Mary Gunston

     Mary Gunston was born in 1676.

Mary became the second wife of Sir Thomas ABNEY, son of James ABNEY and Jane Mainwaring, on 21 August 1700 in London, England. She was eldest daughter of John Gunston, Esq. Sir Thomas was already leasing a mansion on the Theobalds estate at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire, and that is where they started their married life. They had a family of four children together, including three daughters.

In 1701, following the death of her brother, Thomas Gunston, Lady Mary Abney inherited the Manor of Stoke Newington, a small farming community in the London borough of Hackney, which lay about five miles north of St. Paul's Cathedral. By the rights of marriage that applied at that time, the property formally passed to her husband for the duration of his life. The couple decided to live at both addresses, and split their lives between the villages of Cheshunt and their second home in Stoke Newington. Upon the title passing to Lady Mary and Sir Thomas Abney, she began to complete her late brother's new manor house at Abney Park; it was later known as 'Abney House.' She had it done to suit her taste and ideas.

As Abney House was closer to London than Theobalds, the Abneys frequently stayed there with their family. In the custom of the time, the couple frequently invited guests to Theobalds. The family shared Abney House with a series of well-to-do tenants, who paid for various floors and parts of the house. This kept it homely, warm, and constantly lived-in during periods when the family lived in Hertfordshire.^1,2,3

Mary Gunston and Sir Thomas ABNEY Lord and Lady Abney attended the Mark Lane Independent Chapel in London whose pastor was Dr. Isaac Watts (1674-1748), the eminent minister and hymn-writer. In 1712 Dr. Watts suffered a breakdown, from which he never fully recovered. The Abneys invited him to spend a weekend at their estate at Theobalds. Isaac accepted-- and became a permanent houseguest, living with them the next 36 years until his death. He assisted her ladyship in the design of the landscaping of Abney Park at Stoke-Newington.

Watts' became part of the family and wrote many of his well-known books, poems and hymns at Abney House, or in its parkland grounds. His famous hymns include When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, O God Our Help in Ages Past and the great Christmas carol, Joy to the World . He is known as the "Father of English hymnody."

Lady Mary granted Watts sole use of a study room, the rooftop turret also called the observatory room, from which he could survey the heavens as well as the whole of Abney Park. His view extended northward of the village, as far as Woodberry Downs.⁴

At Abney Park, Lady Abney commissioned the first map and survey of the Manor of Stoke Newington. She is said to have planned much of the planting and landscaping of the park. Its two great elm avenues became favourite walks of Watts; they led to a secluded island heronry in the Hackney Brook, where he was inspired for his writings.

Following the death of her husband Sir Thomas in 1722, the widow Lady Abney became fully installed in her own right as the first Lady of the Manor. She was one of a few women who occupied such a position in early 18th-century English society.

In 1736, Lady Abney moved her household completely from her husband's mansion in Hertfordshire, choosing to live full-time at the more modest Abney House. She was joined in this by her unmarried daughter Elizabeth Abney and their long-term house guest Watts. In Stoke Newington, they had many neighbors who were Nonconformist and literary families.

Lady Abney was of an Independent religious faith (known as Congregational, after the 1830s), as were her husband Sir Thomas Abney and long-term houseguest Dr Isaac Watts. Throughout the year when Sir Thomas held office as Lord Mayor, and Mary Abney was Lady Mayoress, they each had to practice occasional conformity to the Church of England, as required by law. Similarly, as Lady of the Manor, Mary Abney had to uphold the general conformity of the parish church of the Stoke Newington Manor.

Privately as an Independent, she was close friend of the religious revivalist Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon. The Countess formed her own independent religious group within the independent Methodist movement, although working to compromise with the Anglican authorities. The Countess financed many revivalist causes, including the independent preacher George Whitefield. In her later years, she helped sponsor the visit to Britain of Olaudah Equiano, an African who was freed from slavery in the British colonies. He had become an abolitionist, and settled and married in England.

Lady Abney is mainly remembered as the sponsor of Isaac Watts, who lived in her household for 36 years. He is considered the first notable English hymnologist; he composed original works of Christian worship rather than using phrases from Biblical passages. His famous hymns include "Joy to the World" and "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past". Through this association, Lady Abney became part of a circle of many independent religious thinkers, including Philip Doddridge.

As one of Watts' main benefactors and likely his sole benefactor from 1734 until his death in 1748, Lady Mary enabled his work as a poet and scholar. His texts became standard in the New World as well as in Great Britain. Following Watts' death in 1748, Lady Mary Abney had a memorial to him constructed at Bunhill Fields, which she co-financed with neighbor Sir John Hartopp.³

Mary Gunston was named an heir in the will of Sir Thomas ABNEY dated. At the time of his death Sir Thomas had been one of the wealthiest men in the world, with a net worth valued at a moderns equivalent of £2.6 billion. In the absence of a male heir, his estate, fell to his widow and three maiden daughters. Elizabeth (1704-1782) the last surviving child and ultimate sole heiress of her father and mother, was "lady of the manor of Stoke-Newington," and died unmarried in August 1782 at the age of 78. By her will she directed that on her death the lease of the estate of Abney Park, together with the rest of her property in Stoke-Newington, should be sold, and the proceeds distributed amongst the poor. Since 1840 Abney Park has been a general cemetery for the city of London and Abney House was torn down in 1845. The gates to the house were preserved as a side entrance to the cemetery.¹

On 12 January 1750 Mary died at Stoke Newington in London, England, leaving her daughter Elizabeth ABNEY heir to the manor of Stoke Newington, together with Abney House and Abney Park. She was buried in St. Mary Churchyard, Stoke Newington, Greater London.