William Alphonsus Gunn (1760–1806) was an English evangelical cleric.

Life

Gunn was born on 29 September 1760, in

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of Dogs ...

, the son of William Gunn, a naval officer, who died when he was an infant; his mother died in 1771. s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Gunn, William Alphonso A cousin, Margaret Morris, supported Gunn's studies at

Guildford Grammar School Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an independent Anglican coeducational primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in Guildford, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Initia ...

, and he matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

in 1778. He left without taking a degree. He came under the influence of

Richard Conyers Richard Conyers (1725–1786) was an English evangelical cleric, and the hymn-book compiler of a precursor to the ''Olney Hymns''. He became well known as the parish priest of Helmsley in the North Yorkshire Moors, a cure of scattered villages. ...

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

, where he stayed with his cousin. Taking a post as

usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

in a school in

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 The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

, he was persuaded to think of the Anglican ministry. Gunn was ordained in 1783, by

Brownlow North Brownlow North (17 July 1741 – 12 July 1820) was a bishop of the Church of England. Early life, family and education Brownlow was born on 17 July 1741 in Chelsea, Middlesex, Great Britain, the only son of Francis North, 1st Earl of Guilford ...

, and became a curate at the parish of

Chobham Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England. The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne and its northern tributary, the Hale, ...

and Bisley. From 1788 he was curate at

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres wi ...

. In 1786 he was appointed preacher at

Farnham Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...

. He lost this post in 1792, the vicar objecting to his approach, and there was a secession from the Farnham church. Moving to London, Gunn was lecturer at

St Mary Somerset St. Mary Somerset was a church in the City of London first recorded in the twelfth century. Destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666, it was one of the 51 churches rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren. The tower is located in Upper Thames S ...

with

St Mary Mounthaw St Mary Mounthaw or Mounthaut was a parish church in Old Fish Street Hill in the City of London. Of medieval origin, it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and not rebuilt. History The church stood on the west side of Old Fish St ...

, from 1793. He came into the orbit of

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

, a significant influence, at

St Mary Woolnoth St Mary Woolnoth is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on the corner of Lombard Street and King William Street near Bank junction. The present building is one of the Queen Anne Churches, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. The paris ...

. Newton tried in 1795 to bring him to

St Helen's Bishopsgate St Helen's Bishopsgate is an Anglican church in London. It is located in Great St Helen's, off Bishopsgate. It is the largest surviving parish church in the City of London. Several notable figures are buried there, and it contains more monumen ...

, but failed, because of local resistance. In 1796 Gunn became Newton's curate at St Mary Woolnoth. Newton found Gunn both popular with his congregation and humble; but noted that Gunn was even more unpopular with the wider clergy than evangelicals generally were.

Joseph Irons Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, father of

William Josiah Irons William Josiah Irons (1812–1883) was a priest in the Church of England and a theological writer. Life Irons, born at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, 12 September 1812, was second son of the Rev. Joseph Irons (1785–1852), by his first wife, Mary Ann ...

, who became an itinerant preacher, was converted by Gunn's preaching, around 1803. Another impressed by Gunn was Jacob Kirkman Foster, who became a

Cheshunt College Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Wal ...

tutor. An opponent took the chance to criticise Gunn for his use of

snuff Snuff may refer to: Tobacco * Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose ** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco ** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste Media and entertainment * Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder Literat ...

. Gunn died of

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

on 5 December 1805.

Works

*'' Sermons on Various Subjects, and Letters to an Undergraduate at the University; by the late Rev. William Alphonsus Gunn. To which are prefixed Memoirs of his Life'' (1811), edited by Isaac Saunders. A hostile review commented that "the letters differ little, if at all, from the sermons, excepting in their length".

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, William Alphonsus 1760 births 1806 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests Evangelical Anglican clergy People from Rotherhithe 19th-century English Anglican priests