William Barrow (1754 – 1836) was an English churchman, archdeacon of Nottingham from 1830 to 1832.

Life

From a

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

family, he went to

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, where in 1778 he gained the chancellor's English essay prize on academic education. This essay was afterwards enlarged and published as ''An Essay on Education; in which are particularly considered the Merits and the Defects of the Discipline and Instruction in our Academies'', in two volumes, 1802 (and again in 1804). In 1799 he took the degree of DCL. He preached as the

Bampton lecturer 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 ...

for 1799, on ''Answers to some Popular Objections against the Necessity or the Credibility of the Christian Revelation''. He was indebted to

William Paley William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natu ...

's writings for the argument; he popularised arguments for the necessity and probability of a

divine revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

to man, that the doctrines and precepts of the Christian religion are favourable to the enjoyments of the present life, and, with regard to prayer, deemed it probable that "the Almighty in consequence of our prayers interferes with the laws of nature". His brother Richard was vicar-choral of Southwell (a post which he held for 64 years), and in 1815 Barrow himself became prebendary of Eaton in the

Collegiate Church of Southwell 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 ...

. In 1821 he was vicar-general of the same church, and was appointed on 3 April 1830 Archdeacon of Nottingham. This was not separated at that time from the

province of York The Province of York, or less formally the Northern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England and consists of 12 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to ...

, and was held by Barrow for two years, until age and infirmity caused him to resign it to Dr.

George Wilkins George Wilkins (died 1618) was an English dramatist and pamphleteer best known for his probable collaboration with William Shakespeare on the play ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre''. By profession he was an inn-keeper, but he was also apparently invo ...

in 1832. Barrow married Mrs. E. A. Williams, who died childless in 1823. He died 19 April 1836, aged 82. There is a tablet to his memory in the nave 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 ...

. His nephew

William Hodgson Barrow William Hodgson Barrow (1 September 1784 – 29 January 1876) was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1851 to 1874. Barrow was the son of the Rev. Richard Barrow, of Southwell and his wife Mary Hodgkinson, dau ...

was for many years M.P. for South Nottinghamshire.

Works

Barrow was a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

. He also published two sermons which had been preached at Southwell before the loyal volunteers of that place during the panic of 1803–4, and another on ''Pecuniary Contributions for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge''; a treatise on the ''Expediency of translating our Scriptures into several of the Oriental Languages and the means of rendering those Translations useful'' (1808), ''Familiar Dissertations on Theological and Moral Subjects'' (1819), and three volumes of ''Familiar Sermons'' (1818–21).

References

* * ''Barrows Works'' ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, William 1754 births 1836 deaths Archdeacons of Nottingham