder.
  • Keeling, Annie E. (1889). "Chapter II: A Sister of the Poor − Mrs. Fletcher (Mary Bosanquet) − Born, 1739; Died, 1815". Eminent Methodist Women. C. W. Kelly. pp. 56–82.
  • Taft, Zachariah; Wesley, John; Vickers, John A. (1992). "Mrs. Mary Fletcher". Biographical Sketches of the Lives and Public Ministry of Various Holy Women: Whose Eminent Usefulness and Successful Labours in the Church of Christ, Have Entitled Them to be Enrolled Among the Great Benefactors of Mankind: in Which are Included Several Letters from the Rev. J. Wesley Never Before Published. Methodist Publishing House.

External links[]

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