Henrietta Gayer

Henrietta Gayer born Henrietta Jones (1700s – 25 March 1814) was a Methodist leader and evangelist in Lisburn, Ireland (modern-day Northern Ireland). She hosted Methodist meetings in her house and sponsored the building of the first Methodist chapel in Lisburn.

Life

Gayer's early life is sketchy but it is known that her father was Valentine Jones of Lisburn. She comes to notice when she married Edward Gayer of Derryaghy in 1772. Her husband was also from the Lisburn area and he was the clerk to the Irish House of Lords. She became single minded in her religious pursuits. She was advised to get more involved with "fashionable amusements" by a member of the clergy and this resulted in her reading from a prayer book in between dances during a ball at Dublin Castle.

John Wesley stayed at the Gayer home in Derryaghy when he became ill during his visit to Lisburn in June 1775. to illustrate the bond he hoped that could be made between the Methodists and the Irish Church. An agreement like this was made in 2002. It was signed under the now two intertwined beech trees in memory of Wesley's hope.