Lot Essay
John Sudbury (1604-1684), Dean of Durham, was a considerable benefactor of Emmanuel College. He had acquired his Bachelor and Master of Arts at Emmanuel College and later became a Doctor of Divinity, Peterborough College. He was Dean of Durham from 1661 until his death in 1684, when he left a sum of money to be given to the best undergraduate of the year for a piece of plate. In later years, the sum was added to by a gift from Henry Hubbard. For a detailed study of the Sudbury Prizes, see T. Kent, The Silver Sudbury Prizes of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, London, 1996