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William Hewer (1642 – 3 December 1715), sometimes known as Will Hewer, was one of Samuel Pepys' manservants, and later Pepys's clerk, before embarking on an administrative career of his own. Hewer is mentioned several times in Pepys' diary and was ultimately the executor of Pepys' will.
Pepys' manservant
Hewer was employed by Samuel Pepys as a manservant and office clerk for Pepys' work as the new Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board.[1] By November 1663, Hewer was able to move out of Pepys' house and have his own lodgings.
Hewer was initially introduced to Pepys by Hewer's uncle Robert Blackborne, whose sister was Hewer's mother, and who was a longtime Pepys friend with whom he worked at the Admiralty. It has been said that the biggest favor Blackborne did for Pepys was the introduction of his nephew Hewer to Pepys in 1660.[2]
Hewer in Pepys' diary
Hewer is frequently mentioned in Pepys' diary as a trusted friend as well as an assistant. As their relationship developed, it became a professional partnership as well as a personal friendship. When Pepys moved to the Admiralty in 1673, Hewer moved to the Admiralty as well and became Chief Clerk the following year. In 1677, he was appointed as Judge Advocate-General.
Hewer late career
In 1685, he became MP for Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. He was appointed to the Special Commission which replaced the Navy Board in 1686 with responsibility for accounts. After the deposition of James II in 1689, Pepys and Hewer lost their patronage from the Crown; both were briefly imprisoned, but were released without trial.
Hewer managed to become very rich.[3] He made much of it through his involvement in trading with his uncle Blackborne, who became Secretary to the Admiralty, and later Secretary to the British East India Company.[4]
Like Pepys, Hewer also received payments from those doing business with the Navy, but suspicions of illicit payments were never proved and he did not hold a lucrative office for any length of time. He probably also inherited from his father, who was a merchant, as Pepys' diary mentions his increased expenditures after his father's death in 1665. By 1674, Hewer was wealthy enough to finance the construction of three warships. He became a director of the old East India Company in 1698 and served two terms as its Deputy Chairman. He also served as Treasurer of Tangier.
My wife told me how she had moved to W. Hewer the business of my sister for a wife to him, which he received with mighty acknowledgements, as she says, above anything; but says he hath no intention to alter his condition
He owned a house near The Strand which became the Admiralty Office when he and Pepys moved from the Navy Board. Pepys also lived in the house while he was at the Admiralty.
He bought an estate in the then-village of Clapham in 1688 which he used as a country retreat.[5] (Hewer also owned other property in Clapham, London, Westminster, Norfolk and elsewhere.) Pepys went to live in Hewer's house on Clapham Common in his old age and died there in 1703. Hewer was the executor of Pepys' will and retained Pepys' library and book collection including his famous diary until he died on 3 December 1715. Wiliam Hewer is buried in St Paul's Church, Clapham.[6] The memorial to Hewer in St Paul's Church was designed by Francis Bird and modelled on the Memorial to Maria Raggi by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome.
Hewer never married and so devised that his estate go to his godson Hewer Edgeley on the condition that he change his surname to Hewer. This the heir did, becoming Hewer Edgeley-Hewer.[7] Subsequently, lawsuits arose over the immense Hewer estate.[8][9] In 1684 William Hewer was admitted to the Freedom of the Clothworkers' Company, and was immediately sworn in as a member of the Court of Assistants. He was elected Master of the Clothworkers' Company for the 1686–87-year. In 1687 he donated a barge to the Clothworkers' Company. It seems that he did not attend a single Court meeting during his Mastership.[10]
References
- ^ The Diary of Samuel Pepys Companion, ed. Latham, Robert & Mathews, William, HarperCollins 2000 ISBN 0-520-22715-8, page 182
- ^ The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 10, Samuel Pepys, Robert Latham, William Matthews (eds.), University of California Press, 2001
- ^ The Diary of Samuel Pepys Companion, ed. Latham, Robert & Mathews, William, HarperCollins 2000 ISBN 0-520-22715-8, page 183
- ^ The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Vol. 10, Samuel Pepys, Robert Latham, William Matthews (eds.), University of California Press, 2001
- ^ Old Clapham, John William Grover, London, 1892
- ^ Pepys, Samuel (1899). The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Volume 9. London: George Bell and Sons.
- ^ Thoroton versus Blackborne et al., The English Reports, William Green & Sons, Edinburgh, 1903
- ^ Blackborn versus Hewer Edgeley, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Chancery, his Majesty's law printers for E. Brooke, London, 1787
- ^ The House of Lords Cases on Appeal and Writs of Error, Vol. III, Charles Clark, Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1870
- ^ The Deluge of Time – An Illustrated History of the Clothworkers' Company, DE Wickham, 2001, pages 130, 200, 201, 131.
