Gunning, Peter, Bishop of Ely (1614 -1684)

Peter Gunning was the son of Peter Gunning, Vicar of Hoo in Kent, and Ellen Tracy. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury and Clare Hall, Cambridge, where he matriculated at Michaelmas 1629, took his B.A. in 1633, and his M.A. in 1636. He was elected a Fellow of Corpus Christi College in 1633. He was given the Curacy of Little St Mary's, in Cambridge by Peterhouse. Being an ardent Royalist he had the courage to preach in favour of his convictions and was imprisoned for a while and deprived of his Fellowship. He retired to Oxford in 1644, was made one of the Chaplains of New College, and Curate of Cassington, and admitted a B.D. After the fall of Oxford, he was tutor to Lord Hatton, to Sir Francis Compton, and chaplain to Sir Robert Shirley. After this last patron's death, he lived in London and celebrated the English liturgy at Exeter House. At the Restoration, he became Master of Corpus Christi College, D.D. and Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, exchanging those offices in 1661 for the Mastership of St John's College, Cambridge and the Regius Professorship of Divinity. In 1669 he became Bishop of Chichester and in 1675 was translated to Ely. He bequeathed half of his library to St John's College, Cambridge.