John Gully (21 August 1783 – 9 March 1863) was an English prize-fighter, horse racer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1837.
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Early life [link]
Gully was born at Wick, near Bath, the son of an innkeeper who became a butcher in Bath shortly after John's birth. Gully worked for his father and inherited the business on his father's death. In 1805 the business failed and as a result, Gully was imprisoned for debt.
Boxing [link]
Gully was visited in prison by a friend, Henry Pearce, a well-known prize fighter who was nicknamed "the Game Chicken". An informal match was arranged between them, which took place in the prison; as a result, Gully's debts were settled.
On 8 October 1805, Gully was again matched against Henry Pearce, before the Duke of Clarence (later William IV of the United Kingdom) and numerous other spectators. After fighting twenty eight rounds, which occupied an hour and seventeen minutes, he was beaten. In 1807, he twice fought Bob Gregson, the Lancashire giant, for two hundred guineas a side, winning on both occasions.
Horse racing [link]
Gully became the landlord of the Plough Tavern in Carey Street, London. He retired from the ring in 1808, and took to horse-racing. In 1827 he lost £40,000 by backing his horse Mameluke (for which he had paid four thousand guineas) for the St. Leger Stakes. In partnership with Robert Ridsdale, in 1832, he made £85,000 by winning the Epsom Derby and St Leger with St. Giles and Margrave.
In 1844 in partnership with John Day, Gully won the 2,000 Guineas with Ugly Buck, and two years later he took the Derby and the Epsom Oaks with Pyrrhus The First and Mendicant. In 1854 he won the Two Thousand Guineas with Hermit, and in the same year, in partnership with Henry Padwick, the Derby with Andover.
Political and business interests [link]
Having bought Ackworth Park near Pontefract, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Pontefract constituency from December 1832 to July 1837.
In 1862 he purchased the Wingate Grange estate and collieries. A street in Wingate, County Durham is named after him.
Gully died at Durham on 9 March 1863. His body was returned to Ackworth where he was interred with his daughter.
Family [link]
Gully was twice married and had twelve children by each wife. His daughter Mary married engineer and cricketer William Pedley.
John Gully in fiction [link]
Gully makes a notable appearance in Royal Flash, in George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman series of books, and was played by Henry Cooper in the 1975 film version.
See also [link]
References [link]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs [self-published source?][better source needed]
External links [link]
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Gully
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Valentine Stafford-Jerningham and John Savile, Viscount Pollington |
Member of Parliament for Pontefract 1832–1837 With: Henry Valentine Stafford-Jerningham, to 1835; John Savile, Viscount Pollington, to 1835–1837 |
Succeeded by Richard Monckton Milnes William Thomas Stanley-Massey-Stanley |
https://wn.com/John_Gully
John Gully (artist)
John Gully (1819 – 1 November 1888) was a prominent New Zealand landscape painter.
He was born in Bath, and was the son of Philip Gully, a porter, and Mary Vincent. Gully's formal education finished when he was apprenticed to Stothert's foundry aged around 13. He worked in the designing and drafting department. He received some training in painting from a Bristol watercolourist, W. J. Muller. Having finished his apprenticeship, he got a job as a clerk in the Bath Savings Bank, then later joined his father's business in that city. He was probably already painting as a pastime, and—apart from a few private lessons—received no formal art training.
Gully was a man of medium height with a broad brow and receding forehead, brown eyes, dark hair and whiskers. He was modest and genial.
On 22 July 1846 John Gully married Jane Moore, a young widow with a baby son and the daughter of John Eyles. They went on to have six children, two of whom died in childhood.
In 1852 Jane and John decided to emigrate with their family of three children to New Zealand. John Gully was influenced by his reading of Hursthouse's glowing account of New Zealand titled Account of the Settlement of New Plymouth. The family sailed out from London on 23 December 1851 on the John Phillips, a small barque. They arrived in Auckland on 5 April 1852, where after a month the ship proceeded to the settlement of New Plymouth finally arriving at their destination on 9 May 1852.
