William Gunn (1750–1841) was an English clergyman and miscellaneous writer.

Life

Gunn was born on 7 April 1750 at

Guildford, Surrey Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildfo ...

, the son of Alexander Gunn of Irstead, Norfolk. He attended Fletcher's private school at

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

for six years. In 1784 he entered

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

, as a sizar. He took holy orders, in 1784 became rector of Sloley, Norfolk, and in 1786 obtained the consolidated livings of

Barton Turf Barton Turf is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is 20 km north-east of the city of Norwich, on the northwestern edge of Barton Broad, the second largest of the Norfolk Broads. In primary local government the ...

and Irstead. The latter he resigned in 1829 in favour of John Gunn, on receiving the vicarage of

Gorleston Gorleston-on-Sea (), known colloquially as Gorleston, is a town in the Borough of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England, to the south of Great Yarmouth. Situated at the mouth of the River Yare it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Bo ...

, Suffolk. In 1795 he obtained the degree of B.D. as a ' ten-year man'. During a residence in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

he obtained permission to search the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

and other libraries for manuscripts relating to the history of England, and published anonymously, as the result of his research, in 1803, a collection of ''Extracts'' from sixteenth-century state papers. In the Vatican he discovered a tenth-century manuscript of the ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...

'', commonly ascribed to Nennius, which he printed in 1819 with an English version, facsimile of the original, notes, and illustrations (another edition of the translation only, with a few additions, was published by J. A. Giles in 1841). He died at Smallburgh, Norfolk, on 11 April 1841.

Works

* (ed., anon.) ''Extracts, describing the ancient manner of placing the kingdom in military array : the various modes of defence adopted for its safety in periods of danger : and the evidence of foreigners as to the national character and personal bravery of the English : taken from original state papers of the sixteenth century collected on the continent, and hitherto inedited'', 1803 * ''The "Historia Brittonum", commonly attributed to Nennius : from a manuscript lately discovered in the library of the Vatican Palace at Rome ; edited in the tenth century by Mark the Hermit ; with an English version, facsimile of the original, notes and illustrations by the Rev. W. Gunn, B. D. rector of Irstead, Norfolk'', 1819.
''An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture''
8vo, London: Longman, 1819. * ''Cartonensia; or, an Historical and Critical Account of the Tapestries in the Palace of the Vatican; copied from the designs of Raphael, etc. To which are subjoined Remarks on the Causes which retard the Progress of the higher Departments of the Art of Painting in this Country'', 8vo, London, 1831 (2nd ed., 1832). * ''Michael Riviere, MA., “The Rev. William Gunn B.D., A Norfolk Parson on the Grand Tour”, in: Norfolk Archaeology, or miscellaneous tracts relating to the antiquities of the County of Norfolk, vol. XXXIII, 1965,Part III, pp.351-378, & Part IV, pp.379-398.'' A comprehensive account of his life with many of his letters and sections from his journals published for the first time. *''Exhibition Guide. The Archive of Revd William Gunn. An Exhibition to celebrate its Acquisition by the Norfolk Record Office 19 January- 28 February 2007.''(downloadable PDF file http://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/view/NCC099325 ) *''Last Will and Testament. William Gunn, Clerk, Smallburgh, 1841 Original register held by Norfolk Record Office (NRO: NCC, will register, Traxton, 203) (downloadable PDF file http://www.norfolkwills.co.uk/1841-001.pdf ) (Transcript © Colin Gilbert)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, William 1750 births 1841 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge English non-fiction writers 19th-century English writers People from Guildford English antiquarians 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests English male non-fiction writers 19th-century English male writers