Peter Monamy - Early Life and Family

Early Life and Family

Peter Monamy was baptised at the church of St Botolph’s-without-Aldgate, London, England, on 12 January 1681 (new style). He was the last of the five known children, all born in London, of Pierre, or Peter, Monamy, born circa 1650 in Guernsey, and his English wife, Dorothy Gilbert; and the grandson of André Monamy, 1612–1680, who had been a strongly committed Commonwealth Parliamentarian in Guernsey during the 1650s. Dorothy Gilbert, born 1660 in London, was the daughter of James Gilbert, who had been Master of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers in 1670 and 1672. A marriage allegation, dated 22 October 1675, records the union of Peter Mon-Amy, of St Martin's in the Fields, and Dorothy Gilbert, of St Trinity in the Minory, with her father's consent, at All Hallowes in the Wall, London. Peter (Pierre) Mon-Amy's age is given as "abt 23", and Dorothy Gilbert's age as "abt 18". Their actual ages appear to have been 25 and 15.

The Monamy family had been prominent merchants and residents of Guernsey since at least the 1560s, and in the Channel Islands since the 1530s. The painter’s father, Pierre, who appears to have died in about 1685, had a brother named André, or Andrew, who was active in London as a merchant trader in salt and wool, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. In December, 1696, Andrew Monamy, together with his cousin, Daniel Le Febvre, is described as "guardian" of the children of Peter (Pierre) Monamy, deceased. Andrew Monamy is also named in Admiralty archival records as having served as boatswain in 1710 on a 20 gun privateer named "La Chasse", owned by a syndicate of Guernsey merchants

On 3 September 1696, Peter Monamy, aged 15, was bound as an apprentice for seven years by indenture to William Clark, a former (1687) Master of the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers, one of London’s ancient guilds of craftsmen. Clark is recorded in several capacities in the London of the late 17th century, as a constable and juryman, with premises in Thames Street, and on London Bridge, and practised as what would today be called an interior decorator, with a thriving business. House decoration comprised a wide range of activities, including the provision of paintings as overdoors, and on panelling, house murals on canvas as well as decorative sign-boards for trade establishments. William Clark died before January, 1704, when his will was proved.

Monamy was made free of his apprenticeship on 1 March 1704 (new style), the same day as James Thornhill, a fellow Painter-Stainer, who later became the first native English painter to be knighted, and whose major work is the decoration of the Painted Hall of the Greenwich Naval Hospital, celebrating English naval prowess and the Protestant monarchy.

On 17 April 1706, a daughter of Peter Monamy, painter, and Margaret, is recorded as baptised with the name of Margaret, at St Olave's Church, Southwark, near London Bridge, on the south bank of the Thames. The child's death is registered on 7 May, and it must be assumed that her mother also died. On 9 January 1707 (new style), Peter Monamy is recorded as marrying Hannah Christopher, at Allhallows, London Wall.

Three children were born to Peter and Hannah Monamy in rapid succession: Andrew, baptised on 15 December 1708, at St Botolph’s; Hannah, baptised on 5 March 1710, at St Mary’s, Whitechapel; and another Andrew, baptised on 11 August 1712, also at St Mary’s. As there is no further record of these children it must be assumed that all three died young, or in infancy. In 1708 the baptismal register records the couple as living in the Minories, near St Botolph’s; and in 1712 in Red Lion Street, near St Mary’s. The Minories was an area noted for its gunsmiths.

On 6 October 1708, Monamy registered an apprentice, Henry Kirby, who was bound to him for seven years by indenture. Kirby was the son of Henry Kirby, citizen and gunmaker of London, and a member of the Company of Gunmakers.