Mary Speke (née Pye) (c. 1625 – 1697) 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 ...

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

patron and political activist. She lived in Somerset in a non-conformist family. She was credited with changing her husband's political opinions and the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

reported her to the Secretary of State as "the most dangerous woman in the West".

Life

Speke was born as Mary Pye. Her parents were Mary (born Croker) and Sir Robert Pye of

Faringdon Faringdon is a historic market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, south-west of Oxford, north-west of Wantage and east-north-east of Swindon. It extends to the River Thames in the north; the highest ground is on the Rid ...

in Berkshire, who was an Auditor of the Receipt of the Exchequer. Her elder brother and her father's heir Robert Pye was a parliamentarian. Speke may have been baptised on 10 November 1625. She married

George Speke George Speke (1623–1689) was an English politician. A Royalist during the English Civil War, after the Restoration of Charles II he became an early Whig supporter in Parliament. Life Speke was from Whitelackington, near Ilminster in Somerse ...

on 21 May 1641. They lived at

Whitelackington Whitelackington is a village and civil parish on the A303 one mile north east of Ilminster, in Somerset, England. The parish includes Dillington Park and the hamlets of Atherstone and Ashwell. Etymology The village's name is from Old English an ...

in Somerset. Her husband's switch from Royalist to supporter of the emerging Whig Party has been attributed to her. Their youngest daughter Philip married the politician John Trenchard. There were nine children of Mary and George's marriage, of whom three died at a young age and five became political followers of their parents, including

Hugh Speke Hugh Speke (1656 – c. 1724) was an English writer and agitator. Life He was a son of George and Mary Speke of Whitelackington, Somerset. His father was a member of the Green Ribbon Club, the Whig organization founded in 1675, and was a support ...

. Mary appears to have made a particular enemy of

Peter Mews Peter Mews (25 March 1619 – 9 November 1706) was an English Royalist theologian and bishop. He was a captain captured at Naseby and he later had discussions in Scotland for the Royalist cause. Later made a Bishop he would report on non-confor ...

who was the

. He saw it as his role to report on the non-conformist well-to-do families in his diocese. He gave the Speke family particular attention and focused on Mary. It is unknown why he singled out Mary when other members of her family were in contact with known rebels and her husband was known for openly insulting the King and Queen. The bishop told Secretary of State

Leoline Jenkins Sir Leoline Jenkins (1625 – 1 September 1685) was a Welsh academic, diplomat involved in the negotiation of international treaties (e.g. Nimègue), jurist and politician. He was a clerical lawyer who served as Judge of the High Court of Admi ...

that "there is not a more dangerous woman in the West" in July 1683 and warned him that she was then in London. She was considered responsible for organising

conventicle A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...

s and encouraging dissent across the West Country. She was arrested several times, possibly because the authorities were suspicious of her frequent trips to London and her correspondence with other dissenters. Her reputation was similar to that of Elizabeth Gaunt who was burnt in 1685, but Gaunt was a shopkeeper whereas Speke was well connected. Her fourth son, Charles, was executed after

Monmouth's Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

in 1685; the rest of the family were pardoned after a payment of £5,000. Speke died in 1697.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speke, Mary 1620s births 1697 deaths English political people People from Somerset 17th-century English women