Gurney family (Norwich)

The Gurneys were an influential family of English Quakers who had a major influence on the development of Norwich. They established Gurney's bank in 1770, which merged into Barclays in 1896. Members of the family still live in the United Kingdom.

History

The Gurneys were descendants of Hugh de Gournay, Lord of Gournay, one of the Norman noblemen who accompanied William the Conqueror to England. Large grants of land were made to Hugh de Gournay in Norfolk and Suffolk,[1] and a younger branch of this ancient family held certain manors in Norfolk in the time of King Henry II.

In the 17th century, John Gurney (1655–1721) left his home town of Maldon for Norwich to live and work among the Quakers of the city. Arriving in Norwich in 1667, he became active in the woollen trade. In 1687 he married Elizabeth Swanton (d 1727) of Woodbridge, by whom he had eight children. He died as a wealthy man in 1721 and was buried in "the old Dutch garden that the Friends had bought as their burial ground, the Gildencroft or Buttercup Field", on the land John Gurney had been given to tend when he first arrived in Norwich.[2] His sons John (1688–1740) and Joseph (1691–1750) continued in the woollen trade through businesses in St. Augustine's Street and Magdalen Street, respectively. Both brothers married and had numerous children.

John Gurney's sons, John (1719–1779) and Henry (1721–1777) gradually added banking transactions to their woollen trade. In 1770 they entered into partnership and formally established Gurney's Bank in 35 Tooley Street (now Pitt Street) in Norwich. When Henry died in 1777, he was succeeded by his son Bartlett (1756–1802), who also took over his uncle John's responsibilities[3] and moved the banking business to Redwell Plain (now Bank Plain) in Norwich. The Quaker bank became renowned for its honesty, reliability and fair dealings, and so people entrusted the Gurney family with their money for safekeeping. Bartlett Gurney was married twice, but died childless at Coltishall, Norfolk, in 1802. He was succeeded in control of the bank by Richard (1742–1811) and John Gurney (1749–1809), grandsons of Joseph Gurney (1691–1750).

Keswick Hall, residence of Richard Gurney (1742–1811), his son Hudson and many other members of the Gurney family

Richard was married to a daughter of David Barclay, another Quaker merchant and banker. Their six children included Anna Gurney, the Old English scholar, and Hudson Gurney (1775–1864), who later inherited a fortune from his father and acted as the head of the Norwich Gurney family. He became MP for Newtown, Isle of Wight in 1816, a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1818 and High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1835.[4] He lived at Keswick Hall near Norwich, and in St. James's Square, London. He remained childless, and his fortune was inherited mostly by John Henry Gurney Sr. (1819–1890).[4]

Earlham Hall, residence of John Gurney (1749–1809) and childhood home of his daughter Elizabeth Fry

John Gurney (1749–1809) and his wife lived at Earlham Hall in Norwich, which they rented from the Bacon family. They had 13 children, of whom several died young. Those who survived included the bankers Samuel Gurney and Daniel Gurney, and the social reformers Elizabeth Fry and Joseph John Gurney, while Hannah married Sir Thomas Buxton. Another sister was Louisa Hoare, the writer on education. In the 19th century, the Gurney family was known for its wealth: in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1875 comic opera Trial by Jury, the Judge describes his accumulation of wealth until "at length I became as rich as the Gurneys".[5]

On John Gurney's death in 1809, his son Samuel Gurney (1786–1856) assumed control of Gurney's Bank in Norwich. About the same time, he also took over control of the London billbroking business of Richardson, Overend & Company, whose name later changed to Overend, Gurney and Company. It was later the world's largest discounting house for 40 years, but failed – ten years after Samuel Gurney's death – in 1866 with liabilities of £11 million. This failure ruined a number of the Gurneys, as well as numerous investors. Gurney's Bank in Norwich, however, escaped significant damage to business and reputation from the collapse of the London billbroking business.[6] The Times stated, It is understood that the suspension of Overend, Gurney & Co will not in the slightest degree compromise Gurney's Bank of Norwich. That establishment recently passed into the hands of new partners, whose resources are beyond all question.[7]

Gurney's Bank in Norwich was at that time in the hands of Samuel Gurney's brother Daniel Gurney (1791–1880) and Joseph John Gurney's son John Henry Gurney Sr. (1819–1890). The latter had inherited Hudson Gurney's fortune in 1864. He later made his home Northrepps, near Cromer, where he pursued ornithology. His son, John Henry Gurney Jr., was also an ornithologist, and his great-great-grandson, Henry Richard Gurney of Heggatt Hall, has continued that family tradition. Besides managing his banking business, Daniel Gurney served as High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1853 and took an interest in archaeology and genealogy. In 1848 he printed in two volumes for private circulation an elaborate work entitled The Record of the House of Gournay, to which he added a supplement in 1858. Daniel Gurney was married to a daughter of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll and lived near North Runcton, Norfolk. Their son Charles Henry Gurney (1833–1899) went up to Trinity College, Cambridge, graduated, and married a daughter of Henry Thoby Prinsep. Later he became a partner in Saunderson's Bank, London.[8] The Gurneys remained active in banking until 1896, when eleven private banks controlled by Quaker families joined together under the name Barclays to meet competition from the joint stock banks. The largest component parts were Barclay Bevan Ransom Tritton Bouverie & Co, of Lombard Street in the City of London, Backhouse's Bank and Gurney's Bank.

