Hester Lynch Salusbury

1741 - 1821  (80 years)

• Name	Hester Lynch Salusbury
  Birth	16 Jan 1741	Bodvel, Caernarvonshire, Wales   [1]
  	After 1752 she celebrated her birthday on 27 January, to reflect the addition of eleven days to the calendar following the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar.
  Christening	Y  [1]
  Gender	Female
  Birth	16 Jan 1741
  	Hester was the 8th great-granddaughter of King Henry VII (1457-1509) on both sides of her family line.
  Christening	10 Feb 1741	Llanere Church, Llannor, Caernarvonshire, Wales
  Note	From 1747
  	Aged six, Hester Lynch Salusbury became a favourite of the Duke and Duchess of Leeds after being introduced to them by her Uncle, Sir Thomas Salusbury Kt. 1708-1773.
  School	Between 1754 to 1756	Queens Square, Middlesex, England
  	Mrs Stevens' School. She was skilled in language reading: Latin French; Italian; and Spanish. Edward Mangin also attributes her as knowing Greek. At the age of just fifteen, she had written papers in the St James’s Chronicle. She read literature, could quote aptly, and put knowledge as well as playful life into her conversation. She is best known for her letters but also wrote prose, verse and books. After 1752 she celebrated her birthday on 27 January, to reflect the addition of eleven days to the calendar following the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar.
  Physical Description	1759
  	She was clever, vivacious, independent, with a sensitive - if not tender - nature. he was a good horsewoman. She was only 4 feet, 11 inches tall. She had an animated face, touched with rouge, which she continued to use when she found that it had spoilt her complexion.
  	Age: 18
  		Hester Lynch Salusbury. The Lady's Last Stake by William Hogarth. It is said that Hester was the lady in William Hogarth’s painting The Lady’s Last Stake and was given by Hogarth a monkey’s paw mounted in a base of silver as a reward.
  Note	10 Jan 1765
  		Dr. Samuel Johnson's close friendship with the Thrale family. Samuel Johnson’s close friendship with Henry and Hester Thrale began in 1765, declined in 1781 after Henry’s death and mostly ended 1784 just before Hester married Gabriel Piozzi.
  Physical Description	1771
  	Age: 30
  		Hester Lynch Thrale in 1771 By John Singleton Copley.
  Note	2 Jul 1771
  	Samuel Johnson said … Her colloquial wit was a fountain of perpetual flow.
  Note	16 Apr 1773
  	George Augustus Selwyn (1719-1791) was a Whig politician and wit who served as a Member of Parliament for several constituencies between 1741 and 1796. He was also known for his gambling, extravagant lifestyle and alleged homosexuality. He was also a close friend of Hester Thrale. He proposed marriage on 16 April 1773. Hester refused his proposal. She knew him to be a gambler and a spendthrift, and declined his proposal, but they remained friends. She wrote in Thraliana on 17 April 1773… Selwyn proposed to me yesterday, which I refused. I am not surprised at his proposal, for he has long been attentive, but I do not love him, and I do not want to marry him. In her letter to Fanny Burney on 20 April 1773 she wrote… I must tell you that I have had a proposal, and from a very silly man, George Augustus Selwyn. I am not at all flattered by his proposal, and I have refused him.
  Land	18 Jun 1773	Bodvel, Caernarvonshire, Wales
  	Estate inherited on the death of her mother.
  Land	18 Jun 1773	Bach-y-Craig, Denbighshire, Wales
  	Inherited on the death of her mother.
  Land	18 Jun 1773	Bachymbyd Hall, Denbighshire, Wales
  	Inherited on the death of her mother.
  Land	18 Jun 1773	Lleweni Hall, Denbigh, Denbighshire, Wales
  	Inherited on the death of her mother. After Hester's death in 1821, the estate was sold to Robert Lloyd in 1824 for £24,000.
  Note	6 Sep 1775
  		Ode to Thrale by Samuel Johnson On 6 September 1775 Samuel Johnson wrote an Ode to Thrale whilst on a tour of the Scottish Shetlands with the Thrales. The verses are an expression of Johnson’s deep affection for Hester Thrale. He imagines himself wandering through remote and unfamiliar lands, but his thoughts are always with her. He asks himself what she is doing, and he pictures her as a devoted wife to Mr. Thrale, a loving mother, and a diligent learner. He ends the poem by expressing his hope that she will remember him and that her faith in him will remain steadfast.
  Land	1776	Bronwylfa, Denbighshire, Wales
  	Estate purchased for £6,000.
  Note	16 Jan 1776
  		Verses for hester Thrale's 35th birthday, written by Samuel Johnson. Verses written by Dr. Samuel Johnson on the occasion of the thirty-fifth birthday of Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury and recorded in Thraliana December 1777.
  Physical Description	1777 - 1778
  	Age: 36/37
  		Hester and Queeney Thrale in 1777/8. By Sir Joshua Reynolds.
  		By John Singleton Copley, 1778. The traditional identification of the sitter as "Mrs Thrale", seems improbable compared with other portraits of that sitter.
  		Hester Lynch Thrale. Engraving by Samuel Freeman from 1777/8 portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
  		Hester Lynch Thrale, 1777 By Johann Zoffany.
  		Hester Lynch Thrale by Richard Cosway
  Note	26 Nov 1778
  	Fanny (Frances) Burney first met the Thrales at a dinner party at her father’s house on 26 November 1778, aged 26. She became a close friend of the Thrale family.
  		Fanny Burney's relationship with the Thrales Frances (Fanny) Burney (1752-1840) was an English novelist and diarist. She was the second daughter of Dr. Charles Burney, a music historian, and his wife, Esther. She is best known for her novels, including: Evelina (1778); Cecilia (1782); and Camilla (1796). Burney first met the Thrales at a dinner party at her father’s house on 26 November 1778, aged 26. She became a close friend of the Thrales and her diary provides insight into their lives at Streatham Park.
  Physical Description	1781
  	Age: 40
  		Hester Lynch Thrale by Robert Edge Pine.
  		Hester Lynch Thrale by Charles William Sherborn, after Robert Edge Pine. Sketched in 1887 from Robert Edge Pine's 1781 portrait.
  Property	1781	78 West Street, Brighton, Sussex, England
  	Inherited from her late husband henry Thrale.
  Property	31 May 1781	Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England
  	Sale of brewery inherited from husband
  		Anchor Brewery, 1781 sale. Deed of sale of Anchor Brewery on 31 May 1781.
  		Anchor Brewery, Bankside, London (1616-1986). The history of Anchor brewery from 1616 until 1986, including the 52 years between 1729 & 1781 in which it was owned by Ralph and Henry Thrale.
  Residence	4 Jan 1782	Harley Street, Middlesex, England
  	After Henry Thrale’s death, Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury rented a house in Harley Street between January and March 1782, where she lived with her daughters. The house was too small to accommodate Samuel Johnson. On 4 January 1782, Hester Thrale wrote in Thraliana … I have taken a house in harley street for these three months next ensuing, & hope to have some society–not company tho’; crouds are out of the question, but people will not come hither on short days, & ‘tis too dull to live all alone so. the world will watch me at first, & think i come o’ husband hunting for myself or my fair daughter: but when i have behaved prettily for a while, they will change their mind.
  Note	15-23 July 1782
  		Thrale v Salusbury 1782. Court of King's Bench. A landmark Court case in the English law of defamation. Brought by Hester Thrale against Lady Elizabeth Salusbury.
  Note	11 Jul 1782
  	Samuel Whitbread was an English politician, brewer and philanthropist, born in Southill, Bedfordshire, England, in 1758. Educated at Eton College and Cambridge University, he became a partner in the Whitbread brewery in 1780 and entered Parliament in 1790. He was a Whig and served as a Lord of the Admiralty in 1795–1800 and as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1806–1807. He was a strong supporter of the abolition of the slave trade and of parliamentary reform. He unsuccessfully proposed to Hester Thrale on 11 July 1782. the next day she wrote in Thraliana on 12 July 1782 … Whitbread made me a long and most serious proposal yesterday, which I refused with a steadiness that surprised myself. I am not in love with him, I do not believe I should ever be happy with him, and I do not want to leave London and give up my independence.
  Note	Nov 1782
  	Baronet Sir Richard Musgrave of Tourin, Irish MP for Lismore (1757-1818) proposed and Hester declined.
  Note	1783	Smith Square Westminster, Middlesex, England
  	The school located in St. Stephen’s parish was founded in 1769 by a group of women who wanted to provide education for poor London girls. The school offered a basic education in reading, writing, and arithmetic. It also taught needlework and other skills that would help the girls find employment. The school was free to attend and was open to girls of all ages. Hester Thrale was was on the management committee, a strong supporter and fundraiser too. She also visited the school regularly and took an interest in the girls’ progress.
  Note	11 Jan 1784
  	Mr. Swale unsuccessfully proposed. He was a gentleman from a good family and fortune in Suffolk, England. She wrote in Thraliana on 11 January 1782 … Nothing happens that one expects, & every thing happens that one does not expect: here’s a proposal of Marriage to me from a Man I scarcely know—a Mr Swale of good Family & Fortune in Suffolk—very odd tho’ of the Man to want to marry me of all People—I sent him an immediate & steady Refusal. Seward & Selwin being both disposed to offer their Persons and Fortunes is less odd, tho’ not less silly. She wrote to Swale on 21 February 1784 … My Acquaintance with you was always the slightest possible, & it is now two Years since I have seen your Face; yet in these two Years I have received two Letters from you, the first, a very strange one, the second stranger still; I beg I may never have a Third: as I am surely of Age to act without a Monitor, and when I chuse one—it shall not be Mr. Swale.
  Note	30 Jun 1784
