Albert Basil Orme Wilberforce (14 February 1841 – 13 May 1916) was an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest and author in the second half of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th. He was the

Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons The Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, also known as the Speaker's Chaplain, is a Church of England priest who officiates at services held at the Palace of Westminster and its associated chapel, St Mary Undercroft. The Chaplain a ...

and

Archdeacon of Westminster The Archdeacon of Westminster is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Chapter of the Royal Peculiar of Westminster Abbey in London. The holder of the post oversees relationships with the twenty-four parishes of which the Dean and Chapter ar ...

Biography

Early life

Born in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

as the youngest son of

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day.Natural Hi ...

(and therefore grandson of famed abolitionist

William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...

; his elder brother

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

became Bishop of Newcastle then of Chichester), he was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

and ordained in 1866.

Career

He was

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his elect ...

and then held

curacies A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...

Cuddesdon Cuddesdon is a mainly rural village in South Oxfordshire centred ESE of Oxford. It has the largest Church of England clergy training centre, Ripon College Cuddesdon. Residents number approximately 430 in Cuddesdon's nucleated village centre a ...

, Seaton and

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

. He was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St. Mary's,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

from 1871 to 1894, and an Honorary Canon of

. In April 1894 he was appointed

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

and Rector of the parish church of St John the Evangelist, annexed to Westminster. He was appointed

in 1896, and continually re-elected to the post until his death in 1916. Biographer Charlotte Elizabeth Woods wrote that " w Chaplains have filled this time-honoured post with so much dignity, grace, and distinction." In 1900 he was appointed the

Personal life

Basil Wilberforce, Vanity Fair, 1909-01-06

He married Charlotte Langford on 28 November 1865 at

St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, is a Grade II*listed Anglican church of the Anglo-Catholic tradition located at 32a Wilton Place in Knightsbridge, London. History and architecture The church was founded in 1843, the first in London to champion ...

. He was a strong supporter of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

, and abstained from all alcohol after 31. He was good friends with temperance leader

Lady Henry Somerset Isabella Caroline Somerset, Lady Henry Somerset (née Somers-Cocks; 3 August 1851 – 12 March 1921), styled Lady Isabella Somers-Cocks from 5 October 1852 to 6 February 1872, was a British philanthropist, temperance leader and campaigner for w ...

. He met 'Abdu'l-Baha, the last of three "central figures" of

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, in 1911. He died on 13 May 1916. He was 75.''Death Of Archdeacon Wilberforce. Chaplain To The Commons''.

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

, Monday, May 15, 1916; pg. 4; Issue 41167; col F.

Partial list of published works

*''The battle of the Lord''. (London : Elliot Stock) *''The established church and the liquor traffic : being a letter addressed to His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury''. *''Important correspondence with Canon Wilberforce on vivisection''. (Boston, Mass.) *''Mystic Immanence, the Indwelling Spirit''. *''New (?) theology : thoughts on the universality and continuity of the doctrine of the immanence of God''. (London : Stock) 1908 *''Our Father's Lent and His Easter land''. (Butler & Tanner) *''The secret of the quiet mind''. (London : E. Stock) *''Seeing God : personal recognition of divine love''. (London : Elliot Stock) *''Sermon preached to the 2nd special service battalion of the Royal Canadian regiment, in Westminster Abbey, on Advent Sunday''. *''Spiritual consciousness''. (New York : Dodd, Mead) *''There is no death''. (New York : Dodd, Mead) *''The trinity of evil : I. infidelity, II. impurity, III. intemperance''. (Toronto : S.R. Briggs) 1885 *''Why does not God stop the war?''. (London : Elliot Stock) *''Down in the Depths: The Awakening of the Spirit''. *''Following on to Know''. 1904 *''Speaking Good of His Name''. 1905 *''Sanctification by the Truth''. 1906 *''The Hope that is in me''. 1909 *''The Power that Worketh in us''. 1910 *''Sermons preached in Westminster Abbey''. 1898 (1st series), 1902 (2nd series)

References

Works cited (by date)

''News items and websites listed in Reference section only.'' * * * *

External links

*
National Portrait Gallery - Albert Basil Orme Wilberforce (1841-1916), Archdeacon of Westminster; son of Samuel Wilberforce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilberforce, Basil 1841 births Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Archdeacons of Westminster 1916 deaths Canons of Westminster

Basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

People educated at Eton College