Mary Pennyman or Mary Boreham, née Bond or Heron (1630–1701) was an English religious polemicist, and the wife of controversial dissident Quaker John Pennyman.

Life

She was born on 1 May 1630 and was the daughter of Edward Heron, although another source says she was born in 1631 to Nicholas Bond of London. Mary married the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Henry Boreham (or Boreman). In 1662 she was briefly imprisoned in the aftermath of the uprising of the Fifth Monarchy men. Her husband was imprisoned "for selling religious books", and died in prison the same year, leaving Mary with three children (and pregnant with a fourth). In 1670 she gave up her business (an oil shop in Leadenhall Street, in London) and went to live with two other widows (one of whom may have been

Jane Leade Jane Lead (; March 1624 – 19 August 1704) was a Christian mystic born in Norfolk, England, whose spiritual visions, recorded in a series of publications, were central in the founding and philosophy of the Philadelphian Society in London at ...

) in

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

. Whilst there, she disassociated herself from the Quakers and became associated with the mystic ex-Quaker John Pennyman, who had been disowned by

George Fox George Fox (July 1624 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 13 January 1691 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English Dissenters, English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Quakers, Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as t ...

and started holding his own meetings in the 1660s. By 1670 Pennyman, who had initially been married to Mary's sister (either Elizabeth Heron or Dinah Bond), was a widower. Mary believed that she was prompted by God to move in with Pennyman in 1671. Pennyman hired a hall to feed 250 people and announced their marriage, in a ceremony widely mocked by others. The wedding feast, with 27 venison pasties and a hogshead of red wine, was the exact opposite of that advised by the Quakers and

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

went into print to point this out. Others like Thomas and Ann Mudd remained close friends and followers. Many of Mary's letters and writings are included in her husband's publications. In 1672-3 the pair believed that they were prompted by God to walk through

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. In 1691 they went to live with Pennyman's son-in-law in

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

, before moving into the country. Mary Pennyman died in 1701 after a long illness.

Works

* (with John Pennyman) ''The Ark is begun to be opened (the waters being somewhat abated)...'', 1671 * ''John Pennyman's Instruction to his Children'', 1674 * ''The Quakers Rejected'', 1676? * (ed. John Pennyman) ''Some of the letters which were written by Mrs. Mary Pennyman, relating to an Holy and Heavenly Conversation, in which she lived to her Dying-Day'', 1701–2.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennyman, Mary 1630 births 1701 deaths English religious writers English Quakers 17th-century English women writers 17th-century English writers Women religious writers English women non-fiction writers