  		Parting of Hester Thrale and Samuel Johnson. Hester Lynch Thrale and Dr. Samuel Johnson largely ended their close friendship just before Hester married Gabriel Mario Piozzi on 23 July 1784.
  Note	28 Nov 1784
  	Fanny Burney asked Samuel Johnson, shortly before his death on 13 December 1784, if he ever heard from Hester. Johnson replied … No, nor write to her. I drive her quite out of my mind. If I meet with one of her letters, I burn it instantly. I have burnt all I can find. I never speak of her and I desire never to hear of her anymore. I drive her, as I said, wholly from my mind.
  Physical Description	1785
  	Age: 44
  		Hester Lynch Thrale. Unknown Italian artist oil on canvas, 1785-1786. National Portrait Gallery.
  Note	Feb 1786	Naples, Italy
  	Hester Lynch Thrale and Gabriel Piozzi witnessed an eruption from Mount Vesuvius.
  		Verses "Eruption of Mount Vesuvius" by Hester Lynch Thrale Written by Hester Lynch Thrale in Naples, Italy February 1786. Thraliana entry dated 30 June 1786.
  Publication	26 Mar 1786
  	Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. During the Last Twenty Years of His Life by Hester Thrale, was first published 26 March 1786
  		Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson by Hester Lynch Piozzi 1786 Hester Lynch Thrale's first book. Her personal recollections of Samuel Johnson.
  Education	Abt 1788
  		Hester Thrale's Hebrew studies In the late 1780s Hester Lynch Thrale developed an interest in Hebrew, motivated by her Christian religious belief, the intellectual challenge of learning and to “divert Ennui & pass the Summer Months away”. Her teacher was Reverend John Roberts of Bath.
  Note	28 Apr 1789
  		Thrale v. Hester Maria Thrale, 28 April 1789. A dispute about recipient of income from Henry Thrale's estate at Crowmarsh Battle between Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury and her daughter Hester Maria (Queeney) Thrale. Thrale v. Hester Maria Thrale (1789), 1 Ves. Jun. 215. Court of Chancery.
  Note	27 Jan 1791
  	Hester Lynch Thrale wrote in Thraliana … Here’s my Birthday returned; the first I have spent at Streatham for many Years, and quite the happiest I ever did spend there: Our daughter who lives in the house with us—Cecilia—much improved, & growing handsome as well as tall & rich; good as her Neighbours too, for ought I see; though without much Love of Study, or Regard for me, all goes well between us; and her Papa as She calls him, has a very solid kindness & true Goodwill towards her. I find he is of Opinion that Cator is no honest Guardian to those Girls, but I suppose they would rather be robbed by him, than saved by us.
  Physical Description	1793
  	Age: 52
  		Hester Lynch Thrale. By William Daniell, after George Dance, 1793
  		Hester Lynch Thrale, 1793 by George Dance.
  		Hester Lynch Thrale by William Daniell, after George Dance 1793. Soft-ground etching.
  Physical Description	1794
  	Age: 53
  		Hester Lynch Thrale. By Marino or Mariano Bovi (Bova). Published by John Stockdale, after Pierre Noel Violet painted in 1794, published 1800.
  Godparent / sponsor	Aug 1794
  	Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury became Godmother to Cecilia Siddons, daughter of Sarah Siddons. Cecilia Siddons was named after Cecilia Margaretta Thrale.
  Publication	1801
  	Retrospection or A review of the most striking and important events, characters, situations and their consequences which the last eighteen hundred years have presented to the view of mankind by Hester Lynch Piozzi
  		Retrospection by Hester Lynch Piozzi in 1801
  Note	17 Sep 1803
  	Hester Lynch Thrale wrote in Thraliana … A new vault has been constructed under the Altar at Dymerchion for his and my last cold Residence, & narrow Apartment—Poor dear old Lucy Salusbury my admirable Progenetrix & Mother to my Father Was found crumbling in Dust; her Skull only whole, & the Black Ribbon pinned round it, that I suppose bound her head in its last Agony —There was no Act then extant for burying in Woollen. My Father being wrapt in Lead was easily discerned from his Brothers, & dear Mama—as he called her to the Last—They had never found Money to make themselves a Vault, so their poor Bones have been gathered up now by Mr Piozzi, and placed decently in our new Repository, where ours will shortly accompany them no doubt: to the great Joy of all my Daughters who really have now waited my Death so long—They are justified in their Impatience. New Pulpit Cloths—new Reading Desk Bible & Surplices—& a new Brass Chandelier—in Lieu of a Wooden one—are among my present Master’s Donations—beside Slating & Glazing & painting & Whitewashing: & what our Curate Mr Roberts prefers to all—Enlarging his little Church in the Gallery-Part—& we will put up the old curious Cross wch some fools pulled away 40 Years ago— & make all smart and handsome.
  Note	27 Jan 1804	Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales
  	On her 63rd birthday she wrote in Thraliana … My Birthday—Grand Climacteric,—kept very I chearfully: thank God; & all the little Children of the Village & Cottages in our Parish to the amount of 60 as I remember, came & eat Plumb Pudden, 40 very good Girls & Boys, had 6d each for singing & saying their Catechism so well. & Mr Roberts made some affecting Verses celebrating their Benefactress’s Birthday &c—all very comfortable, very happy indeed.
  Physical Description	1810
  	Age: 69
  		Hester Lynch Thrale by John Jackson 1810 An engraving of the portrait is shown here
  Physical Description	21 Dec 1811
  	Age: 70
  		Hester Lynch Thrale Engraved by Henry Meyer, published by T. Cadell & W. Davies 21 December 1811, after John Jackson portrait which is here.
  Physical Description	1818
  	Age: 77
  		Hester Lynch Thrale. From the 1818 original by Pierre-Édouard Baranowski (AKA Edward Roche) which in 1910 was in possession of Mr. O Butler Fellowes, a descendant of Sir James Fellowes, Mrs Piozzi's friend and executor.
  Note	Her mother's brother Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton sought to protect her from her husband John Salusbury, who had squandered his own money and was starting to dip into her money too. Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton offered his sister Hester Maria and daughter Hester Lynch the use of his London home in Albermarle Street if they would make a break from him. Sir Robert also intended to change his will leaving his estate to Hester Lynch, but he died before his Will was changed. Hester later wrote … … at which period we left Wales and came to my uncle's house in Albemarle Street, where he told my mother he should follow in less than 2 months; make a new will, and leave poor Fiddle 10,000 ... I fancy some rough words passed concerning this by my uncle certainly but ill-brooked my father's pride, and he still less willingly endured being informed that, if his quality friends would provide him some distant establishment, my mother and myself should share the old baronet's fortune.
  Note	1820
  	William Augustus Conway - who was 48 years her junior - is reported to have won the affections of Hester, who it is alleged - but not confirmed - had proposed to marry him.
  Note	27 Jan 1820
  	80th Birthday Ball
  		Hester Lynch Thrale at her 80th birthday ball. Engraved by J. Thomson after J. Hopwood.
  		Hester Lynch Thrale's 80th birthday ball Hester celebrated her eightieth birthday party in the finest of style at the Kingston - or Lower Assembly - Rooms - in Kingston Parade, Bath on 27 January 1820. Seven to eight hundred invited guests helped her to celebrate her birthday at very great expense. There was a reception, then a concert, a supper and a ball.
  Residence	Aug 1820	Regent Terrace, Penzance, Cornwall, England
  	Hester Lynch Piozzi née Salusbury rented a house at Regent Terrace, Penzance. She went to Penzance to try to improve her health, which had been declining. She also wanted to be closer to her friend, the writer Maria Edgeworth, who lived in nearby Chagford, Devon. She enjoyed her time in Penzance. She went for walks along the coast, visited the local market, and attended social gatherings. She also continued to write her diary and letters. She found the weather to be too windy and the cost of living to be high. She also missed her friends and family in Bath. She wrote of her time in Penzance … Penzance is a pretty town, with a great deal of company, and the sea all round it. The walks are delightful, and the views enchanting. I am very much pleased with the place.
  Death	2 May 1821	Clifton, Gloucestershire, England
  	Address: 20 Sion Hill
  	In 1820, Hester stayed in Penzance whist, her house in Bath was being repaired. However, her home in bath was not ready by the time she had to leave Penzance and she temporarily moved to 20 Sion Hill, Clifton, Bristol. In April 1821, whilst in Exeter, she fell and hurt her leg. She was ill for ten days. At her side were her daughters: Lady Keith (Queeney); Sophia Thrale; and Susannah Arabella Thrale. On hearing of her daughters arrival, Hester said … Ah! now I can die in state! When her doctor, Sir George Gibbs, arrived she was too weak to speak and traced the shape of a coffin with her fingers in the air.
  		Plaque commemorating Hester Lynch Thrale's place of death. 20 Sion Hill, Clifton, Bristol.
  Will	aft. 2 May 1821
  	Hester Lynch Piozzi née Salusbury's will, dated 29 March 1816, was read by Sir James Fellowes in the presence of three of her four adult daughters Lady Keith, Sophia Hoare and Susannah Arabella. Her other daughter, Cecilia Mostyn was absent. Almost everything was left to Sir John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury.
  Burial	16 May 1821	Church of Corpus Christi, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales   [2]
  		Memorial tablet for Hester Lynch Thrale. Erected 28 April 1909
  Obituary	Aft 16 May 1821
  		Hester Lynch Thrale tributes, obituaries and criticisms
  Property	Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales
  		Brynbella rear façade 1799
  		Brynbella rear façade 1799
  		Brynbella front façade July 2001
  Publication	London, England
  	Thraliana - The diary of Mrs Hester Lynch Thrale (later Mrs Piozzi)
  		Thraliana - The diary of Mrs Hester Lynch Thrale (later Mrs Piozzi)
  Person ID	I87	UK Thrale family
  Last Modified	31 Jul 2024

  
  

  Father	John Salusbury,   b. 1 May 1707, Lleweni Hall, Denbigh, Denbighshire, Wales d. 2 Nov 1762, Lleweni Hall, Denbigh, Denbighshire, Wales (Age 55 years)
  Relationship	Adopted
  Mother	Hester Maria Cotton,   b. 1707, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales d. 18 Jun 1773, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England (Age 66 years)
  Relationship	Adopted
  Marriage	1738
  Note	16 Jan 1741
  	Hester Maria's daughter Hester Lynch Salusbury was the first surviving child. There were 2 or 3 earlier non-surviving babies.
  Residence	From 1747	Offley, Hertfordshire, England
  Residence	From 1747	24 Dean Street, Middlesex, England
  Notes	Hester Maria's brother, Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton, sought to protect his sister Hester Maria from her husband John Salusbury. John Salusbury had squandered his own money and was starting to dip into his sister's money. Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton offered his sister Hester Maria and daughter Hester Lynch the use of his London home in Albermarle Street if they would make a break from him. Sir Robert also intended to change his will leaving his estate to Hester Lynch, but he died before his Will was changed. Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury later wrote … At which period we left Wales and came to my uncle's house in Albemarle Street, where he told my mother he should follow in less than 2 months; make a new will, and leave poor Fiddle 10,000. … I fancy some rough words passed concerning this by my uncle certainly but ill-brooked my father's pride, and he still less willingly endured being informed that, if his quality friends would provide him some distant establishment, my mother and myself should share the old baronet's fortune. John Salusbury and Hester Maria were distant cousins.
  Family ID	F53	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Henry Thrale, M.P.,   b. Between 1724 and 1730, Harrow Corner, Southwark, Surrey, England d. 4 Apr 1781, Grosvenor Square, Middlesex, England (Age 57 years)
  Note	1762	Offley, Hertfordshire, England
  	Henry was invited to Offley Place by Hester’s uncle, Judge Sir Thomas Salusbury and was introduced to Hester Thrale who was aged 20 or 21. Henry was a solid respectable man who was kindly towards Hester and she wrote that Henry was … Nearly the handsomest man in England. However, she did not want to marry him. Hester appealed to her father upon his return. John Salusbury had no intention of marrying his daughter to Henry, as Henry's father and grandfather had lived in the cottage now being used by his brother, Sir Thomas Salusbury as a dog kennel. John Salusbury quarrelled with his brother Sir Thomas and took his wife and daughter to London. Sir Thomas proposed their marriage whilst her father was away in Ireland with George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, President of the Board of Trade. This was agreed by her mother after uncle Sir Thomas promised to make a settlement in her favour of £5,000 if Hester married Henry.
  Note	18 Dec 1762
  	Hester's father, John Salusbury died suddenly, leaving: the North Wales Bach-y-graig estate to his wife, and £5,000 to his daughter Hester. Hester, later speculated that his death might have been hastened by irritation at her proposed marriage to Henry Thrale; and Sir Thomas’s intention to remarry, as this ultimately resulted in Hester being disinherited from Offley Place.
  Note	28 Jun 1763
  	Letter of request for a proposal meeting Henry wrote to Hester and her mother asking to call on them. ;Mr. Thrale presents His most respectful compliments to Mrs. & Miss Salusbury & wishes to God He could of communicated His Sentiments to them last night, which is absolutely impossible for Him to do to any other person breathing; He therefore most ardently begs to see Them at any Hour this afternoon, & he will at all Events immediately enter upon this very interesting Subject, & when once begun, there is no Danger of His wandering upon any other: in short, see them, He must, for He assures them, with the greatest truth & Sincerity, that They have murder’d Peace & Happiness at Home. Almost two weeks later they were married.
  Note	9 Oct 1763
  	Dowry Henry Thrale met Hester’s maternal grandfather, Sir Thomas Salusbury and agreed upon Hester’s dowry. It included: £10,000 to Hester from Sir Thomas Salusbury; £700 a year for Hester from her father’s estate; legacies from her mother and aunts worth £3,000; £200 a year from Henry’s Crowmarsh Battle estate. The remainder of farm income went to Henry. The farm would in future be administered by two trustees for a period of 99 years On Henry’s death: Hester’s income from Crowmarsh Battle farm would double; she would get a lump sum of £13,400; and provision would be made for trust and inheritances for any children that they may have.
  Marriage	11 Oct 1763	Saint Anne's Church, Soho, Middlesex, England   [3]
  Note	Jul 1774	Wales
  	From July to September 1774, Dr. Samuel Johnson and the Thrales toured North Wales. For Hester Thrale, the journey was personally significant, revealing cultural tensions with Johnson and influencing her writing. Johnson kept a diary which has since been published.
  Note	14 Sept 1775	Paris, Île-de-France, France
  		The Thrales tour of France, 14 September to 14 November 1775. Henry Thrale, MP, was invited to Paris by his friend Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, who was serving as the British ambassador to France. From September to November 1775, a group embarked on a tour of France, visiting Paris, Versailles, and various monasteries and convents. The traveling party consisted of: Henry Thrale, the wealthy brewer and Member of Parliament; Hester Thrale, Henry's wife and a notable diarist; Queeney Thrale, their eldest child; Dr. Samuel Johnson, the renowned lexicographer and writer; and Giuseppe Baretti, Queeney's Italian tutor and Johnson's friend. The trip included: meeting King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette at the Palace of Versailles; and a coaching accident.
  Note	11 Oct 1776
  	Baronet Sir William Weller Pepys (1740-1825) wrote these verses to mark their 13th wedding anniversary. Give me to bless Domestick Life With sweet Repose secure from Strife; (Cries every Pedant in a College) A Wife not over-stockt with Knowlege; This—every Fool who loves to quote What Parrot-like he learn’d by rote; And every Coxcomb whose Pretence To Wisdom marks his want of Sense, And all good Huswives skill’d in Darning Who rail with much Contempt at Larning: And all who place their Sovreign Good in The Composition of a Pudding Repeat with such Triumphant Air Such deep Sagacity—you’d swear That Knowledge among Woman kind Was deadliest Poyson to the Mind; A Crime—which venial if conceal’d Like Theft at Sparta,—if reveal’d, The Guilty stamps with such disgrace, No Culprit dares to Show her Face. But tell me You, who dar’d despise These vulgar Maxims—who from Eyes Which well might grace the loveliest Fair, Turn’d not because bright Sense beam’d there; But—vent’rous Deed!—in Marriage sought A Mind with Stores of Knowledge fraught; Tell me through all these thirteen Years, Through varying Scenes of hopes and Fears; Could Ignorance more faithful prove? Could Folly’s Self more warmly love? Then long may this Auspicious Morn At each still happier Year’s Return Tell—what thy Sweet Experience shews, That Head and Heart are friend—not Foes.
  Note	6 Jul 1777
  	Dr. Samuel Johnson in a letter to Hester Thrale, said … I know no man… who is more master of his wife and family than Thrale. If he but holds up a finger, he is obeyed.
  Note	10 Sept 1777
  	Hester wrote in Thraliana… As this is Thraliana—in good Time—I will now write Mr Thrale’s Character in it: it is not because I am in good or ill Humour with him or he with me, for we are not capricious People, but have I believe the same Opinion of each other at all Places and Times. Mr Thrale’s Person is manly, his Countenance agreeable, his Eyes steady and of the deepest Blue: his Look neither soft nor severe, neither sprightly nor gloomy, but thoughtful and Intelligent: his address-is neither caressive nor repulsive, but unaffectedly civil and decorous; and his Manner more completely free from every kind of Trick or Particularity than I ever saw any person’s—he is a Man wholly as I think out of the Power of Mimickry. He loves Money & is diligent to obtain it; but he loves Liberality too, & is willing enough both to give generously & spend fashionably. His Passions either are not strong, or else he keeps them under such Command that they seldom disturb his Tranquillity or his Friends, & it must I think be something more than common which can affect him strongly either with Hope, Fear Anger Love or Joy. His regard for his Father’s Memory is remarkably great, and he has been a most exemplary Brother; though when the house of his favourite Sister was on Fire, & we were alarmed with the Account of it in the Night, I well remember that he never rose, but bidding the Servant who called us, go to her Assistance; quietly turned about & slept to his usual hour. I must give another Trait of his Tranquillity on a different Occasion; he had built great Casks holding 1000 Hogsheads each, & was much pleased with their Profit & Appearance—One Day however he came down to Streatham as usual to dinner & after hearing & talking of a hundred trifles—but I forgot says he to tell you how one of my great Casks is burst & all the Beer run out. Mr Thrale’s Sobriety, & the Decency of his Conversation being wholly free from all Oaths Ribaldry and Profaneness make him a Man exceedingly comfortable to live with, while the easiness of his Temper and slowness to take Offence add greatly to his Value as a domestic Man: Yet I think his Servants do not much love him, and I am not sure that his Children feel much Affection for him: low People almost all indeed agree to abhorr him, as he has none of that officious & cordial Manner which is universally required by them—nor any Skill to dissemble his dislike of their Coarseness—with Regard to his Wife, tho’ little tender of her Person, he is very partial to her Understanding,—but he is obliging to nobody; & confers a Favour less pleasingly than many a Man refuses to confer one. This appears to me to be as just a Character as can be given of the Man with whom I have now lived thirteen Years, and tho’ he is extremely reserved and uncommunicative, yet one must know something of him after so long Acquaintance. Johnson has a very great Degree of Kindness & Esteem for him, & says if he would talk more, his Manner would be very completely that of a perfect Gentleman.
  Note	13 Apr 1779
  	Hester Thrale wrote in Thraliana … In 1779, Hester, who had also lost several children, was unhappy in the thought that she had ceased to be appreciated by her husband. She became jealous of his regard for Sophy Streatfeild of Chiddingstone (1754-1835), a rich widow's daughter.
  Note	5 Apr 1781
  	Shortly after the death of Henry Thrale, Hester Thrale wrote… Streatham. I have now appointed three Days a Week to attend at the Counting house, & wish I could defecate my Mind of Borough Dirt, when I pass the Laystalls at the Stones End; but it will not be yet, it will not be– > The vile Ideas where I fly pursue: Rise in the Grove, even in the Thicket rise, Stain all my Soul, and grovel in my Eyes. If an Angel from Heaven had told me 20 Years ago, that the Man I knew by the Name of Dictionary Johnson should one Day become Partner with me in a great Trade, & that we should jointly or separately sign Notes Draughts &c. for 3 or 4 Thousand Pounds of a Morning, how unlikely it would have seemed ever to happen!— unlikely is no Word tho’—it would have seemed incredible: neither of us then being worth a Groat God knows, & both as immeasurably removed from Commerce, as Birth Literature & Inclination could set us. Johnson however; who desires above all other Good the Accumulation of new Ideas, is but too happy with his present Employment; & the Influence I have over him added to his own solid Judgment and Regard for Truth, will at last find it in a small degree difficult to win him from the dirty Delight of seeing his Name in a new Character flaming away at the bottom of Bonds & Leases.
  Note	12 Oct 1781  [4]
  	Hester Thrale wrote in Thraliana… Yesterday was my Wedding Day; it was a melancholy thing to me to pass it without the Husband of my Youth.
  Note	11 Oct 1787  [4]
  	On their wedding anniversary, Hester wrote in Thraliana… Why do the people say I never loved my first husband? ’tos a very unjust conjecture. This day on which 24 years ago I was married to him never returns without bringing with it many a tender Remembrance: though ’twas on that Evening when we retired together that I was first alone with Mr. Thrale for five minutes in my whole life. Ours was a match of mere Prudence; and common good Liking, without the smallest Pretensions to passion on either Side: I knew no more of him than any other Gentleman who came to the House, nor did he ever profess other Attachment to me, than such as Esteem of my Character, & Convenience from my Fortune produced. I really had never past five whole Minutes Tête a Tête with him in my life till the Evening of our Wedding Day,—& he himself has said so a Thousand Times. yet God who gave us to each other, knows I did love him dearly; & what honour I can ever do to his Memory shall be done, for he was very generous to me.
  Residence	From January 1781 - March 1789	Grosvenor Square, Middlesex, England
  Note	21 Jul 1813
  	Queeney in a letter to Fanny Burney wrote … Do you know what my opinion is? that my mother hated my father. She loved him certainly, as everybody did, for his good qualities and his generosity; but she did not like him, nor any man in the world, well enough to desire to be alone with him.
  Children	+ 1. Hester Maria Thrale,   b. 17 Sep 1764, Southwark, Surrey, England d. 31 Mar 1857, Piccadilly, Middlesex, England (Age 92 years) m. Admiral George Keith, Elphinstone, GCB, 1st Viscount Keith (1808)   2. Frances Thrale,   b. 27 Sep 1765, Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England d. 6 Oct 1765, Southwark, Surrey, England (Age 0 years)   3. Henry Salusbury Thrale,   b. 15 Feb 1767, Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England d. 23 Mar 1776, Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England (Age 9 years)   4. Anna Maria Thrale,   b. 1 Apr 1768, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 21 Mar 1770, 24 Dean Street, Middlesex, England (Age 1 year)   5. Lucy Elizabeth Thrale,   b. 22 Jun 1769, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 22 Nov 1773, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England (Age 4 years)   6. Susannah Arabella Thrale,   b. 23 May 1770, Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England d. 5 Nov 1858, Knockholt, Kent, England (Age 88 years) m. William Frederick Wells (1796)   7. Reverend George Salusbury,   b. 1770   d. 1842 (Age 72 years)  [Father: Adopted]  [Mother: Adopted]   8. Sophia Thrale,   b. 23 Jul 1771, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 8 Nov 1824, Sandgate, Kent, England (Age 53 years) m. Henry Merrick Hoare (1807)   9. Penelope Thrale,   b. 15 Sep 1772, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 15 Sep 1772, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England (Age 0 years)   10. Ralph Thrale,   b. 8 Nov 1773, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 13 Jul 1775, 78 West Street, Brighton, Sussex, England (Age 1 year)   11. Frances Anna Thrale,   b. 4 May 1775, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 9 Dec 1775, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England (Age 0 years) + 12. Cecilia Margaretta Thrale,   b. 8 Feb 1777, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 1 May 1857, Brighton, Sussex, England (Age 80 years) m. John Meredith Mostyn (1795)   13. Henrietta Sophia Thrale,   b. 21 Jun 1778, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England d. 25 Apr 1783, Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England (Age 4 years)   14. (miscarried) Thrale,   b. 10 Aug 1779, Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England d. 10 Aug 1779, Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England (Age 0 years)
  Histories		Pets of Henry & Hester Thrale The Thrales' love of animals is evident in both their writings. The Thrales' pets including dogs, cats, birds, chickens, ducks, rabbits, an aviary (including canaries, finches, and parrots) and a monkey, were an important part of their family, and they brought them a great deal of joy.
  Family ID	F46	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	12 Jul 2024

  
  

  Family 2	Gabriel Mario Piozzi,   b. Bef 8 Jun 1740   d. 26 Mar 1809, Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales (Age 68 years)
  Note	1777
  	They first met at a party hosted by Dr. Charles Burney.
  Note	Jul 1780
  	Hester Lynch Piozzi wrote in Thraliana whilst in Brighton … I have picked up Piozzi here, the great Italian singer. He is amazingly like my father. He shall teach Hester.
  Note	8 Aug 1780
  	Hester wrote about Piozzi in Thraliana … Piozzi is become a prodigious Favourite with me; he is so intelligent a Creature, so discerning, one can’t help wishing for his good Opinion: his Singing surpasses every body’s for Taste, Tenderness and true Elegance; his Hand on the Forte Piano too is so soft, so sweet, so delicate, every Tone goes to one’s heart I think; and fills the Mind with Emotions one would not be without, though inconvenient enough sometimes—l made him sing yesterday, & tho’ he says his Voice is gone, I cannot some how or other get it out of my Ears,—odd enough! These were the Verses he sang to me: Amor—non sò che sia, Ma sò che è un Traditor; Cosa è la Gelosia? Non l’hò provato ancor. La Donna mi vien detto Fà molto Sospirar; Ed Io poveretto, Men’ voglio Innamorar. I instantly translated them for him and made him sing them in English thus all’ Improviso: For Love—I can’t abide it, The treacherous Rogue I know; Distrust!—I never tried it Whether t’would sting or no: For Flavia many Sighs are, Sent up by sad Despair: And yet poor Simple I Sir Am hasting to the Snare. Lady Shelley & I shall get him a pretty little Benefit, & he will have ten Guineas from me beside for teaching Hester to sing: his Journey to Brighthelmstone will be a lucky one, he has lost some of his Voice by relaxation,—the Sea will restore it.
  Note	1 Jan 1782
  	Hester wrote in Thraliana … My Life is every instant in Danger from the Apoplexy which has destroyed my whole Family, & now holds his Club over my Head. May it but strike the blow strong enough to procure my instant Dismission, not leave me stunned & stupefied: a Model of Misery & a Load upon my Successors! Disorders run in Blood I am convinced of it; My Grandfather, my Father—his three Brothers— my Son, all died in less than four Hours from their Seizure; and now my poor Self apparently of an Apoplectick Habit quite apparently; full, red, and Sanguineous. very odd! ay & very shocking! My Face is all over Pimples like a Drunkard,—twere better have a Hump-back.”; If nothing of all these Misfortunes however befall me, if for my Sins God should take from me my Monitor, my Friend, my Inmate, my Dear Mr Johnson; if neither I should marry, nor the Brewhouse People break; if the ruin of the Nation should not change the Situation of Affairs so that One could not receive regular Remittances from England: and if Piozzi should not pick him up a Wife, and fix his abode in this Country—If therefore & If, & If & If again— All should conspire to keep my present Resolution warm; I certainly would at the close of the four Years from the Sale of the Southwark Estate, set out for Italy with my two or three eldest Girls; and see what the World could shew me. I am now provided with an Italian Friend who would manage my Money Matters, facilitate my Continental amusements, & be faithful to my Interest: I would make it worth his while, & we should live happily together.
  Note	Oct 1782
  	Hester left Streatham Park for her Brighton home and Samuel Johnson followed her. After an argument with her eldest daughter Hester Maria Thrale, she returned to London and resolved to give up Piozzi.
  Note	20 September 1782 - 1 October 1782	Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England
  	Hester wrote of her dilemma as to whether she should marry Piozzi … Now! that little dear discerning Creature Fanny Burney says I’m in love with Piozzi—very likely! he is so amiable, so honourable, so much above his Situation by his Abilities, that if: Fate had’nt fast bound her With Styx nine Times round her Sure Musick & Love were victorious but if he is ever so worthy, ever so lovely, he is below me forsooth: in what is he below me? in Virtue—I would I were above him; in Understanding—I would mine were from this Instant under the Guardianship of his:—in Birth—to be sure he is below me in birth, & so is almost every Man I know, or have a Chance to know;—but he is below me in Fortune—is mine sufficient for us both? more than amply so. does he deserve it by his Conduct in which he has always united warm notions of Honour, with cool attention to Œconomy; the Spirit of a Gentleman with the Talents of a Professor? how shall any Man deserve Fortune if he does not? but I am the Guardian of five Daughters by Mr Thrale, and must not disgrace their Name & Family—Was then the Man my Mother chose for me[^6] of higher Extraction than him I have chosen for myself? No.—but his Fortune was higher—I wanted Fortune _then_perhaps, do I want it now? Not at all. but I am not to think about myself, I married the first Time to please my Mother, I must marry the second Time to please my Daughter—I have always sacrificed my own Choice to that of others, so I must sacrifice it again:—but why? Oh because I am a Woman of superior Understanding, & must not for the World degrade my self from my Situation in Life. but if I have superior Understanding, let me at least make use of it for once; & rise to the Rank of a human Being conscious of its own power to discern Good from ill—the person who has uniformly acted by the Will of others, has hardly that Dignity to boast, but once again I am Guardian to five Girls; agreed—will this Connection prejudice their Bodies, Souls, or Purse? my Marriage may assist my Health, but I suppose it will not injure theirs:—will his Company or Companions corrupt their Morals; God forbid, if I did not believe him one of the best of our Fellow Beings I would reject him instantly. Can it injure their Fortunes? and could he impoverish (if he would) five Women to whom their Father left 20,000£ each—independent almost of Possibilities? To what then am I Guardian? to their Pride and Prejudice? & is anything else affected by the Alliance? Now for more solid Objections. Is not the Man of whom I desire Protection a Foreigner? unskilled in the Laws and Language of our Country certainly. Is he not as the French say Arbitre de mon sort? & from the Hour he possesses my person & Fortune have I any power of decision how or where I may continue or end my Life? Is not the man upon the Continuance of whose Affection my whole Happiness depends—younger than myself,& is it wise to place one’s Happiness on the Continuance of any Man’ Affection?