In the 1770s, with John Wesley's encouragement and advice, Mrs Hannah Owen (c.1725-1785) and her three daughters ran a girls' school for up to 20 boarders, including some of the itinerants' daughters. Wesley paid a number of visits to what he called 'the lovely family' and spoke highly of the school, likening it to Mary Bosanquet's community at Leytonstone, though he later expressed some reservations. The oldest of the sisters Elizabeth married William Pine, Wesley's Bristol printer and when her mother and sisters left Publow she started a school for poor children in nearby Pensford, before settling in Bristol. The youngest sister Mary (c.1750-1809) married Joseph Beardmore (c. 1746-1829) of London, a friend of John Wesley and a trustee and Trust Treasurer at Wesley's Chapel.

Entry written by: JAV
Category: Person
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