Anna Maria Woodforde known as "Nancy"' (8 March 1757 – 13 January 1830) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

housekeeper and diarist.

Life

Woodforde was born in Alhampton Court in

Ditcheat Ditcheat is a village and civil parish south of Shepton Mallet, and north-west of Castle Cary, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. Besides the village, the parish has four hamlets: Wraxall, Lower Wraxall, Alhampton and Sutton. History ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, in 1757. In 1780 she was taken in by her uncle as a companion and housekeeper. She was single and she was grateful for this opportunity to live in

Weston Longville Weston Longville is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, approximately north-west of Norwich. Its name is derived from the Manor of Longaville in Normandy, France, which owned the local land in the 12th century. It covers an area ...

. Her uncle,

James Woodforde James Woodforde (1740–1803) was an English clergyman, mainly in Somerset and Norfolk, remembered as the author of ''The Diary of a Country Parson''. This vivid account of parish life remained unpublished until the 20th century. Early life Ja ...

was a cleric who was to achieve fame posthumously when his edited diary was published as "The Diary of a Country Parson". In the diary he refers to her as "Nancy" but switches to "Miss Woodforde" as she gets older and their relationship becomes less friendly. She is remembered for her correspondence and because she too produced a detailed diary for the year of 1792. She looked after her uncle until his death is 1803. She died in 1830. Woodforde died in

Castle Cary Castle Cary () is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet, at the foot of Lodge Hill and on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett. History The word Cary derives fr ...

in 1830 and her death was reported in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

''. Her papers including some verse and her accounts are in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

References

1757 births 1830 deaths Women diarists English diarists People from Somerset {{England-writer-stub