11 Annotations
First Reading
Phil • Link
Nephew of Robert Blackborne: http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
vincent • Link
from Michael Robinson on Wed 11 Feb 2004, 4:52 am | Link
Will Hewer and apprenticeship
http://www.clothworkers.co.uk/abo…
new
Pepy
Cumgranissalis • Link
There could be some Confusion; In the House Government Records there are two Clerks to Sam, one be Hewer W; and the other be Hayter T [Hater in the Diary].
Then there be the boy, the jack all trades would Sam have in the books as a clerk and use him as his batman, while all the other guys in the Office have Two Clerks at their beck and Call:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
Cumgranissalis • Link
errata: wrong addresses above; this be it:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
Michael Robinson • Link
Monument to Will Hewer, 1715, St. Paul, Clapham.
"Large tablet, chiefly drapery, with two cherubs high up holding a portrait medallion; also of very good quality. The design is adapted from Bernini's monument of 1643 to Maria Raggia in S. Maria sopra Minerva, Rome"
Buildings of England, London 2: South p. 381
Kevin Peter • Link
I didn't realize until now that a portrait of Will Hewer exists and is owned by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
In 1689, Will Hewer had his portrait done along with Pepys' 1689 portrait. The two portraits were intended to be displayed as a pair. Both portraits were painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller.
Will Hewer's portrait can be found here:
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/…
The corresponding Samuel Pepys portrait of 1689 can be found here:
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/…
Terry Foreman • Link
Will Hewer
Hewer was employed by Samuel Pepys as a manservant and office clerk for Pepys' work as the new Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board. Hewer is frequently mentioned in Pepys' diary as a trusted friend as well as an assistant. As their relationship developed, it became a professional partnership as well as a personal friendship. When Pepys moved to the Admiralty in 1673, Hewer moved to the Admiralty as well and became Chief Clerk the following year. In 1677, he was appointed as Judge Advocate-General.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will…
Second Reading
Bill • Link
William Hewer, of whose family nothing more is known except that his father died of the plague, 14th Sept. 1665. He became afterwards a Commissioner of the Navy, and Treasurer for Tangier; and was the constant companion of Pepys, who died in his house at Clapham, previously the residence of Sir Dennis Gauden. Mr. Hewer was buried in the old church at Clapham, where a large monument of marble, with his bust in alto-relievo, erected to his memory, was, on the rebuilding of the church placed outside, and in November, 1852, nearly destroyed.
---Diary and correspondence of Samuel Pepys, the diary deciphered by J. Smith. 1854.
Bill • Link
Portrait: William Hewer by Sir Godfrey Kneller 1689
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wik…
Terry Foreman • Link
HEWER, William (1642-1715), of Gauden House, Clapham, Surr.
Hewer’s father supplied stationery to the Admiralty, but a more important influence on his career was his maternal uncle [Robert Blackbourne], who was at the centre of naval affairs during the Interregnum. At the Restoration he was succeeded by Samuel Pepys, to whom he recommended Hewer as a clerk. Like his master he prospered in the service of the crown, and Blackburne, who had become secretary to the East India Company, obtained permission for him to indulge in one or two private trading ventures. By 1675 Will was worth £16,500.
He wrote to Pepys:
the kindness you are pleased to express towards me, and more particularly your regard of my mother, is such that I want words to express my thankfulness. ... Living or dying, I shall remain to the end your faithful servant.
He wrote to Pepys:
the kindness you are pleased to express towards me, and more particularly your regard of my mother, is such that I want words to express my thankfulness. ... Living or dying, I shall remain to the end your faithful servant.
On the flight of James Stuart, II. King Hewer invited Pepys to retire to this house, which he did.
https://www.historyofparliamenton…
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
No one, including the House of Commons biographers, seems to know anything about William Hewer's educational background.
He went to work for Pepys when he was 18/19 -- old enough to have graduated from University and spent a few years at the Inns of Court learning the basics of law and business. That was standard education for an intelligent and wealthy young man in those days, and Hewer was both.
His HoC biography says Hewer became dep. judge-advocate of the navy in 1677 -- while that undoubtedly required less learning then than it does today, a basic exposure to the law would seem to be needed to qualify for the post.
If not university and the Inns, where was he educated all these missing years? No talk of his being abroad -- and why would he done that?
His family were well-connected Puritans, and doing very well during the Interregnum.
Any ideas or leads?