The principal seats of the Gurney family were Earlham Hall (rented from the Bacon family) and Keswick Hall near Norwich, as well as Heggatt Hall and North Runcton. Earlham Hall is today occupied by the Norwich Law School, a part of the University of East Anglia. Keswick Hall accommodated a teacher training college prior to being converted into apartments.

Part of the Gurney family burial plot at Gildencroft Cemetery.

Many members of the Gurney family are buried in the Gildencroft Quaker Cemetery, Norwich, and some in Keswick All Saints churchyard, near Norwich, as well as in Intwood churchyard, also near Norwich.

Genealogy

John Gurney (1655–1721) married in 1687 Elizabeth Swanton († 1727) and had with her 8 children, including John (1688–1740) and Joseph (1691–1750), from whom the banking Gurneys are descended. John's sons founded the bank in 1770 and were succeeded by his grandson Bartlett. After Bartlett Gurney's death in 1802, his cousins took over the business.

  1. John Gurney (1688–1740) ∞ 1709 Elizabeth Hadduck († 1757) and had 12 children, including
    1. John Gurney (1718–1779), founder of Gurney's Bank
    2. Henry Gurney (1721–1777), founder of Gurney's Bank ∞ 1749 Elizabeth Bartlett († 1791) and had 7 children, including
      1. Bartlett Gurney (1756–1802) ∞ (I) 1780 Hannah Chapman († 1798) and ∞ (II) Mary Cockell († 1800) but did not have children
  2. Joseph Gurney (1691–1750) ∞ 1713 Hannah Middleton (1686–1760) and had 10 children, including
    1. John Gurney (1715–1770) ∞ 1739 Elizabeth Kett (1718–1788) and had 12 children, including
      1. Richard Gurney (1742–1811) ∞ (I) 1773 Agatha Barclay (1753–1776) daughter of David Barclay, and ∞ (II) 1779 Rachel Hanbury (1763–1825) and had 6 children, including
        1. Hudson Gurney (1775–1864) ∞ 1809 Margaret Barclay-Allerdice († 1855)
        2. Anna Gurney (1795–1857), Old English scholar
      2. John Gurney (1749–1809) ∞ 1775 Catherine Bell (1755–1794) and had 13 children (of whom several died young), including
        1. Elizabeth Gurney (1780–1845) ∞ 1800 Joseph Fry (1777–1861)
        2. Hannah Gurney (1783–1872) ∞ Sir Thomas Buxton, 1st Baronet (1786–1845)
        3. Louisa Gurney (1784–1836) ∞ 1806 Samuel Hoare (1783–1847)
        4. Samuel Gurney (1786–1856) ∞ 1808 Elizabeth Shepphard († 1855) and had 9 children, including
          1. Catherine Gurney (1814–1911) ∞ 1836 Sir Edward Buxton, 2nd Baronet (1812–1858) and had 8 children
          2. Samuel Gurney (1816–1882) ∞ Ellen Reynolds
          3. Rev. John Gurney (1809–1856) ∞ 1842 Laura Elizabeth Pearse († 1899) and had 5 children, including
            1. Catherine Gurney (1848–1934) ∞ 1869 Frederic Lubbock (1844–1927) and had 7 children, including Percy Lubbock (1879–1965)
            2. John Gurney (1845–1887) ∞ 1871 Isabel Blake-Humfrey (1851–1932) and had five sons and two daughters, including
              1. Sir Eustace Gurney, father-in-law of Brigadier Arnold de Lérisson Cazenove (1898–1969), thus grandfather of actor Christopher Cazenove
              2. Sir Hugh Gurney, a diplomat
              3. Robert Gurney (1879–1950) ∞ Sarah Gamzu Garstang (1878–1972), sister of Walter Garstang, and had 1 child:
                1. Oliver Gurney (1911–2001)
        5. Joseph John Gurney (1788–1847) ∞ (I) 1817 Jane Birkbeck (1789–1822) and ∞ (II) 1827 Mary Fowler (1802–1835) and ∞ (III) 1841 Eliza Paul Kirkbride (1801–1881) and had 3 children, including:
          1. John Henry Gurney Sr. (1819–1890) ∞ 1846 Mary Jary (1829–1872) and had 2 children, including
            1. John Henry Gurney Jr. (1848–?) ∞ 1876 Margaret Jane Gurney (1852–?) and had issue, including
              1. Agatha Gurney (1881–1937) ∞ Sir Edward Ruggles-Brise, 1st Baronet (1882–1942)
        6. Daniel Gurney (1791–1880) ∞ 1822 Lady Harriet Jemima Hay (1803–1837), daughter of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll, and had 9 children, including
          1. Charles Henry Gurney (1833–1899) ∞ 1861 Alice Prinsep, daughter of Sir Henry Thoby Prinsep, and had issue

Books about the family

Notes

  1. ↑ Article on the Gurneys, accessed 25 Oct 2007
  2. ↑ The Gurney Family and Banking in Norwich, accessed 11 September 2012
  3. ↑ Gregg, H. F. "Gurney, John", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 23 Jan 2008
  4. 1 2  "Gurney, Hudson". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  5. ↑ Elliott, Geoffrey (2006). The Mystery of Overend & Gurney: A Financial Scandal in Victorian London. London: Methuen. p. 235. ISBN 0-413-77573-9.
  6. ↑ Ackrill, Margaret and Leslie Hannah. Barclays: The Business of Banking, 1690–1996 (2001) Cambridge University Press, Chapter 1 ISBN 0-521-79035-2
  7. ↑ The Times, 11 May 1866; p. 11, col F, "Money-Market & City Intelligence" Section
  8. ↑ "Gurney, Charles Henry (GNY851CH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
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