John VII Gilbert
Encyclopedia
John Gilbert was Archbishop of York
from 1757 to 1761.
, vicar of St. Andrew's, Plymouth
, and prebendary
of Exeter
, who died in 1722. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford
, where he graduated B.A. on 5 May 1713. He proceeded M.A. from Merton College
on 1 February 1717–18.
of Exeter
and his aristocratic connections, Gilbert began early to climb the ladder of preferment. On 1 August 1721 he was appointed to the chapter living of Ashburton
; on 4 January 1722-3 he succeeded to the prebendal
stall vacated by his father's death; on 4 June 1724 he was appointed subdean of Exeter, which he vacated on his installation to the deanery
, on 27 December 1726; on 8 January 1724 he was granted the degree of LL.D. at Lambeth
. In January 1726 he received from the crown a canonry
at Christ Church
, which he held in commendam
with the bishopric of Llandaff
, to which he was consecrated on 28 December 1740. In 1749 he was translated to Salisbury
. In 1750 he succeeded Bishop Joseph Butler
as Clerk of the Closet
, and in 1757 the archiepiscopate of York
, to which the office of Lord High Almoner
was added, crowned his long series of ecclesiastical preferments.
on 9 August 1761, aged 68, and was buried in a vault in Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street. Gilbert seems to have possessed few qualifications to justify his high promotion in the church. He was neither a scholar nor a theologian. Nor were these deficiencies compensated by graces of character. A friendly witness, Bishop Newton
, speaks of his being regarded as "somewhat haughty;" while Horace Walpole
, describes him as "composed of that common mixture of ignorance, meanness, and arrogance." John Newton
, William Cowper
's friend, when seeking to obtain ordination from him, found Gilbert "inflexible in supporting the rules and canons of the church." His imperious character is illustrated by his refusal to allow the civic mace
to be carried before the mayor of Salisbury
in processions within the cathedral
precincts, for which he claimed a separate jurisdiction, disobedience to which, it is said, caused an unseemly personal scuffle between him and the mace-bearer
. According to Newton, Gilbert was the first prelate to introduce at confirmations the practice of the bishop laying his hands on each candidate at the altar rails, and then retiring and solemnly pronouncing the prayer once for the whole number. This mode was first observed at St. Mary's Church, Nottingham
; it "commanded attention, and raised devotion," and before long became the regular manner of administering the rite.
, and daughter of Bennet Sherard, of Whissendine
, by Dorothy, daughter of Henry Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who predeceased him. His only child Emma was married on 6 Aug. 1761 to George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
, at her father's house at Twickenham, three days before his death. Gilbert's only publications were occasional sermons. There are portraits of him, in the robes of the chancellor of the Order of the Garter
.
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
from 1757 to 1761.
Origins and education
Gilbert was the son of John Gilbert, fellow of Wadham College, OxfordWadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
, vicar of St. Andrew's, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, and prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
of Exeter
Exeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England....
, who died in 1722. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, where he graduated B.A. on 5 May 1713. He proceeded M.A. from Merton College
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
on 1 February 1717–18.
Ecclesiastical preferment
Owing to his connection with the cathedralExeter Cathedral
Exeter Cathedral, the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter at Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city of Exeter, Devon in South West England....
of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
and his aristocratic connections, Gilbert began early to climb the ladder of preferment. On 1 August 1721 he was appointed to the chapter living of Ashburton
Ashburton, Devon
Ashburton is a small town on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, adjacent to the A38 Devon Expressway.It was formerly important as a stannary town , and remains the largest town within the National Park, with a population of around 3,500...
; on 4 January 1722-3 he succeeded to the prebendal
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
stall vacated by his father's death; on 4 June 1724 he was appointed subdean of Exeter, which he vacated on his installation to the deanery
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
, on 27 December 1726; on 8 January 1724 he was granted the degree of LL.D. at Lambeth
Lambeth degree
A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England...
. In January 1726 he received from the crown a canonry
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
at Christ Church
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also, uniquely, the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford.-History:...
, which he held in commendam
In Commendam
In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...
with the bishopric of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff
The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...
, to which he was consecrated on 28 December 1740. In 1749 he was translated to Salisbury
Bishop of Salisbury
The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset...
