Susanna Wesley

Susanna Wesley (1669–1742) was a writer, theologian and teacher, who had 19 children, nine of whom did not survive. She was the mother of John and Charles Wesley, who founded the Methodist movement. For this reason and because her influential teaching inspired them, Susanna Wesley became known as ‘The Mother of Methodism’. She was active in the movement writing letters, a spiritual diary and scriptural commentaries for her own use. At a time when girls usually were not educated, she taught her daughters to read and they learned Latin and Greek, because she believed firmly in women’s education. One of her daughters Mehetabel Wesley Wright, known as Hetty, became a respected female poet.

This statue was carved in 2022 from a bare 20′ red cedar tree in the grounds of East Finchley Methodist Church. The church commissioned the sculpture to commemorate its bicentenary in 2019. It is the only known public sculpture of Susanna Wesley, she is depicted at the top with welcoming outstretched arms. The trunk of the tree is carved with leaves, animals including a fox, squirrel and rabbit, and birds such as an owl. Next to the hedgehog at the base of the trunk, the name ‘Jane Ray’ is carved, the senior church steward, who organised the project. Amongst the organic shapes, a beetle is hidden in the bark, which may explain why the statue is sometimes called ‘bug woman’.

Location: Methodist Church , East Finchley, London, N2.