Sarah Wesley, Gwynne, also known as Sally Wesley (1726 – 28 December 1822), was the wife of

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English Anglican cleric and a principal leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It ...

, brother of

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

, the main founder of

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. The daughter of a wealthy family, Wesley once performed musically for

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and passed this talent onto two of her sons, both of whom were musical prodigies.

Life

Sarah Wesley was born in Garth,

Brecknockshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1 ...

, to Sarah (née Evans) and

Marmaduke Gwynne Marmaduke Gwynne (1691–1769) was a Welsh squire, and an early and influential Methodist convert. He was a scion of the Gwynne family of Glanbrân near Llandovery. Gwynne married well and employed Theophilus Evans as an Anglican private chaplain ...

. Marmaduke was a wealthy man and a committed

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

who employed his own chaplain. A local magistrate, he went to arrest

Howell Harris Howell Harris (; 23 January 1714 – 21 July 1773) was a Calvinistic Methodists, Calvinistic Methodist evangelist. He was one of the main leaders of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century, along with Daniel Rowland (preacher), Daniel Ro ...

for stirring up sedition, but while listening to Harris' sermon was converted to his beliefs. He brought Harris back to his house where his wife refused to see him. The only member of Gwynne's family who did listen was his daughter, Sarah.Marmaduke Gynne
National Library of Wales, retrieved 28 September 2013 By 1747 her father was offering accommodation to evangelical travellers and for five days in August he offered a place to stay to Charles and his brother John Wesley. The age gap between Sarah and Charles Wesley was nearly twenty years but they were both attracted to each other. Charles returned in the following April and proposed marriage.
ArchiveHub, retrieved September 2013 Sarah's mother had been unenthusiastic about her husband's interest in the

evangelical revival The First Great Awakening, sometimes Great Awakening or the Evangelical Revival, was a series of Christian revivals that swept United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain and its Thirteen Colonies, thirteen North American colonies in the ...

that was taking place, but she was happy to see Charles Wesley become her son-in-law.

Marriage

Charles and Sarah were married in 1749 at the small and lonely parish church at Llanlleonfel near Garth, which is west of

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; ) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of the Wye Valley. In 20 ...

. The marriage was conducted by John Wesley, who had encouraged the union and guaranteed his brother an income of £100 per annum from book sales to reassure the Gwynne family of Charles financial position. This reassurance contrasted with the £600 a year that her mother had as her private income when she married Marmaduke Gwynne. In September 1749 the Wesleys moved into 4 Charles Street in Bristol which remained their main residence until 1771. This house is now preserved as "

Charles Wesley's House Charles Wesley's House () is a restored historic building at 4 Charles Street, Bristol, England. From 1749 to 1778 it was the house of Charles Wesley, hymn writer and co-founder of Methodism, and his wife Sarah Wesley, née Gwynne. It was C ...

". Charles was described as a "preacher at the horsefair" by St. James Church which was his place of worship. The churchyard holds the remains of five of Wesley's children (John, Martha Maria, Susannah, Selena and John James) who died as infants during the 22 years they lived in Bristol. The Wesley family were not known for their happy marriages but the marriage between Charles and Sarah seems to have been very happy. In 1753 Sarah suffered from smallpox. Although she survived the disease, the effects left her difficult to recognize.Henry D. Rack, 'Wesley, Charles (1707–1788)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 201
accessed 29 Sept 2013
/ref> Wesley took her own line on her religion and continued to attend the Calvinist church of

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke Coll ...

who she would have met as a child when he stayed at her father's house. Ironic blue plaques Charles Wesley

Sarah and Charles Wesley had a number of children but only three survived to be adults. The surviving children were Charles Wesley junior,

Samuel Wesley Samuel Wesley may refer to: * Samuel Wesley (poet, died 1735) (1662–1735), English poet and churchman * Samuel Wesley (poet, died 1739) (1691–1739), English poet and churchman, son of the above * Samuel Wesley (composer, born 1766) (1766–1837 ...

and Sarah Wesley. The two sons were musically gifted and made this their careers. Their mother was known for her musical abilities including her singing voice which she was still using to entertain in her old age. Sarah senior had performed musically for King George III. After the death of her husband, Wesley was maintained by other Methodists and Evangelicals, including

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 ...

. She died on 28 December 1822 and she was interred with her husband at

St Marylebone Parish Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near ...

Legacy

Wesley was painted in her lifetime and she has a 20th-century portrait by David Keal; who also painted other members of her family. The house that Charles and Sarah (a.k.a. Sally) had in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, London has now been demolished. Ironically the blue plaque that records the location of this couple's house, who were part of the temperant Methodist movement, is now attached to a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

.File:Charles Wesley (4368240967).jpg
Geolocation, retrieved 1 October 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesley, Sarah 1726 births 1822 deaths People from Brecknockshire 18th-century Welsh people 18th-century Welsh women 19th-century Welsh people 19th-century Welsh women Burials at St Marylebone Parish Church