. In 1750 he succeeded Bishop Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher. He was born in Wantage in the English county of Berkshire . He is known, among other things, for his critique of Thomas Hobbes's egoism and John Locke's theory of personal identity...
as Clerk of the Closet
Clerk of the Closet
The College of Chaplains of the Ecclesiastical Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom is under the Clerk of the Closet, an office dating from 1437. It is normally held by a diocesan bishop, who may however remain in office after leaving his see...
, and in 1757 the archiepiscopate of York
Archbishop of York
The Archbishop of York is a high-ranking cleric in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and metropolitan of the Province of York, which covers the northern portion of England as well as the Isle of Man...
, to which the office of Lord High Almoner
Royal Almonry
The Royal Almonry is a small office within the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, headed by the Lord High Almoner, an office dating from 1103. The almoner is responsible for distributing alms to the poor....
was added, crowned his long series of ecclesiastical preferments.
Archbishop of York
Gilbert was mostly a place-holder archbishop. His health had begun to deteriorate prior to his appointment and he lived "through a pontificate of four years, when he sank under a complication of infirmities." He died at TwickenhamTwickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
on 9 August 1761, aged 68, and was buried in a vault in Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street. Gilbert seems to have possessed few qualifications to justify his high promotion in the church. He was neither a scholar nor a theologian. Nor were these deficiencies compensated by graces of character. A friendly witness, Bishop Newton
Thomas Newton
Thomas Newton was an English cleric, biblical scholar and author. He served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to 1782....
, speaks of his being regarded as "somewhat haughty;" while Horace Walpole
Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford
Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He is now largely remembered for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London where he revived the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors,...
, describes him as "composed of that common mixture of ignorance, meanness, and arrogance." John Newton
John Newton
John Henry Newton was a British sailor and Anglican clergyman. Starting his career on the sea at a young age, he became involved with the slave trade for a few years. After experiencing a religious conversion, he became a minister, hymn-writer, and later a prominent supporter of the abolition of...
, William Cowper
William Cowper
William Cowper was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry...
's friend, when seeking to obtain ordination from him, found Gilbert "inflexible in supporting the rules and canons of the church." His imperious character is illustrated by his refusal to allow the civic mace
Ceremonial mace
The ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried before a sovereign or other high official in civic ceremonies by a mace-bearer, intended to represent the official's authority. The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace used as a weapon...
to be carried before the mayor of Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
in processions within the cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture....
precincts, for which he claimed a separate jurisdiction, disobedience to which, it is said, caused an unseemly personal scuffle between him and the mace-bearer
Mace-bearer
A Mace-bearer, or Macebearer, is a person who carries a mace, either a real weapon or ceremonial.-Armed:When the mace was still in actual use as a weapon, it was deemed fit for close-protection, and hence a mace-bearer could be a bodyguard....
. According to Newton, Gilbert was the first prelate to introduce at confirmations the practice of the bishop laying his hands on each candidate at the altar rails, and then retiring and solemnly pronouncing the prayer once for the whole number. This mode was first observed at St. Mary's Church, Nottingham
St. Mary's Church, Nottingham
The Church of St Mary the Virgin is the oldest religious foundation in the City of Nottingham, England, the largest church after the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the largest mediæval building in Nottingham....
; it "commanded attention, and raised devotion," and before long became the regular manner of administering the rite.
Family and posterity
Gilbert married Margaret Sherard, sister of Philip Sherard, 2nd Earl of HarboroughPhilip Sherard, 2nd Earl of Harborough
Philip Sherard, 2nd Earl of Harborough was a British peer.He was appointed a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Anne in 1705. In 1708, he was returned as Member of Parliament for Rutland, holding the seat until 1710. In 1714, his appointment as Gentleman of the Privy Chamber was renewed by...
, and daughter of Bennet Sherard, of Whissendine
Whissendine
Whissendine is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland, England lying north west of the county town, Oakham.It has two pubs , a church, a former Methodist chapel, and a windmill. The Methodist chapel closed in 2009, the last service being held on 30 August.Whissendine Windmill, built in...
, by Dorothy, daughter of Henry Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who predeceased him. His only child Emma was married on 6 Aug. 1761 to George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
Admiral George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, PC was a British peer, naval officer and politician....
, at her father's house at Twickenham, three days before his death. Gilbert's only publications were occasional sermons. There are portraits of him, in the robes of the chancellor of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
.