Early Life and Family Background
Esther Beuzeville Copley was born in Hackney, London, on 10 May 1786 and was baptised in the Church of St. Jean, Spitalfields. She was born into a family of French Huguenot descent. Her family lines were Beuzeville, Roussel, and Guillemard, all originating from Upper Normandy in the towns of Bolbec and Lillebonne.
Her earliest known ancestor was Jehan Gobelin of Rheims, a dyer of wool who settled in Paris about 1450 and established a manufactory on the Bièvre River in what later became the suburb of Gobelins. The Gobelin manufactory later became associated with the famous tapestry works purchased by King Louis XIV.
Esther was the youngest daughter of Peter and Mary Beuzeville (née Meredith), who were first cousins. Her father was a silk manufacturer connected with the thriving weaving community of Spitalfields, and the family lived at Hackney.
In 1789, when Esther was about three years old, the family moved to Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. Peter continued his silk manufacturing business in Spitalfields while maintaining a town house in Hackney where he lived with Bridget, who acted as his housekeeper. In 1793 the family returned to Hackney.
Esther later attended a French boarding school at Mile End where her two sisters had previously been pupils. At that time the school was conducted by Mrs. Lepine and later by her daughter. Mrs. Lepine was a sister of John Curtis Byles, who in 1796 married Bridget Beuzeville, Esther’s eldest sister.
In 1797 Peter and Mary Beuzeville moved with their daughters Marianne and Esther, then eleven years old, to Henley-on-Thames. Very little is known of Esther’s life during the following years. It is likely that she met her future husband, James Philip Hewlett, at the wedding of his brother William Hewlett to Elizabeth Griffith Meredith, Esther’s cousin, in 1803.
Marriage to Rev. James Philip Hewlett
James Philip Hewlett was born in Oxford on 16 February 1780. He was educated at the Choir School of New College and later obtained an MA from Oxford. He served as curate at St. Aldates Church and ministered in Magdalen Chapel, New Chapel, the Oxford prison, and the workhouse.
Esther Beuzeville and James Philip Hewlett were married on 15 April 1809 in the Church of St. Mary, Henley-on-Thames.
The couple settled in Oxford, where James served as curate of St. Aldates and chaplain to New College and Magdalen College. Their home stood in St. Aldate’s Street near Brewer Street and close to Folly Bridge. The house belonged to the Warden and Scholars of New College and is identified in New College archive number 2411.
The marriage produced five children: James Philip Hewlett, Ebenezer Beuzeville Hewlett, Emma Hewlett, Theophilus Peter Norris Hewlett, and Esther Beuzeville Hewlett.
Although her husband was an Anglican clergyman, Esther retained her Nonconformist convictions and worshipped at the Baptist chapel in Oxford. This independence of mind suggests a woman of strong will and firm religious commitment.
Widowhood and the Beginning of Her Writing Career
James Philip Hewlett died on 15 March 1820 and was buried beneath the chancel of St. Aldates Church. His death left Esther with five young children and little financial security.
Esther had begun writing before the death of her husband, but after 1820 she took up writing seriously as a means of support. Over the course of her life she produced more than one hundred books, tracts, and articles. These included works on domestic economy, stories for children, textbooks, sacred history, biography, and moral instruction.
In early nineteenth-century England the prevailing ideology held that women were morally superior but socially subordinate to men. A typical middle-class woman was expected to devote herself to marriage and family life, serving as guardian of the home and nurturer of the moral life of her children rather than pursuing education or a profession. Nonconformist churches reinforced these values, emphasising the centrality of domestic life within religious practice.
A Prolific and Influential Author
One of Esther’s most successful books was Cottage Comforts, first published in 1825. By 1864 it had reached its twenty-fourth edition. Written for working families, it offered practical guidance on household management, childbirth, illness, hygiene, animal husbandry, the care and education of children, renting and furnishing a cottage, brewing, and cookery. In spirit it combines something of both Mrs. Beeton and Dr. Spock, presenting practical advice in a clear and forthright manner.
Other works in a similar vein included The Housekeeper’s Guide, The Lads of the Factory, and Mother’s First Lesson Book, designed to help mothers teach basic literacy and numeracy to young children. She also wrote Female Excellence, a treatise addressed to young women, and The Comprehensive Knitting Book (1849), which contained more than one hundred knitting patterns including lace, beadwork, curtains, bell pulls, caps, jackets, stockings, cuffs, hoods, shawls, quilts, and many other items.
Throughout her writing Esther demonstrated a genuine concern for the welfare of working people and sought in practical ways to improve their lives.
She also wrote fiction intended to convey moral and religious principles. Among these works were William Barlow (1822), The Old Man’s Head (1823), The Poplar Grove, and Early Friendships. She wrote Scripture History for Youth as well as a religious tract titled Covetousness: Its Prevalence, Evils and Cure.
Perhaps her most important historical work was A History of Slavery and its Abolition (1836). In this book Esther traced the history of slavery from biblical times to the nineteenth century and argued that slavery arose from the moral depravity of humanity. She described the suffering of enslaved people in the West Indies and drew parallels between slavery and the apprenticeship system then operating in Britain. Her condemnation of the conditions endured by apprentices was direct and forceful. The book was later republished in the United States during the 1960s by the Negro History Press.
Esther’s writing also reflected her Protestant and Huguenot heritage. One of her later works, Papal Errors: Their Rise and Progress (1851), examined the history of religious persecution and included discussion of events such as the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography includes an entry for Esther Copley, recognising her contribution to literature and social thought in nineteenth-century Britain.
Marriage to Rev. William Copley
On 16 August 1827 Esther married William Copley, minister of the Oxford Baptist Church. According to family notes written by Emma Mary Byles, William Copley had been a determined suitor and Esther had initially refused his proposals several times. It was said that he threatened to drown himself unless she agreed to marry him. Esther later told her daughters that one reason she consented was her hope of having more children, though this did not eventuate.
William Copley struggled with alcoholism, and Esther spent many years protecting him from the consequences of his behaviour. She is reputed to have written his sermons, roused him on Sunday mornings, and ensured that he appeared presentable when he arrived at the chapel to preach.
The couple spent some time at St. Helier in the Isle of Jersey before William Copley accepted a call in 1839 to the Baptist church in Eythorne, Kent. His induction took place on 3 April 1839 with a salary of thirty pounds per quarter. The family lived at Copley House, a substantial Georgian residence in the centre of the village.
Difficulties soon arose within the church. Records indicate that William Copley offended the congregation gravely and resigned in August 1842. The precise nature of the charges is unknown, though church records suggest that his confession did not satisfy those who confronted him. He was subsequently suspended from participation in the Lord’s Table.
An amicable separation was later arranged between William and Esther. She remained in Eythorne while William moved to serve a church at Blakeney near his childhood home.
Final Years in Eythorne
By this time Esther’s daughter Emma, married to George Eliel Sargent, had also settled in Eythorne, as had her son Ebenezer Beuzeville Hewlett and his wife Mary.
On 5 April 1844 Esther withdrew her membership from the Eythorne Baptist Church, a decision recorded in the church minutes as being “contrary to the rules of the church and much to be deplored.” Despite this, she continued to be held in high regard by members and adherents of the congregation.
In her later years Esther lived with her daughter Emma and son-in-law George Sargent at Church Hill House in Eythorne. She died there on 17 July 1851 after a long illness caused by tuberculosis. It is believed that her condition worsened after she caught a chill while helping a family in need.
Esther Copley is buried in the churchyard of Eythorne Baptist Church near the entrance to the chapel. Nearby lie the graves of her son Ebenezer and of her daughter Emma and her husband George Eliel Sargent.
Her life was marked by both hardship and remarkable productivity. Through her writing she sought to offer practical help, moral instruction, and spiritual encouragement to readers from many different walks of life.