Peter Pilkington, Baron Pilkington of Oxenford (5 September 1933 – 14 February 2011

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

, 15 February 2011) was a British

Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, public school headmaster and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Education

Pilkington was educated at

Dame Allan's School, Newcastle Dame Allan's Schools is a collection of Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day schools in Fenham, in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It comprises a Junior School, Senior School and a sixth form, Sixth Form. Founded in 1 ...

, where he became religious and developed both his love of scholarship and his combative personality. In 1952 he went up to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

and read history, being influenced by Conservative-minded figures such as

Maurice Cowling Maurice John Cowling (6 September 1926 – 24 August 2005) was a British historian. A fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, for most of his career, Cowling was a leading conservative exponent of the 'high politics' approach to political history. Ear ...

Herbert Butterfield Sir Herbert Butterfield (7 October 1900 – 20 July 1979) was an English historian and philosopher of history, who was Regius Professor of Modern History and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is remembered chiefly for a sh ...

and

Michael Oakeshott Michael Joseph Oakeshott (11 December 1901 – 19 December 1990) was an English philosopher. He is known for his contributions to the philosophies of history, religion, aesthetics, education, and law.Fuller, T. (1991) 'The Work of Michael Oakesh ...

. He graduated in 1955, and took his MA in 1959.

Ecclesiastical career

Pilkington trained for ordination at

Westcott House, Cambridge Westcott House is an Anglican theological college based on Jesus Lane in the centre of the University of Cambridge, university city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.Westcott House website, Home pag Retrieved on August 27, 2006. Its main activit ...

, and was ordained as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the

Diocese of Derby The Diocese of Derby is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, roughly covering the same area as the County of Derbyshire. Its diocesan bishop is the Bishop of Derby whose seat (cathedra) is at Derby Cathedral. The dioces ...

in 1959, and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

the following year. He served for three years as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at the historic parish church of All Saints', Bakewell during the incumbency of

George Sinker George Sinker (5 May 1900 – 19 January 1986) was Anglican Bishop of Nagpur, bishop of Nagpur and provost of Birmingham Cathedral. He was born in Hyderabad, India, the son of the Reverend R Sinker, and was educated at Rossall School and Brasenos ...

. He left parochial work to take up his first school chaplaincy position. In 1975 he was appointed an honorary

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

Educational career

In 1962 Pilkington became a schoolmaster at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, teaching history, and a college chaplain. Later he became Conduct (senior chaplain), and for 10 years also served as Master in College, the housemaster of the scholars' house, until his resignation in 1975. He was Headmaster of

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's oldest public school and is considered to be the oldest continuously op ...

from 1975 to 1986. His final appointment in education was the post of High Master of St Paul's School, London, from 1986 to 1992.

Retirement

Following his retirement from education Pilkington was appointed Chairman of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, serving from 1992 to 1996. In 1995, he was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Pilkington of Oxenford, of West Dowlish in the County of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

.the Peerage.com
/ref> He also assisted in retirement as an honorary curate of

St Mary's, Bourne Street St Mary's, Bourne Street, is an Anglican church on Bourne Street near Sloane Square in London. It was built 'quickly and cheaply' in 1874 by Robert Jewell Withers, with the intention of providing ministry to the poor living in the nearby slums of ...

, a prominent

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

church in

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

, where he served from 1992 to 2005. Although his entire teaching career was spent in the private sector, Pilkington was a vociferous supporter of selective state education. During his retirement he served for several years as Chairman of the National Grammar Schools Association.

Personal life

In 1966 Pilkington married Helen Wilson, who predeceased him in 1997. He was survived by two daughters, Celia and Sarah Pilkington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilkington of Oxenford, Peter Pilkington, Baron 1933 births 2011 deaths Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) life peers Headmasters of the King's School, Canterbury High Masters of St Paul's School Ordained peers 20th-century English Anglican priests People educated at Dame Allan's School Teachers at Eton College Life peers created by Elizabeth II 21st-century English Anglican priests 20th-century British politicians 21st-century British politicians 20th-century English educators