Mary Hyett Lidgett

  General Notes:

Her father, of a seafaring family, was a man of strong character and sturdy piety, who as a young man had found peace in God among the Methodists of Hull. Her mother, née Ann Hyett, a strong character that stamped her personality on all Lidgett descendants, had also converted to Methodism. She was of Huguenot ancestry. Her eldest sister married a Mr. Budgett of Bristol. Mary Hyett Lidgett herself was a trim austere woman but eager, resourceful and spirited, these not being qualities expected in girls. Although not conspicuous in the public eye, she was one of the most remarkable women of her time, inspired by Christian faith. She was intolerant of indolence. She originally met Percy with his sister walking in the Wengern Alp in Switzerland in summer 1863. To the end of her long life the oppressed and suffering, whether nations or individuals, and particularly the fallen women, received her active and practical sympathy. A life of causes: a person "to whom the flesh was never much of a burden". She was not conventional in her outlook on anything but was a regular churchgoer. She had phenomenal international contacts. She fought for a parliamentary bill to check the White Slave Traffic. Died 5.10.1919 and is buried with her husband.

Mary married Percy William Bunting, son of Thomas Percival Bunting and Eliza Bealey, on 21 Jun 1869 in Christ Church, St Pancras, Mddx. (Percy William Bunting was born on 1 Feb 1836, christened on 6 Mar 1836 in Oxford Road Wesleyan Methodist, Chorlton Upon Medlock, Lancashire, England and died on 22 Jul 1911 in Highgate, Middlesex.)