In 1818 her father became surgeon to the Shropshire militia; she went to Shrewsbury, and in 1829 moved to Thorpe, near Norwich, which was her formative place as she came of age.

A marble medallion of her was executed by Giovanni Fontana,[7] and once belonged to her friend Joseph Mayer, who had helped her in bringing out the Life of Wedgwood.

[2] Meteyard began literary work in 1833 by assisting her eldest brother, a tithe commissioner, in preparing his reports relating to the eastern counties.

[2] Her girls' novel Dora and Her Papa (1869) is "a vivid account of a child's life among antiquarians", based on her visits to Lomberdale Hall, the home and private museum of Thomas Bateman.

[12] In 1862, Meteyard turned to non-fiction with Hallowed Spots of Ancient London and in 1865–6 published the Life of Josiah Wedgwood, in two volumes.

[2] She used the Wedgwood papers collected by Joseph Mayer; she also acknowledged help from Bennett Woodcroft and Samuel Smiles.