William Binckes (bapt. 25 May 1653''London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812'' – 19 June 1712) was an English preacher and sermon writer, noted for his term as

Dean of Lichfield The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Lichfield Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S ...

Biography

Binckes was born at

Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...

, London, the son of Richard Binckes. He was baptised there at

St Mildred, Poultry St Mildred, Poultry, was a parish church in the Cheap ward of the City of London dedicated to Anglo-Saxon Saint Mildred. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire of London, and demolished in 1872. St Mildred in the Poultry was the burial place of th ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1674, was elected to a fellowship at Peterhouse, and took the degree of M.A. in 1678. He was instituted to the prebend of Nassington, in the church of Lincoln on 2 May 1683, and to that of Basset Parva, in the church of Lichfield, 15 July 1697. In 1699 he took the degree of D.D. On 30 January 1701, being then proctor of the

Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

, he preached before the lower house of convocation a sermon on the martyrdom of

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

, in which he drew a parallel between it and the crucifixion of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, maintaining that having regard to the superior dignity of a king of England in actual possession of his crown as compared with one who was merely an uncrowned king of the Jews, and moreover disclaimed temporal sovereignty, the execution at Whitehall was an act of greater enormity than was committed at Calvary. The sermon having been printed was brought to the notice of the House of Lords, and a suggestion was made that it should be publicly burned. The peers, however, contented themselves with resolving that it contained 'several expressions that give just scandal and offence to all Christian people.' On 19 June 1703 he was installed

dean of Lichfield The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Lichfield Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S ...

. In 1705 he was appointed prolocutor to convocation. In the early 1700s (1704 has been found written on the plaster inside the house and in 1706, an Act of Queen Anne annexed the rectoryship to the Dean), he built a fine Queen Anne rectory in Tatenhill, Staffordshire which is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. In 2008, this house was one of four finalists for ''Country Life'' magazine's “England's Finest Parsonage” contest.
"England's Finest Parsonage", having won the West of England section. He died on 19 June 1712 and was buried at Royal Leamington Spa, Leamington, of which place he had been vicar. Dean Binckes built the existing deanery at Lichfield. He published his sermons between 1702 and 1716.

References

;Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Binckes, William 1653 births 1712 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 17th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century English Anglican priests English sermon writers Deans of Lichfield People from the City of London People educated at Westminster School, London