George Wilkins, D.D. (1785-1865) served as a priest in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and was Archdeacon of Nottingham.

Early life

George Wilkins was born in May 1785 in Norwich, the youngest of three sons and three daughters of William Wilkins (1749-1819) and Hannah née Willett (born 9 June 1754 in Norwich), who were married on 19 April 1776 in St Stephen's Church, Norwich. He came from a family of architects: his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

designed several famous buildings including the National Gallery, London. His father was estate architect to the head of the Pierrepont family, who since 1806 had been styled the

Earl Manvers Earl Manvers was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1806 for Charles Medows Pierrepont, 1st Viscount Newark. He had already been created Baron Pierrepont, of Holme Pierrepont in the County of Nottingham, and Viscou ...

. Wilkins was educated at the Grammar School at Bury St Edmunds and

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

Career

George was ordained in 1810 and served, in succession, as *Curate of Great Plumstead 1808 *Curate of

Hadleigh, Suffolk Hadleigh () is an ancient market town and civil parish in South Suffolk, East Anglia, situated, next to the River Brett, between the larger towns of Sudbury and Ipswich. It had a population of 8,253 at the 2011 census. The headquarters of B ...

, 1808 - 1815 *Vicar of Laxton, Nottinghamshire, 1813 - 1817 *Vicar of

Lowdham Lowdham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire between Nottingham and Southwell. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,832, increasing to 3,334 at the 2011 Census. Two main roads slicing thro ...

, Nottinghamshire, 1815 - 1839 *Vicar of St Mary's Church, Nottingham, 1817 - 1843 *Prebendary of

Southwell Minster Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...

1823 - 1865 *Rector of

Wing, Rutland Wing is a village and civil parish in the East Midlands county of Rutland, England. The population was 315 at the 2001 census and 314 at that of 2011. It features a fine church and a labyrinth made of turf. Rutland Water reservoir is nearby. H ...

, 1827 - 1839, Archdeacon of Nottingham 1832 - 1865 *Rector of

Beelsby Beelsby is a village in North East Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately south-west from Grimsby. Beelsby population at the 2001 Census was 114, increasing to 119 at the 2011 census. The village is the source for the Ri ...

, Lincolnshire, 1843 - 1865. During his time in Nottingham, he had a continuing problem in ensuring that people wanting to get married were genuine parishioners. He employed a sexton for each banns application to check the residence of the applicants. He himself had eloped to

Gretna Green Gretna Green is a parish in the southern council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the Scottish side of the border between Scotland and England, defined by the small river Sark, which flows into the nearby Solway Firth. It was histori ...

to marry Amelia Auriol Hay-Drummond during his time at Hadleigh. Wilkins was a 26-yr-old Curate, who had been posted to Hadleigh, and lodged with the Rector, the Very Rev. Edward Auriol Hay-Drummond, whose father's father was

Thomas Hay, 7th Earl of Kinnoull Thomas Hay, 7th Earl of Kinnoull (1660 – 5 January 1719), styled as Viscount Dupplin from 1697–1709, was a Scottish peer and Conservative politician. Biography He was a descendant of Peter Hay of Rattray, Perthshire (younger brother ...

, whose father-in-law was Robert Harley, the 1st Earl of Oxford. His wife was the eldest daughter of the Rector. They were married on 2 September 1811, nine days before her 17th birthday. After the marriage, they returned to continue living in the parental home and went on to have nine children. As Vicar of St Mary's, Nottingham, he was preaching at a service when a loud crack from the masonry caused those attending to believe that the tower was collapsing, and a panic ensued. Wilkins summoned the architect

Lewis Nockalls Cottingham Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787 – 13 October 1847) was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings. He set up a Museum of Medieval Art in Waterloo Road, Lon ...

to survey the fabric, and Cottingham implemented a scheme to prop up the tower with scaffolding while the tower piers were repaired.The surveyor, architect and engineer. 1843 By selecting Cottingham, Wilkins is credited with saving St Mary's medieval fabric, rather than submitting to a project to rebuild the church. He was also responsible for the construction of two churches out of St Mary's parish. *

St Paul's Church, George Street, Nottingham St. Paul's Church, George Street, was a Church of England church built as a chapel of ease to St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. It was opened in 1822 and closed in 1924. Background It was consecrated by Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt the Archbis ...

* Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Square A third church, St John the Baptist, Leenside was begun during his incumbency but he resigned before its completion.

Family

Wilkin's second "posting" was in 1808, as Curate at Hadleigh under the Rector, Dr. Edward Hay-Drummond, into whose household he was invited to live. Three years later the young curate eloped with the Rector's daughter Amelia Auriol (born 11 September 1794 in Little Missenden; died 31 January 1871 in Bayswater, London) to Gretna Green, where they were married on 2 September 1811, nine days before her 17th birthday. They then returned to Hadleigh to continue living in her father's house. They had 14 children, but at least five died in infancy :- # Georgina Marian Wilkins, b. July 1827 in Nottingham, died 13 December 1894 at 226 Portsdown Rd, Bayswater, London, W2 # Rev. John Murray Wilkins # Charles Hay Wilkins (1812-1813) # George Dashwood Wilkins (1813-1885) # Edward Murray Wilkins (1814-1814) # Emily Hay Wilkins (1817-) # Charlotte Louisa Wilkins (1818-1848) # Edward Drummond Wilkins (1820-1820) # Rosabelle St. Clair Wilkins (1821-1821) # Harriet Alicia Wilkins (1823- ) # Augustus Wilkins (1824-1825) # Rev. Arthur Drummond Wilkins (1830- ) # Reginald Hay Wilkins (1833- ) # Augusta Emma Wilkins (1837-1872) # Henry St. Clair Wilkins (3 December 1828 - 1896)

Death

Wilkins died on 13 August 1865 in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.

Early life

Career

Family

Death

References

Further reading