Mary Clarke,, was an English estate manager and letter writer. She married Edward Clarke on 13 April 1675 and had eleven children with him. Whilst he spent time in London as a Member of Parliament, she ran the estate at Chipley in Somerset and raised their children. Clarke corresponded frequently with her husband by letter and also exchanged messages with philosopher John Locke.
Early life
Mary Clarke was born to father Samuel and mother Elizabeth Jepp. Her birth date is not recorded and her parents died when she was young. She was then brought up by her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Baber. When Baber died in 1672, Clarke inherited an annual income of £400.
Career
Mary Jepp married Edward Clarke on 13 April 1675. She gave birth to a boy in May 1676, who died in infancy. The following two children also died, and then Clarke had eight more, called Edward, Elizabeth, Anne, John, Mary, Jepp, Samuel and Jane. The Clarkes first lived in London, then moved to the Chipley Park estate in Chipley, Somerset, where they rebuilt the manor house. Edward Clarke became Member of Parliament for Taunton in 1690 and spent most of his time in London when Parliament was sitting, leaving Mary Clarke to bring up the children and run the estate. For a certain time, her husband was unwelcome in the countryside as a result of his participation in the Great Recoinage of 1696. Clarke was a committed letter writer and communicated prolifically with her husband. Many letters are held by the Somerset Archives and Local Studies. Her witty letters show a keen mind which was engaged with the social and political issues of the time, as well as matters of personal interest such as farming and estate management. Much was written about their children, discussing their studies, health and progress in life. As the children matured, the parents wrote to each other about their plans. For example, Jack wanted to be a merchant and Betty intended to be married. The Clarkes also wrote to John Locke, who was a family friend. His replies in their three-way discussions concerning the education of Edward Junior were later published in 1693 as Some Thoughts Concerning Education. This was concerned solely with the upbringing of young men, but Locke also wrote privately to the Clarkes about young women and their daughter Elizabeth became a favourite of his. Clarke's practical concerns sometimes clashed with Locke's idealistic view of parenting, for example she used servants to help with childcare despite him declaring it would be better not to and she was unable to find the time to read Latin to her son for two hours every day. He believed that every child could be moulded in the same way, but Edward appeared slow-witted and one of his tutors asked to be released, saying he had taught him as much as was possible. Locke believed in home education and recommended a Huguenot tutor, however in the end all the Clarke children attended schools.
