John Gully – and his connection with Ackworth
Some people lead colourful lives. One such person was John Gully, who was born on 21st August 1783 at the Crown Inn, Wick, near Bristol where his father was the landlord. Contemporary reports describe him as being ‘a big quiet man’. Shortly after John’s birth his father became a butcher in Bath. John worked for his father and inherited the business on his father’s death. In 1805 the business failed resulting in John’s imprisonment for debt. Whilst in prison he was visited by a friend, Henry Pearce, a well-known prize-fighter who was nicknamed the ‘Game Chicken’. An informal match was arranged between them that took place in the prison with the result that Gully’s debts were settled. On his release from jail a match with Pearce was held at Hailsham, Sussex, on 8th October 1805. The future King William IV (then Duke of Clarence) was present. After 64 rounds Gully lost the match; his performance however, was enthusiastically admired. After Pearce retired from the ring due to illness, Gully fought two successful fights with Bob Gregson, who was a giant of a man. The first fight took place near Newmarket on 14th October 1807 when Gully won £200 in 26 rounds. The second fight was staged in Hertfordshire and lasted for 1 hour 15 minutes and 28 rounds. Once again the prize money amounted to £200. These victories resulted in Gully becoming the acknowledged champion. He never fought again.
Those were the days of bare-fist boxing when a man could be knocked down time and again, no matter how long he lay on the ground, so long as he could stagger upright to take more punishment. Eventually some organisers of the boxing academies introduced ‘mufflers’. These were cloths that were wrapped around the hands. It was not until 1869 that the eighth Marquis of Queensberry originated the Queensberry rules that insisted on the use of padded gloves, three-minute rounds and strict supervision of the type of blows permitted.
Gully then turned his sporting interests towards horse racing. In 1832 his horses won both the Derby and the St. Leger and he was reputed to have won £80,000. In 1844 one of his horses won the Two Thousand Guineas. In 1846 horses from his stable won the Derby and Oaks and in 1854 his horses were winners of the Two Thousand Guineas and the Derby. Gully’s horses were trained at Danebury, Hampshire. He purchased Upper Hare Park near Newmarket from Lord Rivers but soon sold the property to Sir Clark Wood.
In 1832 he bought Ackworth Park near Pontefract, he paid £21,000 for this property which had originally been a hunting lodge. The hall was built around 1630. At one time the estate belonged to Mary Lowther who bequeathed the almshouses in Pontefract Road to Ackworth Village. One of the crops grown on his land was hemp, the fibres being used in rope manufacture. Today the park covers 180 acres of land. In 1832 Gully turned his attention to politics, standing as Liberal Member of Parliament for Pontefract. Pontefract returned two members to Parliament – John Gully and the Hon. H.VS. Jerningham.
In 1835 Gully was again returned and retained his seat until 1837. He tried again in 1841 but lost to Viscount Pollington and Richard Monckton-Milnes (later Lord Houghton of Fryston Hall). In the early fifties John sold Ackworth Hall to a Mr. Hill and moved to Marwell Hall near Winchester.
His next successful venture took place in 1862 when he purchased Cocken Hall, the Wingate Estate in County Durham plus the coalmines that were included in the estate. During his varied career he found time to marry twice and to father twenty-four children (twelve per wife).
John Gully died at Durham on 9th March 1863 aged 79. Father Lomax, the priest at the small Roman Catholic church in Ackworth, buried him at Ackworth in land, which he had purchased and had consecrated. The parson at St. Cuthbert’s church would not allow a Catholic burial service to be held in his churchyard, so when one of John Gully’s daughters died, John had no hesitation in acquiring a plot of land adjacent to the church yard for his personal burial ground.
John Gully had literally fought his way out of a debtor’s prison and made his way to the top. He died a wealthy man.
ROBERT GULLY
On the south wall of Ackworth Church is a memorial which reads:
‘Sacred to the memory of Robert Gully, son of John Gully, Esq., who, after suffering the horrors and privations of shipwreck on the Island of Formosa, in the brig Ann, on the night of the 10th of March, 1842, in which vessel he was passenger; he was, together with the rest of the crew, taken prisoner by the Chinese, and suffered the greatest privations and hardships, which he bore with the most exemplary fortitude, manly and cheerful resignation, to about the 13th of August, when he, together with about 300 other British subjects, was most barbarously murdered in cold blood by the Chinese authorities, in the town of Tywan Foo, aged 28 years. He was endeared to a large circle of friends for his manly virtues and kindness of heart. This tablet was erected by a bereaved and afflicted father.’
JOHN GULLY’S GRAVEYARD ST.CUTHBERT’S ACKWORTH
Graveyard photo by Bill Henderson
Copyrighted but also licensed for further reuse.
what a superman one of the great characters of england thanks for fine article
Wow an amazing insight to johns life . I lived there on Ackworth park in a smallcottage for two years in 2004 . Miss tunacliff is selling it off now which is a great shame as i can feel the ghosts of its great history still and its remains of outer farm buildings and kitchen quarters . Could you contact me as I am writing myself about all its memorys trying to piece parts of it together before its gone . There is still the old origional stone bath in it so I hope builders know what there doing! . Regards Carol
Hi Carol
Such an interesting character and I am looking forward to reading his son’s diary which Mick mentions.
B.
This was family member amazing history
Hi Daniel
Yes, a great superman. How are you related? Where do you live?