—would it not be painful to owe his appearance of Regard more to his Honour than his Love? & is not my Person already faded, likelier to fade soon than his? on the other hand is his Life a good. one? & would it not be Lunacy even to risque the Wretchedness of losing all Situation in the World for the sake of living with a Man one loves, and then to lose both Companion & Consolation. When I lost Mr Thrale, every one was officious to comfort & to soothe me: but which of my Children or quondam friends would look with Kindness upon Piozzi’s Widow? if I bring Children by him must they not be Catholicks, & must not I live among People, the ritual part of whose Religion I disapprove? These are my Objections, these my Fears: not those of being censured by the World as it is called—a Composition of Vice & Folly. though ’tis surely no good Joke to be talked of by each affected She that tells my Story and blesses her good Stars that She was prudent. These Objections would increase in Strength too, if my present State was a happy one. but it really is not: I live a quiet Life but not a pleasant one: My Children govern without loving me, my Servants devour & despise me, my Friends caress and censure me, my Money wastes in Expences I do not enjoy, and my Time in Trifles I do not approve, every one is made Insolent, & no one Comfortable, my Reputation unprotected, my Heart unsatisfied, my Health unsettled. I will however resolve on nothing, I will take a Voyage to to the Continent in Spring; enlarge my Knowledge, & repose my Purse: Change of Place may turn the Course of these Ideas, and external Objects supply the room of internal Felicity. If he follows me, I may reject or receive at Pleasure the Addresses of a Man who follows on no explicit Promise, nor much probability of Success, for I would really wish to marry no more without the Consent of my Children, (such I mean as are qualified to give their Opinions:) & how should Miss Thrale approve of my marrying Mr Piozzi? here then I rest, & will torment my Mind no longer, but commit myself as he advises to the Hand of Providence, & all will end all ’ottima Perfezzione[^8], & if I am blest with obtaining the Man—the only Man I could have loved, I verily believe it will be only because the Almighty will not leave such Virtue as his—unrewarded.
  Note	Jan 1783	Bath, Somerset, England
  	Hester told Piozzi that they must part. Hester retired to her home in Bath.
  Note	8 May 1783
  	Piozzi left for Italy.
  Note	Jun 1784
  	Her daughters, on seeing that Hester’s health was affected, consented to the recall of Piozzi from Italy.
  Note	2 Jul 1784
  	Hester wrote in Thraliana … The happiest Day of my whole Life I think - Yes, quite the happiest; my Piozzi came home Yesterday & dined with me: but my Spirits were too much agitated, my Heart too much dilated, I was too painfully happy then, my Sensations are more quiet to day, & my Felicity less tumultuous. I have spent the Night as I ought in Prayer & Than[k]sgiving—Could I have slept I had not deserved such Blessings. May the Almighty but preserve them to me! He lodges at our old House on the 14 South Parade: his Companion Mecci is a faithless treacherous Fellow—but no matter! Tis all over now.
  Marriage	23 Jul 1784
  	Type: Catholic ceremony
  	Agency: Spanish or French embassy chapel
  Alt. Marriage	25 Jul 1784	Bath, Somerset, England
  	Church of England ceremony.
  Note	25 Jul 1784	Bath, Somerset, England
  	Hester wrote in Thraliana … I am returned from church the happy wife of my lovely, my faithful Piozzi:— Subject of my Prayers, Object of my Wishes, my Sighs, my Reverence, my Esteem. His nerves have been horribly shaken; but he lives, he loves me and will be mine for ever. He has sworne it in the Face. of God & the whole Xstian Church: Catholicks, Protestants, all are Witnesses: may he who has preserved us thus long for each other give us a long Life together & so I hope & trust he will thro’ the Merits of Jesus Christ Amen.
  Note	Aug 1784
  	Following the wedding, Hester was cut off by most friends and relations, except the late Henry’s dearest friend Arthur Murphy. To marry a foreigner and a Roman Catholic was unacceptable in society at that time. Queeney (aged 20) refused to recognise her mother's second husband, and shut herself up in a house at Brighton with a nurse, 'Tib' or 'Tibson'. The two younger sisters, who were at school, lived afterwards with Queeney.
  Note	4 Sep 1784	Italy
  	Hester and Gabriel left for Italy where they spent the winters in Milan and the summers in Florence. Only their youngest daughter, Cecilia Margaretta travelled with them to Italy, where Hester made friends with Robert Merry (1755-1798) and contributed to the Florence Miscellany.
  Residence	1785	St. Michael's Hill, Bristol, England
  	After moving out of their Hanover Square house, Hester Piozzi and her husband Gabriel Piozzi moved to Bristol, in 1785. They resided in a house on St. Michael's Hill, overlooking the city and the River Avon.
  Residence	Mar 1787	Hanover Square, Middlesex, England
  	After their return from Italy in March 1787 Hester and Gabriel Piozzi briefly rented Hanover Square House in fashionable Hanover Square, London.
  Residence	Apr 1787	Lower Grosvenor Square, Middlesex, England
  	Address: 30 Lower Grosvenor Square
  Residence	1782 - Apr 1790	Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England
  Note	28 Jul 1790	Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England
  		Hester and Gabriel Piozzi's seventh anniversary party At Streatham Park on 28 July 1790
  Residence	1795	Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales
  	They took up residence at Brynbella - a country mansion they built in North Wales on Hester’s Bach-y-Graig estate. They spent most winters in Bath.
  Note	25 Jul 1803	Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales
  	Hester wrote in Thraliana of her wedding anniversary with Piozzi. Accept my Love this honest Lay Upon your Twentieth Wedding Day I little hop'd our Lives would stay To hail the Twentieth Wedding Day. If you're grown Gouty — I grown Gray Upon our Twentieth Wedding day— Tis no great Wonder;—Friends must say ““Why tis their Twentieth Wedding Day.”” Perhaps there's few feel less Decay Upon a Twentieth Wedding day: And many of those who used to pay Their Court upon our Wedding Day, Have melted off, and died away Before our Twentieth Wedding Day. Those Places too, which once so gay, Bore Witness to our Wedding Day; Florence and Milan blythe as May Marauding French have made their Prey.† The World itself’s in no good Way, On this our Twentieth Wedding Day. If then—of Gratitude one Ray Illuminates our Wedding Day, Think midst the Wars and wild Affray That rage around this Wedding day, What Mercy 'tis—we are spar'd to say We have seen our Twentieth Wedding-day. † The French Revolution was takening place when this poem was written.
  Residence	Apr 1809	Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales
  	After Piozzi's death, Hester and her adopted son, John, remained at Brynbella for five more years until he married Harriet Maria Pemberton of Ryton Grove Shropshire on 7 November 1814. Hester then left John the whole of her Welsh estate, and she retired to Bath, where she took temporary lodgings in New King Street, before taking permanent residence at 8 Gay Street, Bath.
  Residence	1795 - 1828	Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England
  Notes	The adoption of Sir John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury aged 5 (1798) was precipitated by being driven from his home by Napoleon's invasion of Italian Milanese territory (mid-1796). After adoption, on seeing sheep heads at a market in England, the child retold how he saw a basket of human heads in Bresica, France.
  Children	+ 1. Sir John Salusbury Piozzi Salusbury,   b. 9 Sep 1793   d. 18 Dec 1858, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England (Age 65 years)  [Father: Adopted]  [Mother: Adopted] m. Harriet Maria Pemberton (1814)   2. (miscarried daughter) Piozzi,   b. 7 Jan 1788   d. Yes, date unknown
  Family ID	F52	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	13 Jul 2024

