Edmund Gurney / Edmund Gurnay (c.1577/8-1648)
Edmund Gurney was not a direct ancestor; he was Henry Gurnay's son and Francis Gurney's brother.
Highlights
- Name form: Edmund spells his own name Gurnay on his book's title pages, while members of his family in his time period usually go by Gurney.
- Puritan-leaning cleric: Edmund is inclined to Puritanism. The evidence is not merely denominational labeling: his anti-image tracts, the surplice anecdote, and the Harpley tradition all place him among rigorous anti-ceremonial clergy. 8
- Surplice anecdote: When cited for not using a surplice and told he was expected always to wear it, he reportedly "came home, and rode a journey with it on." The anecdote is evidence of sharp, literalizing wit rather than simple refusal to conform. 8
- Printed controversialist: His written works include Corpus Christi (1619), The Romish Chain (1624), The Demonstration of Antichrist (1631), Toward the Vindication of the Second Commandment (1639), and the continuation later known as Gurnay Redivivus. 9
- Harpley memorial clue: The possible son Protestant Gurnay is unusually important because his name and epitaph language embody the family's militant anti-Roman posture in stone. The Harpley rectors register says the stone may still be seen on the external south wall near the priest's door, but this needs physical or photographic validation. 5
- John Gurney-1 context: Edmund does not prove John Gurney emigrated to North America. He does, however, strengthen the contextual picture that Francis Gurney (G14)'s immediate family belonged to a Norfolk/London milieu in which Puritan and anti-Roman commitments were prominent. 11
Narrative
Edmund Gurney, usually printed by himself as Edmund Gurnay, is a close collateral figure for the G14 generation. He was a son of Henry Gurnay of West Barsham and Ellingham and Ellen Blennerhasset, and therefore brother of Francis Gurney (G14), the London Merchant Taylor in the candidate direct line. DNB and Daniel Gurney agree on this placement, and the Camden Society L’Estrange material independently identifies “Parson Edmund Gurney” as brother to Francis. 16
His education was unusually strong for a collateral Norfolk gentleman’s son. DNB places him at Queens’ College, Cambridge, on 30 October 1594, with B.A. in 1600; then as Norfolk fellow of Corpus Christi College in 1601; M.A. in 1602; and B.D. in 1609. The same account notes that he was suspended from fellowship in 1607 for not being in orders, but reinstated by the vice-chancellor. The Harpley rectors register adds ordination and Oxford-incorporation details that should be checked against primary clerical and university records. 312
His clerical career was entirely Norfolk-facing. He left Cambridge in 1614 for the rectory of Edgefield, held that living until 1620, and then received Harpley, where he remained until his death in 1648. Harpley was not merely a living: it was part of an older family geography, and the modern Harpley register remembers him as the “Puritan Rector.” 412
His printed record is doctrinally coherent. Corpus Christi attacked transubstantiation; The Romish Chain attacked Roman claims; The Demonstration of Antichrist treated the Roman church through the Antichrist polemic; and the Second Commandment works argued against images in churches. These writings explain why DNB and later local tradition classify him as Puritan-leaning, even though he retained Harpley through the Civil War period. 910
The detail of his household is still thin. DNB says his wife’s name was Ellen and that he apparently had a son called Protestant, who died young. Harpley’s later register says the stone read “Protestant [Gur]nay” and included a confession defying Rome’s “Heresy, Idolatrye, Bloodthirstness, and boundless soveraynty.” This is genealogically secondary until the parish register and stone are checked, but it is too distinctive to omit. 5
Research Cautions
- Birth year: Use c.1577/8. DNB gives no birth year in the entry title or body; local Harpley material gives 1578; the existing project file used 1577.
- Harpley patron: Thoms identifies Sir William Yelverton as the 1620 patron; the Harpley register's note also points to the Yelverton/Stubbe chain. The attached Grokipedia capture says Sir Robert Barker in one place, which conflicts and should not be used without primary support.
- Edgefield not Happisburgh: DNB, Thoms, and the Harpley register identify Edgefield. The attached Grokipedia capture contains one "Happisburgh" wording that appears to be an error.
- 1660/1661 Gurnay Redivivus issue: DNB says 1661; Folger's catalog records the 1660 second edition / reissue. Treat as a bibliographic discrepancy to be validated against ESTC/Wing and the specific Internet Archive scan.
Citations
- Charles Lethbridge Kingsford, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," in Sidney Lee, ed., Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 23 (London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1890), Wikisource transcription. Source ID:
dnb-edmund-gurney-1890. return - DNB, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," burial and successor-at-Harpley details. Source ID:
dnb-edmund-gurney-1890. return - DNB, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," Cambridge education and 1607 fellowship suspension. Source ID:
dnb-edmund-gurney-1890. return - DNB, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," Edgefield and Harpley livings; William J. Thoms, ed., Anecdotes and Traditions (1839), pp. xviii-xx. Source IDs:
dnb-edmund-gurney-1890,thoms-anecdotes-traditions-1839. return - DNB, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," wife Ellen and probable son Protestant; GGM Benefice, "Register of Rectors — Harpley," Edmund Gurnay entry. Source IDs:
dnb-edmund-gurney-1890,ggm-benefice-harpley-rectors. return - Daniel Gurney, The Record of the House of Gournay, Part III (1848), pp. 523-524, Heralds' Visitation material for Francis Gurnay of London; Thoms, ed., Anecdotes and Traditions (1839), pp. xviii-xx. Source IDs:
dg-rec-pt3,thoms-anecdotes-traditions-1839. return - DNB, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," title-page spelling note. Source ID:
dnb-edmund-gurney-1890. return - DNB, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," Puritan leaning and surplice anecdote; GGM Benefice, "Register of Rectors — Harpley," Edmund Gurnay entry. Source IDs:
dnb-edmund-gurney-1890,ggm-benefice-harpley-rectors. return - DNB, "Gurney or Gurnay, Edmund (d. 1648)," works list; Folger Shakespeare Library catalog records for Corpus Christi (1619), The Romish chaine (1624), The demonstration of Antichrist (1631), and Toward the vindication of the Second Commandment (1639). Source IDs:
folger-corpus-christi-1619,folger-romish-chaine-1624,folger-demonstration-antichrist-1631,folger-second-commandment-1639. return - Folger Shakespeare Library, catalog record for Gurnay redivivus, or an appendix unto the homily against images in churches (London: J. Rothwel, 1660), including note that it was originally published in 1641 and was a second edition / reissue; DNB's 1661 note. Source IDs:
gurnay-redivivus-1660,dnb-edmund-gurney-1890. return - Contextual use in
research/case-files/john-gurney-case-file-v4.md, where Francis Gurney (G14)'s London, family, and religious-network setting is evaluated. return - GGM Benefice, "Register of Rectors — Harpley," Edmund Gurnay entry: local rector chronology, ordination note, Oxford incorporation note, Protestant Gurnay epitaph transcription, alehouse note, and Wren-visitation tradition. Source ID:
ggm-benefice-harpley-rectors. return