Sir Richard Gurney, 1st Baronet (died 6 October 1647), was an English merchant who was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. Christened on 8 March 1577/8, Gurney was a city of London merchant and a member of the

Worshipful Company of Clothworkers The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, formed by the amalgamation of its two predecessor companies, the Fullers (incorporated 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporated 1508). It succeeded to the position of t ...

. He was Master of the Clothworkers Company in 1633 and Sheriff of London for 1633 to 1634. On 26 August 1634 he was elected an alderman of the City of London for Bishopsgate ward. He was elected instead as alderman for Dowgate ward in 1637. In 1641 he was elected

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

on 25 November 1641 and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of London, on 14 December 1641. He was president of Christ's Hospital from 1641 to 1643. Gurney was a strong supporter of the King and published the King's commission of array. As a result, he was removed from the Mayoralty and impeached by the House of Commons. He refused to surrender the City's sword to anyone but the King. 'Notes on the aldermen, 1502–1700', The Aldermen of the City of London: Temp. Henry III – 1912 (1908), pp. 168–195. Date accessed: 15 July 2011
/ref> Gurney's daughter Anne married

Thomas Richardson, 2nd Lord Cramond Thomas Richardson, 2nd Lord Cramond (19 June 162716 May 1674) of Honingham Hall, Norfolk was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1674. Richardson was the son of Sir Thomas Richardson and his wife Elizabeth Hewitt ...

; and his daughter Elizabeth married John Pettus.

Heraldry

The coat of arms of Sir Richard Gurney are blazoned: ''Paly of six or and azure counterchanged per fess.'' This is a shield that has been differenced from "''Paly of six, or and azure''--GOURNAY, or GURNEY, Devon." Sir Richard's family is likely a cadet branch. Crest: ''A Lion’s Head erased Or, gorged with a Palisado Coronet composed of Spear Heads Azure''. The earlier, now alternate blazon is: ''Per fess or and azure, paly of six counterchanged.'' The alternate blazon is exactly of Sir Richard Gurney, alias Gurnard, Lord Mayor of London 1642. (Examined by Sir William Segar Garter Herald, 26 July 1634, when Sir Richard was Sheriff.The Herald and Genealogist, Volume 1, page 383, by John Gough Nichols, 1863.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, Richard Year of birth missing 1647 deaths Sheriffs of the City of London 17th-century lord mayors of London Baronets in the Baronetage of England