Barbara
hi again did you follow up and read the book written by his son robert before he was beheaded by the chinese during the opium wars on an island i think which is now formosa it is an incredible diary just like the life of his dad thanks for response
Hi
No, I didn’t know about the diary but will try to get it.
B.
Very interesting,
I went to school in Ackworth, but now live in Durham where
John Gully died, there are also other connections between Ackworth and Durham, St Cuthberts church where St. Cuthbert is buried and stained glass windows that I believe were relocated to Durham Cathedral from a demolished church in Ackworth.
JMH
Im married to his Great Granddaughter. We live in Chilliwack British Columbia. One day we want to visit Ackworth and area –
Hi Burt
Thank you for contacting me. John Gully is still remembered in Ackworth. Will let my friends know about you.
B.
Barbara
I am very interested in any background information on the life of John Gully and his family connections as I am writing a biography of him which will be published next year. I was pleased to learn that Burt Graham is also interested in him and that his wife is descended from John Gully. I hope that I could receive any further news about the great man.
Thank you
Keith Baker
Hi Keith
Pleased that you found the blog about John Gully interesting. I am sorry that I don’t know more than I have already written.
I wish you success with the book.
Barbara
Does anyone know of a photograph or sketch or painting of Ackworth Park? There seems to be no record of its appearance.
In Maurice Colbeck’s, “Queer Folk: a comicality of Yorkshire characters”, there appears a poem written by some wit following John Gully’s election as MP for Pontefract. Perhaps his bare-knuckle fighting and association with horse racing wasn’t to everyone’s liking. The poem runs something like:
‘One wonders why Pontefract her name did sully
By returning to parliament, Gully.
The etymological reason one supposes
Is his breaking the bridges of so many noses.’
Pontefract, of course, derives its name from the French, ‘ponte fracture’, meaning ‘broken bridge’.
John Gully was my Great Great Great Grandfather, my mother was Elizabeth Gully before she married my father Stanley Morton, the Gully family ended up in Brighton but have now all died and their name only lives on from one GGG grandson who died three years ago he has two sons who will now carry the name on, I had four uncles George, Percey, Frederick, and Bert an aunty, Gladys, Dorothy, and my mother Elizabeth Gully all wonderful lovely people, John Gully had twenty-four children so there must be lots of Gullys out there somewhere from his male offspring I have no idea where they are. he was a self-made man and I am proud to be part of his family. My name is Raymond Morton.
Hi
You must be very proud to have such a renowned ancestor. Thank you for getting in touch.
Barbara
I am Anrhony Lacy Gully,great grandson of Commorodore Henry Laurence Gully, one of John’s many children. My paternal grandfather was Cuthbert Gully, named after St. Cuthbert church , important to the village of Ackworth. My family has visited the Gully burial plot adajcent to St. Cuthbert’s church.I have a capital from the original facade, a gift of the owner in the 1980s. There exists a colored lithograph of the original house. We have an large oil study of John Gully. It is the preparatory study for the Reform Parliament Group portrait in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Our branch of the Gullys are from California and British Columbia. I would dearly love to get in contact with other family members.
So pleased too hear from you.. John Gully is one of the most visited of my blogs.
Barbara, If you are still looking for accurate information on nearly any part of John Gully’s life, I think I can provide it since I have been researching JG for the best part of 20 years.
Hi Charles
Ackworth Heritage Group are very interested. They take care of John Gully’s grave etc. I will give them your email address.
Thankyou very much.
Charles, I would like you to send any information to me.
I tried your email but it was returned by maeler daemon.
Barbara
My father and his family lived at Ackworth Park in the early 1900s. His father was Oliver Barton and he maintained the gardens as a commercial enterprise for the owners even though the house was empty. I believe that they were there for about 10 years and me father had many tales to tell about what went on there. I do have some documents appertaining to my grandfather’s time there.
Hi Trevor
So interesting to hear about your grandfather.
Barbara
Dear Barbara,
I have just (!) seen your reply e-mail to me dated 10/16/2019. I had always hoped to write a biography of John Gully, but it is now beyond my computer skills! I am at present trying to reduce the information (early life, pugilism, racing, hunting, politics, coal mining, marriages, children and a host of other matters) that I have, including his houses and commercial property in Newmarket, London, Ackworth, Hampshire, Yorkshire and Durham. Once reduced to manageable proportions it wil be deposited in a Sporting Library in Surrey. If there any specific questions (presumably from the ‘Ackworth’ period) please ask: westho@talktalk.net.
With best wishes and the hope that you are not too affected by lockdown,
Charles Lane.
Hi Charles
Such an amazing character!
Hope you do well with your writing about him.
Barbara
I am researching the name of Ackworth Road which is a short road in North Taranaki New Zealand and information uncovered so far leads us to think that it was given the name Ackworth in honor of a John Gully who was a surveyor and local painter. As the road traverses an elevated piece of country it could hardly be called ‘Gully Road’ so we think the association of Ackworth and Gully was the reason this name was chosen for this road
Hi Peter
Not the Ackworth Gully. He was a famous boxer and landowner. Also an M.P.
barbara
I am given to understand that the NZ John Gully is related somehow. He lived from 1819 – 1888 obviously not the same person but for some reason it seems possible he could be related.
So far this is the only connection we can come up with for the name Ackworth being used as a road name here
I recall that I do have some information about a Gully that I believe was military and he died in Australia. I’ve always hoped that someone would get a picture of the headstone. I will get back to you on this.
John Gully is my GGG Grandfather.