Gunn Essex

When I began my pursuit of the past I was surprised at the number of Gunns in Essex: the county could claim a greater number of families than anywhere else in Britain.

Lacking any information I assumed the hypothesis that this disproportionate number might have been the result of Highland clearances - I had read somewhere that Essex was thought to be as savage a destination as the wilds of Canada or Australia.

However as I moved back & beyond the 1745 rebellion & found no diminution of Gunns I looked for other answers.

One way of opening a debate, I thought, was to write an article for a clan magazine in which I sketched my research & postulated that these Essex Gunns may be the direct descendants of the Vikings whom Alfred pushed behind the Danelaw.

The somewhat prim & disappointing response was a note from the editor pointing out that this was a false hypothesis as, & I paraphrase: "there are no towns or villages with Viking names in Essex, therefore no Vikings or their descendants can have remained".This is rather like claiming that there are no Asians living in Yorkshire because there are no villages with Bengali names or attempting to prove that, as I have no convictions for speeding on my licence, I have never sped.

Incidentally, although I have not found a "Viking" village in Essex, I have discovered one in Cambridgeshire called Gunthorpe. I believe that puts it in the Danelaw.

Gunns Nottinghamshire

One of the responses to my article on the large number of Gunns in Essex was to point out that Nottinghamshire also boasted a fair few.

Eight years after my scribblings appeared, am article on the Nottinghamshire Gunns was published. It gives a brief outline of the Danish invasions & Alfred's repulse and concludes with the comment that, as most of the local (Nottinghamshire Gunns) are farmers, "they are probably of Danish origin, and thus not related to the Norse Gunns".

The writer was, however, willing to accept the Danish Gunns as "name brothers."

None of this is the least helpful as I still have no idea as to where the Essex Gunns came from. As most of my forebears appear to have been either common soldiers or farm labourers, perhaps I should claim them as the descendants of Danish Vikings, albeit probably peasants.

Gunns Danish

Perhaps I should have been less provocative & suggested that, in the absence of any apparent link with Scotland, English Gunns might have descended from the Norsemen & thus could claim some kinship with the Scottish branch.

Gunns Weeley?

I am indebted to Keith G. for the information that his grandfather joined a Scottish regiment that was stationed outside Weeley.

I do not know how many Scots regiments were stationed in Essex or over what period of time but this information produces some fresh scenarios - or windmill sails:

My great great grandfather was a soldier who I initially assumed to have joined an Essex regiment.

While soldiering he had three children, born in Scotland, East Africa & India. I have been assured by the the experts that no Essex regiment went into Scotland in the latter half of the 19^th century & Keith's contribution has leads to speculation that perhaps my g.g. grandfather joined a Scottish outfit.

I paid a visit to the Essex Regiment's Museum in Chelmsford But drew a blank. The curator was extremely helpful but he reckoned I would have to go to the records office in Kew for any information.

I guess I am going to have to make the pilgrimage as any relevant information on British regiments & their movements seems impossible to come by on the internet. 

Gunns Historical?

Mark Rugg Gunn, in his excellent book, "Clan Gunn", devotes a section to "English and Other Gunns" - and is a good source of information on this matter.

He begins with the question: "Are all Gunns connected with the Clan Gunn?" and, while stating that this question cannot be answered accurately, concludes that the bulk of evidence is that it is not so.

Gunns Who?

Although I am convinced that not all Gunns- perhaps even the majority - are of Scottish descent I cannot find any authority or consensus of opinion as to the provenance of English Gunns.

What I have found, however, are some interesting & vaguely dubious theories as to the name's origins:

Gunns French

One response to my article was a suggestion that the name was derived from the French "Gonne" and these Gonnes were refugee Huguenot weavers.

I have no idea whether or not "Gonne" is a French name but I do know in 1685 that some 40,000 Huguenots were driven out of France in to settle in Britain.

1685 postdates the family trees that I have seen and, what is more, I have found no records of Gunns being weavers.
However, Richard B. writes to inform me that the Huguenots were "also lace makers" & that many of them fled to Northamptonshire "which became a centre of English lace making".

Gunns Welsh

My favourite has to be a website that claims the Gunns are "Mainly a Pictish tribe, the name Gunn is probably equivalent to the Welsh name "Gwynne"."

It goes on, somewhat snootily: "The Gunn clan chiefs have, however, claimed descent from Gunni..."

This site acknowledges that this information is taken from a book "Scots Kith and Kin, A Guide to the Clans and Surnames of Scotland" which can be purchased from them.

If you are interested in visiting this website it can be found at: www.webscot.co.uk

Apropos, M.R. Gunn in his book, "Clan Gunn", suggests that it is feasible that "Gavin, Gawn, Gwynne… have become corrupted to Gunn."

Gunns Oxford

The article on Nottinghamshire Gunns that I quoted earlier mentions that the 1981 edition of the "Penguin Dictionary of Surnames" claims that Gunn is mainly a Nottinghamshire name.

"The Oxford Names Companion" allows that it is both English & Scots but states that the English version is a "metonymic occupational name for someone who operated a siege engine or cannon... from the Middle English, gunne or gonne, a ballista or cannon."

It also suggests that was, perhaps, a nickname for a forceful person.

I see; Essex is awash with the descendants of forceful cannoneers. A sort of elephants' graveyard for stroppy artillery men.