From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English bishop (1664?1734)
Richard Willis
(1663–1734) was an English bishop.
Life
[
edit
]
Willis was born in
Ribbesford
,
Worcestershire
, where his father was a
tanner
.
[1]
He was educated at
Bewdley
Grammar School and
Wadham College, Oxford
, where he matriculated in 1684 and graduated
BA
in 1688. He became a Fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford
.
[2]
Willis became a curate at
Cheshunt
and then, in 1692, lecturer at
St Clement, Strand
, where he acquired a reputation as a preacher. In 1694 he was chaplain to
King William III
on a journey to the
Netherlands
.
In 1701 Willis was appointed
Dean of Lincoln
[2]
and in 1714
Bishop of Gloucester
. In 1721 he became
Bishop of Salisbury
and
Chancellor of the Order of the Garter
before transferring in 1723 to be
Bishop of Winchester
and
Clerk of the Closet
. Willis was
Lord High Almoner
from 1718 to 1723.
He was one of the principal founders of the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
(SPCK).
[3]
He gave in 1702 the first of the annual sermons on behalf of the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
(SPG). It proposed an influential set of theories about evangelical missionary work in connection with the Anglican church settlement, commercial life and colonization.
[4]
[5]
He accused
John Locke
of “Hobbism” citing a parallel with
Leviathan
. He attacked
deism
in general, and
John Toland
and
William Stephens
in particular.
[6]
He gave a thanksgiving sermon 23 August 1705, for victories of the
Duke of Marlborough
in the
War of the Spanish Succession
. Given in
St Paul's Cathedral
, it was an elaborate effort for a full state occasion, and was published.
[7]
It attracted also attracted controversy, with
John Hughes
writing
A review of the case of Ephraim and Judah, and its application to the case of the church of England and the dissenters
, and
Joseph Williamson
replying.
[8]
He was also attacked by the
Unitarian
Thomas Emlyn
.
[9]
He was a
Whig
in politics.
He died on 10 August 1734 aged 71. There is a large memorial to him in
Winchester Cathedral
sculpted by
Henry Cheere
.
[10]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Parishes: Ribbesford with the borough of Bewdley | British History Online"
.
- ^
a
b
"Willis, Richard"
.
Dictionary of National Biography
. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885?1900.
- ^
"Beverstone - Bickleigh | British History Online"
.
- ^
Rowan Strong,
Anglicanism and the British Empire C.1700-1850
(2007), p. 41, 64, 67.
- ^
Bertrand Van Ruymbeke,
From New Babylon to Eden: The Huguenots and Their Migration to Colonial South Carolina
(2006), p. 124.
- ^
Making Authority: belief, conviction and reason in the public sphere in late seventeenth century England
- ^
"John Strype's Survey of London Online"
. Archived from
the original
on 14 June 2011
. Retrieved
22 January
2009
.
- ^
A vindication of the thanksgiving-sermon of the Reverend Dr. Willis
(1705)
- ^
"Emlyn Thomas"
.
Dictionary of National Biography
. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885?1900.
- ^
Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
High Medieval
| |
---|
Late Medieval
| |
---|
Early modern
| |
---|
Late modern
| |
---|
|
---|
Gloucester (1541)
| |
---|
Gloucester and Bristol
| |
---|
Gloucester (1897)
| |
---|
|
---|
see at Sherborne
| |
---|
see at
Old Sarum
| |
---|
Medieval
| |
---|
Early modern
| |
---|
Late modern
| |
---|
|
---|
Early Medieval
634?1006
| | Arms of the Bishop of Winchester
|
---|
High Medieval
1006?1304
| |
---|
Late Medieval
1305?1501
| |
---|
Early Modern
1501?1820
| |
---|
Late Modern
1820?current
| |
---|
|
---|
17th century
| |
---|
18th century
| |
---|
19th century
| |
---|
Since 1900
| |
---|
|
---|
Bishops of Salisbury (1477?1550)
| | |
---|
Lay chancellors (1551?1671)
| |
---|
Bishops of Salisbury (1671?1837)
| |
---|
Bishops of Oxford (1837?1937)
| |
---|
Knights and Ladies Companion (since 1937)
| |
---|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|