Background
Gurney was born at Norwood, the son of Sir John Gurney, a Baron of the Exchequer and his wife Maria Hawes daughter of William Hawes Doctor of Medicine.
Gurney was born at Norwood, the son of Sir John Gurney, a Baron of the Exchequer and his wife Maria Hawes daughter of William Hawes Doctor of Medicine.
He was educated at Dunham Norfolk under Mr Jowett and at Trinity College, Cambridge and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple, of which became a bencher in November 1828.
In 1845 he was made a Queen"s Counsel and in 1856 was elected Recorder of London. He occasionally acted as Judge of Assize, and went the Western, Oxford, Northern, and North Wales circuits. He was one of the Boundary Commissioners appointed by the Representation of the People Acting 1867.
He was chairman of the Law Reversionary Interest Society, deputy chairman of the Law Fire Insurance Company, and a director of the Law Assurance Company
He held the seat until his death at the age of 73 in 1878.
In parliament he was in charge of several important measures including the bill to remove defects in the Administration of the Criminal Law of 1867, the Married Women"s Property Acting of 1870, the Public Prosecutor"s Bill of 1871, the Public Worship Regulation Acting of 1874 and the United Kingdom Medical Acting of 1876 (39 and 40 Vict, Ch 41), an act which repealed the previous Medical Acting in the United Kingdom and allowed all British medical authorities to license all qualified applicants whatever their gender. Gurney married Emelia Batten (born 26 July 1823, died 1896), daughter of Review
Ellis Batten, one of the masters of Harrow School in 1852.
19th United Kingdom Parliament. 20th United Kingdom Parliament. 21st United Kingdom Parliament.
Royal Society]
He was a Commissioner of the Jamaica Rebellion inquiry and was sworn a member of the Privy Council in 1866, in recognition of his services.
At the 1865 general election Gurney was elected as a Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for Southampton. She was a member of the Kensington Society and her correspondence was published.
