John Gurney was born on 11 December 1845 at Earlham Hall, Norfolk, son of Rev John Gurney (1809–1856) and Laura Elizabeth Pearse (1825-1899) of Thorpe, Norfolk. His father died when he was still young, and he was brought up by his widowed mother at Earlham.[1]
He and his wife were deeply involved in many educational and philanthropic projects in Norwich, including the conversion of Norwich Castle into the city museum. After a hundred years as a jail in the 1880s and John Gurney put up the then considerable sum of £5,000 to help move the existing Norfolk and Norwich Museum into the building from its home on St Andrews Street.[4]
In 1874 he gave a large contribution towards the purchase of Ham House and grounds (to which he had succeeded) by the Corporation of the City of London, to serve as a public open space, now known as West Ham Park.[5]
Familyedit
John married Lady Isabel Blake-Humfrey in 1871. Isabel was born on 20 Dec 1851 in Wroxham House, Norfolk and died on 22 Feb 1932 aged 80.
John and Isabel had seven children:
Sybil Gurney born 1873 and died 1944.
John Nigel Gurney, born 1874 and died in October 1902, while he held the office of High Sheriff of Norfolk.[6]
Laura Gurney, born 1875 and died 1957. She was awarded the MBE[7]
Sir Eustace Gurney, born 1876 and died 1927. He was awarded the KBE[8]
On retiring from the position of mayor in 1886, Gurney's health was failing, so he and his wife sought relaxation on the shores of the Mediterranean at Cannes, France, where he died on 24 Feb 1887 aged 41.[13] An earthquake, which occurred at Cannes at the time of his visit, is supposed to have indirectly caused his death.[14] He was buried in the quiet churchyard of Earlham.
^Barton, Allan. "Back to Baroque, Martin Travers and St Swithun, Compton Beauchamp". Liturgical Arts Journal. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
^Descendants of Francis Gurney by Charles E. G. Pease - 14 May 2011
^The Descendants of Anthony Gurney by Charles E. G. Pease 1 Aug 2013
March 17, 2024
john, gurney, mayor, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, john, gurney, mayor, news, newspapers, books, s. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources John Gurney mayor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message John Gurney 1845 1887 a member of the renowned Gurney banking family of Norfolk was mayor of Norwich Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Philanthropy 4 Family 5 ReferencesEarly life editJohn Gurney was born on 11 December 1845 at Earlham Hall Norfolk son of Rev John Gurney 1809 1856 and Laura Elizabeth Pearse 1825 1899 of Thorpe Norfolk His father died when he was still young and he was brought up by his widowed mother at Earlham 1 He was educated at Harrow School 2 whence he proceeded to Trinity College Cambridge where he took his B A degree in 1866 3 Career editJohn Gurney was a banker in Norwich being involved in the family bank He became a member of the firm of Gurneys Birkbecks Barclay and Buxton He was a Justice of the Peace JP Despite being blind he was elected Mayor of Norwich in 1885 Philanthropy editHe rebuilt Sprowston Hall in 1876 He and his wife were deeply involved in many educational and philanthropic projects in Norwich including the conversion of Norwich Castle into the city museum After a hundred years as a jail in the 1880s and John Gurney put up the then considerable sum of 5 000 to help move the existing Norfolk and Norwich Museum into the building from its home on St Andrews Street 4 In 1874 he gave a large contribution towards the purchase of Ham House and grounds to which he had succeeded by the Corporation of the City of London to serve as a public open space now known as West Ham Park 5 Family editJohn married Lady Isabel Blake Humfrey in 1871 Isabel was born on 20 Dec 1851 in Wroxham House Norfolk and died on 22 Feb 1932 aged 80 John and Isabel had seven children Sybil Gurney born 1873 and died 1944 John Nigel Gurney born 1874 and died in October 1902 while he held the office of High Sheriff of Norfolk 6 Laura Gurney born 1875 and died 1957 She was awarded the MBE 7 Sir Eustace Gurney born 1876 and died 1927 He was awarded the KBE 8 Sir Hugh Gurney born 1878 and died 1968 He was awarded the MVO 9 and KCMG 10 Robert Gurney the zoologist born 1879 and died 1950 11 Samuel Gurney born 1885 and died 1968 12 On retiring from the position of mayor in 1886 Gurney s health was failing so he and his wife sought relaxation on the shores of the Mediterranean at Cannes France where he died on 24 Feb 1887 aged 41 13 An earthquake which occurred at Cannes at the time of his visit is supposed to have indirectly caused his death 14 He was buried in the quiet churchyard of Earlham References edit Earlham by Percy Lubbock 1922 Harrow School 1911 The Harrow School Register 1800 1911 Longmans Green and Co p 334 Venn J A comp Alumni Cantabrigienses London England Cambridge University Press 1922 1954 Get a taste of Victorian prison life at Norwich Castle 3 December 2010 Venn J A comp Alumni Cantabrigienses London England Cambridge University Press 1922 1954 Obituary The Times No 36911 London 29 October 1902 p 9 Person Page Edward Walford The county families of the United Kingdom The London Gazette 1 January 1918 https www thegazette co uk London issue 30451 supplement 82 data pdf The London Gazette 3 June 1935 https www thegazette co uk London issue 34166 supplement 3598 data pdf Person Page Barton Allan Back to Baroque Martin Travers and St Swithun Compton Beauchamp Liturgical Arts Journal Retrieved 4 June 2019 Descendants of Francis Gurney by Charles E G Pease 14 May 2011 The Descendants of Anthony Gurney by Charles E G Pease 1 Aug 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Gurney mayor amp oldid 1105827241, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
