Catherine Gurney OBE (19 June 1848 – 11 August 1930) was a British activist in the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

, and is remembered for her work in establishing police convalescent homes, orphanages and schools, including St George's House, in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...

. The Gurney Fund is a registered charity founded by Gurney of which HM the Queen is a patron.

Early years

Catherine Gurney was born on 19 June 1848, at

Lavender Hill The A3036 is an A road in London, England, running from Waterloo to Wandsworth. Route It starts at the southern tip of the County Hall roundabout where the A302 Westminster Bridge, York Road and A23 Westminster Bridge Road all interse ...

, Battersea, in south London. Her parents were Joseph, who worked at the firm of

William Brodie Gurney William Brodie Gurney (1777–1855) was an English shorthand writer and philanthropist of the 19th century. Biography Gurney was the younger son of Joseph Gurney, shorthand writer, who died at Walworth, Surrey, in 1815, by a daughter of William ...

, shorthand writers to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, and Harriet Gurney. Their affluent and religious middle-class Quaker family was related to the Gurney banking family of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

. Most of her early life was spent in the south London suburb of

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

Career

Gurney challenged the social mores of that time which dictated that 'a woman's place was in the home'. The first indication of her drive and initiative came when, in the early 1870s, Gurney first began a Bible Class at Wandsworth. She then went on to form the International Christian Police Association in 1883 which resulted in a Police Institute being opened in London. Her next project in 1890 was a Police Convalescent Seaside Home at Clarendon Villas, West Brighton. In 1897, while visiting Harrogate, Gurney negotiated the purchase of St George's College building and grounds. Next to get her attention was the building of the Northern Police Convalescent Home in 1901. Gurney served as World's Superintendent of Work among Policemen, and was the Honorary Secretary of the International Christian Police Association. The work which was started in her own home with six members, in 1893, became an International Association with branches in the United Kingdom, America, Australia, India, China, Japan and South Africa. The basis of the association was entirely nonsectarian and non-political, its object being the spiritual and temporal welfare of the police. It also aimed to establish institutes, convalescent homes and orphanages, and had a police temperance union connected with it. For twenty-one years, Gurney was a temperance worker and for many of those years, she was connected with the work among the police.

Personal life

Shortly before she died, Gurney was awarded the OBE. She died at

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th c ...

on 11 August 1930, and at her request was interred on 13 August 1930 at Harlow Hill Cemetery, Harrogate, near to St George's and St Andrew's, the two homes she had originated in Harrogate.

References

*East, G.C.; ''A History of Policing in Harrogate & District'', 1996
St George's House
*St George's House, Annual Report 1948–1949

Attribution

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Catherine 1848 births 1930 deaths English temperance activists British women activists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Founders of British schools and colleges