Author: Hanson, Martha
Biography:
HANSON, Martha, later ROY (1787-1853: ancestry.co.uk)
She was the daughter of Francis Hanson and Martha (Peale/Peile) who had married in Leeds but moved to London where their children were baptised. Her father worked first as a builder in London but later moved to Brighton where he acquired Belle Vue house in 1793, from where Hanson wrote her preface to Sonnets (1809). He remortgaged it in 1812, possibly to generate funds for development of the land which eventually became Regency Square. Her brother, Joshua Flesher, originally a school teacher, also engaged in property development, at first in Brighton and later in London, building several properties at Hyde Park Gate, Kensington, and other sites. She married the Rev. Thomas Roy in 1823 in Brighton. Her husband died in 1834 and thereafter she lived with her son, also a curate, until her death in 1853, at Bedford. She is buried alongside her husband at Old St. Mary’s Woburn. She appears not to have written any further poetry after her marriage. (ancestry.co.uk 17 Jul. 2020; findmypast.com 17 Jul. 2020; Index of Gravestones [PDF] woburnheritagemuseum.co.uk; GM Mar. 1835, May 1853; Death certificate GRO) AA