John Gurney (11 December 1845 – 24 February 1887) was an English banker who was mayor of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. He was a member of the renowned Gurney banking family of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Early life

John Gurney was born in 1845 at

Earlham Hall Earlham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. It is located just to the west of the city of Norwich, on Earlham Road, on the outskirts of the village of Earlham. For generations it was the home of the Gurney family. The Gurneys were kn ...

, 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. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

, whence he proceeded to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he took his B.A. degree in 1866.

Career

John Gurney was a banker in

, 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

He rebuilt

Sprowston Sprowston ( or ) is a town and civil parish in the Broadland district of Norfolk, England. It is bounded by Heartsease to the east, Mousehold Heath and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south, Old Catton to the west, and by the open farmland ...

Hall in 1876. He and his wife were deeply involved in many educational and philanthropic projects in Norwich, including the conversion of

Norwich Castle Norwich Castle is a medieval royal fortification in the city of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk. William the Conqueror (1066–1087) ordered its construction in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest of England. The castle was used as a ...

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. 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 West Ham Park is a privately owned public space, privately owned public park in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham. Spanning , it is the largest park in the borough. The park has been managed by the City of London Corporation since 1874. ...

Family

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 The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The High Sheriff of Norfolk was originally the principal law enforcement officer in Norfolk and presided at the assizes and other im ...

. * Laura Gurney, born 1875 and died 1957. She was awarded the MBE * Sir Eustace Gurney, born 1876 and died 1927. He was awarded the

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

* Sir

Hugh Gurney Sir Hugh Gurney (4 February 1878 – 7 March 1968) was a British diplomat. Gurney was the son of John Gurney (1845–1887), a member of the influential Quaker Gurney banking family, and Isabel Blake-Humfrey. He joined the diplomatic service ...

, born 1878 and died 1968. He was awarded the MVO and KCMG *

Robert Gurney Robert Gurney (31 July 1879 – 5 March 1950) was a British zoologist from the Gurney family, most famous for his monographs on ''British Freshwater Copepoda'' (1931–1933) and the ''Larvae of Decapod Crustacea'' (1942). He was not affiliated ...

, the zoologist born 1879 and died 1950. * Samuel Gurney, born 1885 and died 1968. 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 The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

, France, where he died on 24 Feb 1887 aged 41. An earthquake, which occurred at Cannes at the time of his visit, is supposed to have indirectly caused his death.''The Descendants of Anthony Gurney'' by Charles E. G. Pease 1 Aug 2013 He was buried in the quiet churchyard of Earlham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurney, John 1887 deaths 1845 births People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Mayors of Norwich People from Norwich (district) People from Sprowston

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...