map: 1805-1819 | | The Environs of London, a five volume work
by Daniel Lysons was published in London between 1792-1800. It is an historical account of the towns, villages, and hamlets, within twelve miles of London; interspersed with biographical anecdotes. After attending St. Mary Hall, Oxford, Lysons became, in 1790, curate of Putney, where he began work on The Environs. Horace Walpole encouraged Lysons and appointed him his personal chaplain. The work is dedicated to Walpole. In the section on Stoke Newington, among the Extracts from the Parish Register, there is the following item: Peter MonamyJohn, son of Peter Monamy71, buried Mar. 31, 1680.The footnote reads as follows: 
Aside from the confusion of the celebrated painter of sea pieces with his father, Pierre, who must be the father mentioned in the register, there is a mystery about this infant John. The children of Pierre/Peter Monamy, baptised at St Botolph's without Aldgate, are recorded as follows:Peter Gilbert Monamy, baptised March 1677
Ann, baptised February 1678
Charity, baptised January 1679
James, baptised January 1680
Peter, the artist, baptised January 1681 Since Dorothy Gilbert, Pierre's nominal wife, was born 1660, there seems scant room for a sixth child, John, to have been born and died before 1680. Explanations must remain conjectural, although a book entitled Uncertain Unions: Marriage in England 1660-1753, published 1992, by Lawrence Stone, may fuel speculation on the marital liaisons of Londoners of this period. This would include the early apparent marriage of Peter the painter to a woman named Margaret, as well as the enigmatic marriage recorded of Sarah Adkings or Atkins in 1700. The later map, at left, shows the location of Stoke Newington relative to the known stomping grounds of the two Peters. | |