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 16 Jan 1741 - Bodvel, Caernarvonshire, Wales School - Mrs Stevens' School. She was skilled in language reading: Latin French; Italian; and Spanish. Edward Mangin also attributes her as knowing Greek. At the age of just fifteen, she had written papers in the St James’s Chronicle. She read literature, could quote aptly, and put knowledge as well as playful life into her conversation. She is best known for her letters but also wrote prose, verse and books. After 1752 she celebrated her birthday on 27 January, to reflect the addition of eleven days to the calendar following the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar. - Between 1754 to 1756 - Queens Square, Middlesex, England Note - Henry was invited to Offley Place by Hester’s uncle, Judge Sir Thomas Salusbury and was introduced to Hester Thrale who was aged 20 or 21. Henry was a solid respectable man who was kindly towards Hester and she wrote that Henry was … Nearly the handsomest man in England. However, she did not want to marry him. Hester appealed to her father upon his return. John Salusbury had no intention of marrying his daughter to Henry, as Henry's father and grandfather had lived in the cottage now being used by his brother, Sir Thomas Salusbury as a dog kennel. John Salusbury quarrelled with his brother Sir Thomas and took his wife and daughter to London. Sir Thomas proposed their marriage whilst her father was away in Ireland with George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, President of the Board of Trade. This was agreed by her mother after uncle Sir Thomas promised to make a settlement in her favour of £5,000 if Hester married Henry. - 1762 - Offley, Hertfordshire, England Marriage - 11 Oct 1763 - Saint Anne's Church, Soho, Middlesex, England Land - Estate inherited on the death of her mother. - 18 Jun 1773 - Bodvel, Caernarvonshire, Wales Land - Inherited on the death of her mother. - 18 Jun 1773 - Bach-y-Craig, Denbighshire, Wales Land - Inherited on the death of her mother. - 18 Jun 1773 - Bachymbyd Hall, Denbighshire, Wales Land - Inherited on the death of her mother. After Hester's death in 1821, the estate was sold to Robert Lloyd in 1824 for £24,000. - 18 Jun 1773 - Lleweni Hall, Denbigh, Denbighshire, Wales Note - From July to September 1774, Dr. Samuel Johnson and the Thrales toured North Wales. For Hester Thrale, the journey was personally significant, revealing cultural tensions with Johnson and influencing her writing. Johnson kept a diary which has since been published. - Jul 1774 - Wales Note - 14 Sept 1775 - Paris, Île-de-France, France Land - Estate purchased for £6,000. - 1776 - Bronwylfa, Denbighshire, Wales Property - Inherited from her late husband henry Thrale. - 1781 - 78 West Street, Brighton, Sussex, England Property - Sale of brewery inherited from husband - 31 May 1781 - Anchor Brewery, Southwark, Surrey, England Residence - After Henry Thrale’s death, Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury rented a house in Harley Street between January and March 1782, where she lived with her daughters. The house was too small to accommodate Samuel Johnson. On 4 January 1782, Hester Thrale wrote in Thraliana … I have taken a house in harley street for these three months next ensuing, & hope to have some society–not company tho’; crouds are out of the question, but people will not come hither on short days, & ‘tis too dull to live all alone so. the world will watch me at first, & think i come o’ husband hunting for myself or my fair daughter: but when i have behaved prettily for a while, they will change their mind. - 4 Jan 1782 - Harley Street, Middlesex, England Note - Hester wrote of her dilemma as to whether she should marry Piozzi … Now! that little dear discerning Creature Fanny Burney says I’m in love with Piozzi—very likely! he is so amiable, so honourable, so much above his Situation by his Abilities, that if: Fate had’nt fast bound her With Styx nine Times round her Sure Musick & Love were victorious but if he is ever so worthy, ever so lovely, he is below me forsooth: in what is he below me? in Virtue—I would I were above him; in Understanding—I would mine were from this Instant under the Guardianship of his:—in Birth—to be sure he is below me in birth, & so is almost every Man I know, or have a Chance to know;—but he is below me in Fortune—is mine sufficient for us both? more than amply so. does he deserve it by his Conduct in which he has always united warm notions of Honour, with cool attention to Œconomy; the Spirit of a Gentleman with the Talents of a Professor? how shall any Man deserve Fortune if he does not? but I am the Guardian of five Daughters by Mr Thrale, and must not disgrace their Name & Family—Was then the Man my Mother chose for me[^6] of higher Extraction than him I have chosen for myself? No.—but his Fortune was higher—I wanted Fortune _then_perhaps, do I want it now? Not at all. but I am not to think about myself, I married the first Time to please my Mother, I must marry the second Time to please my Daughter—I have always sacrificed my own Choice to that of others, so I must sacrifice it again:—but why? Oh because I am a Woman of superior Understanding, & must not for the World degrade my self from my Situation in Life. but if I have superior Understanding, let me at least make use of it for once; & rise to the Rank of a human Being conscious of its own power to discern Good from ill—the person who has uniformly acted by the Will of others, has hardly that Dignity to boast, but once again I am Guardian to five Girls; agreed—will this Connection prejudice their Bodies, Souls, or Purse? my Marriage may assist my Health, but I suppose it will not injure theirs:—will his Company or Companions corrupt their Morals; God forbid, if I did not believe him one of the best of our Fellow Beings I would reject him instantly. Can it injure their Fortunes? and could he impoverish (if he would) five Women to whom their Father left 20,000£ each—independent almost of Possibilities? To what then am I Guardian? to their Pride and Prejudice? & is anything else affected by the Alliance? Now for more solid Objections. Is not the Man of whom I desire Protection a Foreigner? unskilled in the Laws and Language of our Country certainly. Is he not as the French say Arbitre de mon sort? & from the Hour he possesses my person & Fortune have I any power of decision how or where I may continue or end my Life? Is not the man upon the Continuance of whose Affection my whole Happiness depends—younger than myself,& is it wise to place one’s Happiness on the Continuance of any Man’ Affection?—would it not be painful to owe his appearance of Regard more to his Honour than his Love? & is not my Person already faded, likelier to fade soon than his? on the other hand is his Life a good. one? & would it not be Lunacy even to risque the Wretchedness of losing all Situation in the World for the sake of living with a Man one loves, and then to lose both Companion & Consolation. When I lost Mr Thrale, every one was officious to comfort & to soothe me: but which of my Children or quondam friends would look with Kindness upon Piozzi’s Widow? if I bring Children by him must they not be Catholicks, & must not I live among People, the ritual part of whose Religion I disapprove? These are my Objections, these my Fears: not those of being censured by the World as it is called—a Composition of Vice & Folly. though ’tis surely no good Joke to be talked of by each affected She that tells my Story and blesses her good Stars that She was prudent. These Objections would increase in Strength too, if my present State was a happy one. but it really is not: I live a quiet Life but not a pleasant one: My Children govern without loving me, my Servants devour & despise me, my Friends caress and censure me, my Money wastes in Expences I do not enjoy, and my Time in Trifles I do not approve, every one is made Insolent, & no one Comfortable, my Reputation unprotected, my Heart unsatisfied, my Health unsettled. I will however resolve on nothing, I will take a Voyage to to the Continent in Spring; enlarge my Knowledge, & repose my Purse: Change of Place may turn the Course of these Ideas, and external Objects supply the room of internal Felicity. If he follows me, I may reject or receive at Pleasure the Addresses of a Man who follows on no explicit Promise, nor much probability of Success, for I would really wish to marry no more without the Consent of my Children, (such I mean as are qualified to give their Opinions:) & how should Miss Thrale approve of my marrying Mr Piozzi? here then I rest, & will torment my Mind no longer, but commit myself as he advises to the Hand of Providence, & all will end all ’ottima Perfezzione[^8], & if I am blest with obtaining the Man—the only Man I could have loved, I verily believe it will be only because the Almighty will not leave such Virtue as his—unrewarded. - 20 September 1782 - 1 October 1782 - Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England Note - Hester told Piozzi that they must part. Hester retired to her home in Bath. - Jan 1783 - Bath, Somerset, England Alt. Marriage - Church of England ceremony. - 25 Jul 1784 - Bath, Somerset, England Note - Hester wrote in Thraliana … I am returned from church the happy wife of my lovely, my faithful Piozzi:— Subject of my Prayers, Object of my Wishes, my Sighs, my Reverence, my Esteem. His nerves have been horribly shaken; but he lives, he loves me and will be mine for ever. He has sworne it in the Face. of God & the whole Xstian Church: Catholicks, Protestants, all are Witnesses: may he who has preserved us thus long for each other give us a long Life together & so I hope & trust he will thro’ the Merits of Jesus Christ Amen. - 25 Jul 1784 - Bath, Somerset, England Residence - After moving out of their Hanover Square house, Hester Piozzi and her husband Gabriel Piozzi moved to Bristol, in 1785. They resided in a house on St. Michael's Hill, overlooking the city and the River Avon. - 1785 - St. Michael's Hill, Bristol, England Residence - After their return from Italy in March 1787 Hester and Gabriel Piozzi briefly rented Hanover Square House in fashionable Hanover Square, London. - Mar 1787 - Hanover Square, Middlesex, England   Residence - Address: 30 Lower Grosvenor Square - Apr 1787 - Lower Grosvenor Square, Middlesex, England Residence - From January 1781 - March 1789 - Grosvenor Square, Middlesex, England Residence - 1782 - Apr 1790 - Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England Note - 28 Jul 1790 - Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England Residence - They took up residence at Brynbella - a country mansion they built in North Wales on Hester’s Bach-y-Graig estate. They spent most winters in Bath. - 1795 - Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales Note - Hester wrote in Thraliana of her wedding anniversary with Piozzi. Accept my Love this honest Lay Upon your Twentieth Wedding Day I little hop'd our Lives would stay To hail the Twentieth Wedding Day. If you're grown Gouty — I grown Gray Upon our Twentieth Wedding day— Tis no great Wonder;—Friends must say ““Why tis their Twentieth Wedding Day.”” Perhaps there's few feel less Decay Upon a Twentieth Wedding day: And many of those who used to pay Their Court upon our Wedding Day, Have melted off, and died away Before our Twentieth Wedding Day. Those Places too, which once so gay, Bore Witness to our Wedding Day; Florence and Milan blythe as May Marauding French have made their Prey.† The World itself’s in no good Way, On this our Twentieth Wedding Day. If then—of Gratitude one Ray Illuminates our Wedding Day, Think midst the Wars and wild Affray That rage around this Wedding day, What Mercy 'tis—we are spar'd to say We have seen our Twentieth Wedding-day. † The French Revolution was takening place when this poem was written. - 25 Jul 1803 - Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales Note - On her 63rd birthday she wrote in Thraliana … My Birthday—Grand Climacteric,—kept very I chearfully: thank God; & all the little Children of the Village & Cottages in our Parish to the amount of 60 as I remember, came & eat Plumb Pudden, 40 very good Girls & Boys, had 6d each for singing & saying their Catechism so well. & Mr Roberts made some affecting Verses celebrating their Benefactress’s Birthday &c—all very comfortable, very happy indeed. - 27 Jan 1804 - Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales Residence - After Piozzi's death, Hester and her adopted son, John, remained at Brynbella for five more years until he married Harriet Maria Pemberton of Ryton Grove Shropshire on 7 November 1814. Hester then left John the whole of her Welsh estate, and she retired to Bath, where she took temporary lodgings in New King Street, before taking permanent residence at 8 Gay Street, Bath. - Apr 1809 - Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales Residence - Hester Lynch Piozzi née Salusbury rented a house at Regent Terrace, Penzance. She went to Penzance to try to improve her health, which had been declining. She also wanted to be closer to her friend, the writer Maria Edgeworth, who lived in nearby Chagford, Devon. She enjoyed her time in Penzance. She went for walks along the coast, visited the local market, and attended social gatherings. She also continued to write her diary and letters. She found the weather to be too windy and the cost of living to be high. She also missed her friends and family in Bath. She wrote of her time in Penzance … Penzance is a pretty town, with a great deal of company, and the sea all round it. The walks are delightful, and the views enchanting. I am very much pleased with the place. - Aug 1820 - Regent Terrace, Penzance, Cornwall, England Death - Address: 20 Sion Hill - 2 May 1821 - Clifton, Gloucestershire, England Burial - 16 May 1821 - Church of Corpus Christi, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales Property - - Brynbella, Tremeirchion, Flintshire, Wales Publication - Thraliana - The diary of Mrs Hester Lynch Thrale (later Mrs Piozzi) - - London, England Residence - 1795 - 1828 - Streatham Park, Streatham, Surrey, England  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		Hester Lynch Thrale by James Sharples Painted between 1779 & 1794.
  		Dr Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds Taking Tea with Mrs Thrale By Edward Matthew Ward 1848 (1816–1879).
  		'Brewery House', 2024. 21-23 Park Street Southwark, London.

