Henry Bristow Wilson (1803–1888) was a

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and a fellow of

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

Life

Born on 10 June 1803, he was elder son of Harry Bristow Wilson, by his wife Mary Anne, daughter of John Moore. He entered Merchant Taylors' School in October 1809, and was elected to

, in 1821. Matriculating on 25 June 1821, he graduated B.A. in 1825, M.A. in 1829, and B.D. in 1834, and received a fellowship in 1825, which he retained until 1850. In 1831 he was appointed dean of arts, and he acted as tutor from 1833 to 1835. He was

Rawlinsonian Professor of Anglo-Saxon The Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, until 1916 known as the Rawlinsonian Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, was established by Richard Rawlinson of St John's College, Oxford, in 1795. The Chair is associated with Pembroke Colleg ...

at Oxford from 1839 to 1844. In 1850 he was presented by St John's College to the vicarage of

Great Staughton Great Staughton is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Great Staughton lies approximately south-west of Huntingdon. Great Staughton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan dis ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

, which he retained until his death. In the spring of 1841 Wilson joined

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bor ...

in the ‘protest of the four tutors’ against

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

's ''

Tract XC ''Remarks on Certain Passages in the Thirty-Nine Articles'', better known as Tract 90, was a theological pamphlet written by the English theologian and churchman John Henry Newman and published in 1841. It is the most famous and the most controvers ...

''. In the Lent term of 1851 he delivered the

Bampton Lectures The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...

, taking as his subject ‘The Communion of the Saints: an Attempt to illustrate the True Principles of Christian Union’ (Oxford, 1851). His lectures hinted a greater freedom in theological enquiry. Widening of theological opinions and of the Christian communion became the main interest of his life. In 1857 he contributed ‘Schemes of Christian Comprehension’ to ‘Oxford Essays,’ and then in 1861 he published a dissertation on ‘The National Church’ in ''

Essays and Reviews ''Essays and Reviews'', edited by John William Parker, published in March 1860, is a broad-church volume of seven essays on Christianity. The topics covered the biblical research of the German critics, the evidence for Christianity, religious tho ...

''. Passages in the latter essay provoked a

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

action against Wilson –

John William Burgon John William Burgon (21 August 18134 August 1888) was an English Anglican divine who became the Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1876. He was known during his lifetime for his poetry and his defence of the historicity and Mosaic authorship of Gen ...

was especially dissatisfied with his views – in the

Court of Arches The Arches Court, presided over by the Dean of Arches, is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England covering the Province of Canterbury. Its equivalent in the Province of York is the Chancery Court. It takes its name from the street-level ...

. On 25 June 1862 Wilson, whose case was tried together with that of Rowland Williams, was found guilty on three out of eight of the articles brought against him, and was sentenced to suspension for a year by the

Dean of Arches The Dean of the Arches is the judge who presides in the provincial ecclesiastical court of the Archbishop of Canterbury. This court is called the Arches Court of Canterbury. It hears appeals from consistory courts and bishop's disciplinary trib ...

, Stephen Lushington. Wilson and Williams both appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and their appeals were heard together in 1863. Wilson's defence occupied 19 and 20 June, and was later published. The appeal was successful, and on 8 February 1864 the judicial committee reversed Lushington's decision. Wilson, however never completely recovered from the strain. During later life he did not reside in his benefice. He died at 1 Lawn Villas, Eltham Road, Lee, on 10 August 1888. Wilson wrote an introduction to ‘A Brief Examination of prevalent Opinions on the Inspiration of the Old and New Testaments’ (London, 1861).

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Henry Bristow 1803 births 1888 deaths English Christian theologians Fellows of St John's College, Oxford Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford Rawlinsonian Professors of Anglo-Saxon People from Great Staughton