page_title: Sarah Ryan (Methodist)
section_title: Charity work
hierarchical_section_title: Sarah Ryan (Methodist) / Charity work
caption_attribution_description: Leeds Parish Church
context_page_description: Sarah Ryan was a Methodist, best known for her controversial early life and for her charity work. Ryan was often criticized by her fellow Methodists because of her three 'marriages'. Despite her tarnished reputation, Ryan was very active in the Methodist Church. Notably, Ryan co-founded a Methodist orphanage/school named The Cedars with Mary Bosanquet Fletcher. Ryan's work at The Cedars was highly praised by John Wesley, the co-founder of Methodism.
context_section_description: Sarah Ryan was quite close with another Methodist, Mary Bosanquet Fletcher. Ryan shared her experiences of working at John Wesley's Kingswood School with Bosanquet, and in March of 1763, the pair sought to establish a similar orphanage/school. They did so at 'The Cedars,' one of the Bosanquet family's properties in Leytonstone. Ryan and Bosanquet hired a maid to assist them. They also took in Ryan's orphaned niece, Sarah "Sally" Lawrence. As they took in more residents, Ryan's health began to decline. For more assistance, they hired Ann Tripp as a governess. Sarah Crosby and Mary Clark also came to help Ryan and Bosanquet at The Cedars.
  The Cedars took in members of the poor from London. Uniforms were dark purple cotton, and residents were required to all eat together. Manners, reading, religion, writing, nursing, and domestic skills were on the curriculum. If any of the children misbehaved, they were subject to physical punishment.
  The Cedars supported 35 children and 34 adults in its five year run. Usually, there were 15 to 20 − mostly girls − staying at The Cedars. Ryan and Bosanquet's work at The Cedars was praised heavily by John Wesley. But The Cedars did not receive only good praise. When Bosanquet and Ryan first began their endeavor, locals were not happy with their efforts. Crowds threw dirt at anyone who came out of the house. Ryan and Bosanquet were also constantly yelled at and spied on.
  
  In 1768, Ryan was becoming very ill. Mary Bosanquet decided to move the orphanage to give Ryan fresh air, among other reasons. However, whilst on the way to the new location for the orphanage, Sarah Ryan died.
caption: Leeds Old Church, where Sarah Ryan is buried.
exif: {"Image Make": "Panasonic", "Image Model": "DMC-TZ18", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2012:07:30 17:57:07", "Image ExifOffset": "216", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "794", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7714", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:07:29 12:31:21", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:07:29 12:31:21", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "995723/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "290241/62500", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "297/64", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "187/10", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2998", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2998", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Bracket", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "104", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}