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		Johnson’s Ghost by James Sayers Etching, published 7 April 1788 by Thomas Cornell.
  		'The biographers' by James Sayers, published by Thomas Cornell etching, published June 1786 10 3/4 in. x 7 5/8 in. (273 mm x 194 mm) plate size; 11 5/8 in. x 8 3/8 in. (295 mm x 214 mm) paper size
  		An entertainment in Vauxhall Gardens by Thomas Rowlandson in 1784 The box in the bottom left of the image depicts a supper box at a concert containing: James Boswell; Hester Lynch Thrale; Dr. Samuel Johnson; and Oliver Goldsmith.

  
  

  Histories » Slide Show		The Hertfordshire Descent of Henry Thrale J.H. Busby.Notes and Queries, p.495-498. 13 November 1948.
  		Thraliana (1776-1800) The diary of Mrs. Hester Lynch Thrale (later Mrs. Piozzi) 1776-1809
  		Henry & Hester's friends and acquaintences Friends and guests of Henry Thrale and Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury (in alphabetical surname order)
  		Henry Thrale's will Henry Thrale died on 4 April 1781 between 5 am and 6 am. The will, dated 17 March 1781, was read by the male executors on 5 April 1781. his wife, Hester, was later informed of its provisions by Samuel Johnson. Executors Dr. Samuel Johnson; Henry Smith; Jeremiah Crutchley; John Cator M.P.1; and Hester Lynch Thrale.
  		Henry Thrale's parliamentary career His political view, electoral addresses and results.
  		Dr. Samuel Johnson's close friendship with the Thrale family. Samuel Johnson’s close friendship with Henry and Hester Thrale began in 1765, declined in 1781 after Henry’s death and mostly ended 1784 just before Hester married Gabriel Piozzi.
  		Streatham Park library and the Streatham Worthies
  		Hester Piozzi's London residences (1804). Written by Hester Piozzi on 25 June 1804.
  		According to Queeney (2001). According to Queeney is a ‘faction’ account of Hester Maria Thrale by Beryl Bainbridge, published in 2001. This is my contemporary account of discovering the book and the book itself.
  		According to Beryl (2001). On 6 October 2001, BBC Television broadcast 'According to Beryl'. Their hour-long account of the family arrangement enjoyed by Samuel Johnson and the Thrale family of Streatham seen through the eyes of Beryl Bainbridge, author of the book on the same subject, According to Queeney.
  		A New Thraliana (1973) A chronicle of the Thrale family of Hertfordshire by Richard William Thrale (1931-2007), building on the Thrale chapter from the 1952 book Historic Sandridge. Reproduced in full with consent of the author.

  
  

  Their works » Slide Show		Verses "Charade" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "Against drinking" by Hester Lynch Thrale.
  		Verses "Political Alphabet" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verse "That Sting Has None" by Hester Lynch Thrale.
  		Verses "On the Loss of a Friend" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "Youth" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "Robin Redbreast" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "Bathing" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Quotation "Business Women" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "The Dean of Derry" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "Sonetto dal Povoleri alla Sigra Thrale" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "Dover" by Hester Lynch Thrale
  		Verses "Streatham" by Sophia Thrale aged 7. With added lines by her mother, Hester Lynch Thrale.
  		Verses "Offley Park" by Hester Lynch Thrale. A 1761 poem by Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury from her Thraliana entry dated June 1777, in which she laments being disinherited of Offley Place by her uncle Sir Thomas Salusbury. She describes the beauty and tranquillity of Offley Park, in Hertfordshire. The poem reflects on the natural scenery, the park’s landscape and the pleasures of rural life.
  		Verses "D'un amato & fido Cuore" by Hester Lynch Thrale Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury wrote alternative lyrics to Sacchini’s Song of Torna pure al carobene in 1787. The poem is about the pain of being separated from a loved one. The speaker describes how her heart “languishes” and “palpitates” in the absence of her beloved. She compares the pain to “affanno” (shortness of breath) and “fatica” (fatigue). The only thing that can soothe her pain is the thought of being reunited with her beloved.
  		Verses "Fall of the Great Ash Tree" by Hester Lynch Thrale. 1760 verses by Hester Lynch Thrale née Salusbury about the fall of the Great Ash Tree in Offley Park in 1760.
  		Songs exchanged by Hester Lynch Thrale and Herbert Lawrence. In 1777-8 Hester Lynch Thrale’s account of: the song written by Herbert Lawrence in her praise; her earlier admiration of him; their estrangement due to his behaviour after the sudden death of her 10-year-old son; and her song in reply.
  		Verses "The Two Signs" by Hester Lynch Thrale Hester Thrale wrote in Thraliana and published in Public Advertiser 7 July 1779.
  		Verses "Hagley" by Hester Lynch Thrale. Written in 1776.
  		Verses "My Dear Flo" by Hester Lynch Salusbury Written by Hester Lynch Thrale. Thraliana entry dated 1 September 1797.
  		Verses "To a Lady on April Fool Day" Hester Lynch Salusbury Written on 1 April 1758. Thraliana entry dated June 1777.
  		Verses "Lady with an English watch" by Hester Lynch Thrale Written by Hester Lynch Thrale. Thraliana entry dated 21 January 1782.

  
  

• Sources

  [S48] James L Clifford, Hester Lynch Piozzi (Mrs Thrale), (1987 ISBN 0-231-06389-X), 8 (Reliability: 4). [S48] James L Clifford, Hester Lynch Piozzi (Mrs Thrale), (1987 ISBN 0-231-06389-X), 457 (Reliability: 4). [S16] Gentleman's Magazine, October 1763 (Reliability: 3). [S40] Katherine C Balderston, Thraliana, (Oxford University Press 1951).