John Hulse (15 March 1708 – 14 December 1790) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. He is now known mainly as the founder of the series of

Hulsean Lectures The Hulsean Lectures were established from an endowment made by John Hulse to the University of Cambridge in 1790. At present, they consist of a series of four to eight lectures given by a university graduate on some branch of Christian theology. ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Early life

John Hulse was born at Middlewich, in Cheshire, the eldest of nineteen children from Thomas Hulse of

Elworth Elworth is a village in the county of Cheshire, located in the North West of England, and is a suburb of the town of Sandbach, located approximately one mile eastward. Elworth is known for its industrial past, having historically been the home o ...

Hall,

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is the name of a historic market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach itself as the largest, Elworth, Ettiley Heath a ...

and Anne Webb of

Middlewich Middlewich is a town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, east of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,595. ...

. After attending

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...

grammar school, he entered

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

in 1724 at the age of sixteen and graduated B.A. in 1728.

Career

In 1732 he was ordained and served small cures, first at

Yoxall Yoxall is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Swarbourn on the A515 road north of Lichfield and south west of Burton upon Trent. South of the village, Yoxall Bridge crosses the River Trent. The ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, and afterwards at

Goostrey Goostrey is an old farming village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is located in open countryside, 14 miles NE of Crewe and 12 miles W of Ma ...

, a chapel under

. In 1733 he married Mary Hall of Hermitage and had a son. On the death of his father in 1753 he inherited Elworth.

Personal life

In 1733 he married Mary Hall of Hermitage and they had one son Edward, who died at age 22.

Death

Due to delicate health, Hulse resigned his clerical duties and lived there in seclusion until his death. He was buried in the parish church of Middlewich. The fullest account of his life appears to be the memoir prefixed to Richard Parkinson's 1837 Hulsean lectures, ''Rationalism and Revelation''.

Will

Hulse's will, dated 21 July 1777, is a curious and very lengthy document. It may be read in full in Cambridge University statutes. He bequeathed his estates to Cambridge University for the advancement and reward of religious learning, to be applied, first, to maintain two divinity scholars at

; secondly, to found a prize for a dissertation; thirdly, to found and support the office of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

advocate; and fourthly, that of the Hulsean lecturer or Christian preacher. Later editions of the endowments detail changes made in 1830 and 1860. The latest version of the statutes and ordinances are now available online at the Cambridge University web site. The Hulsean Fund i
''Statute E, Chapter VI''
and is discussed in the Ordinance

Christian Advocate

By a statute in 1860 the Hulsean professorship of divinity was substituted for the office of Christian-advocate.

Hulsean Lectures

The

were originally to be given by a clergyman in the University, holding the degree of Master of Arts, who was under the age of forty years. Though the will made provisions for the lectureship, the funds were not sufficient to begin the lectures until 1820. In 1830 the number of annual lectures or sermons was reduced from twenty to eight; after 1861 they were further reduced to a minimum of four.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulse, John 1708 births 1790 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests People from Middlewich Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge