John Gumley ( – 19 December 1728) was an English furniture maker and politician.

Life

Gumley was the eldest son of Peter Gumley, a cabinet maker, and Elizabeth Davis. In 1692, he married Susannah White, sister-in-law to Sir John Wittewrong, 3rd Baronet.GUMLEY, John (c.1670-1728), of Isleworth, Mdx.
''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1715-1754'', ed. Romney Sedgwick, 1970. By 1694, he was advertising "all sorts of cabinet work", but his most successful enterprises were in glass-making. In 1703, he supplied large mirrors to

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family si ...

, and in 1705 opened a glass-house at

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

. In 1712, his work was praised by

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator (1711), The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steel ...

in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''. Gumley and James Moore succeeded Gerrit Jensen as royal cabinet-makers in 1715, and in 1716 Pulteney appointed Gumley Deputy Commissioner of Musters. After unsuccessfully contesting

Bramber (UK Parliament constituency) Bramber was a parliamentary borough in Sussex, one of the most notorious of all the rotten boroughs. It elected two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Common ...

in 1722, he became MP for

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...

. In 1724, he was appointed Commissioner General of Musters. He built Gumley House in Isleworth which was left to his daughter Anna Maria. Retiring as an MP in 1727. He died on 19 December 1728, aged 57 or 58.

Family legacy

After Gumley's death his wife Susan Gumley continued the business. He had three sons and four daughters. Gumley's daughter, Anna Maria married William Pulteney, the future Earl of Bath in 1714. Gumley's daughter Susanna married Christopher Lockman and died from childbirth complications upon delivering their son, Rev. Dr. John Lockman, Canon of Windsor. Gumley's daughter Mary married Francis Colman and their son George Colman was a playwright. Gumley's daughter Laetitia married Launcelot Charles Lake and their son

Gerard Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other Germanic name, early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful ...

was a general. He plainly thought very little of his eldest son, George who was to all intents and purposes disinherited being given a stipend of £150 a year on condition that he did not get in contact with his mother. His other son,

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 ...

succeeded him as a partner in the glass manufactory of Richard Hughes & Co. of Vauxhall and went out to India where he was first Chief of Dacca. His third son, Samuel was an army officer.

Life

Family legacy

References

Further reading