Gilpin, BERNARD

Gilpin, BERNARD, the 'Apostle of the North,' was born of an old Westmorland family, at Kentmere Hall, in 1517, studied at Queen's College, Oxford, and early showed unusual aptitude for learning. In 1552 he became vicar of Norton, in the diocese of Durham, but soon resigned the living to pursue his studies at Louvain. Returning to England towards the close of Mary's reign, he was appointed by his uncle Bishop Tunstall to be archdeacon of Durham and rector of Easington. Here his fearless honesty against pluralities and the indolence and viciousness of the clergy soon made him many enemies, whose charges of heresy Tunstall not only set aside, but, after Gilpin had resigned both his living and the archdeaconry, appointed him to be rector of Houghton-le-Spring. On the way to London, whither he had been summoned by Bonner, he accidentally broke his leg, and before he was able to resume his journey Elizabeth had succeeded Mary and he was safe. The see of Carlisle and the provostship of Queen's College, Oxford, were in turn offered him, but both he refused, preferring to spend the remainder of his life at Houghton in unceasing works of benevolence. His parish was wide, and sunk in the deepest ignorance, but he continually preached and exhorted in the pulpit and from house to house, settled the quarrels of his turbulent parishioners, set up a grammar-school, and practised unbounded hospitality to strangers, to travellers, and to the poor, spending 'every fortnight 40 bushels of corn, 20 bushels of malt, and an ox, besides a proportional quantity of other kinds of provisions.' Through Cecil he had obtained the rare distinction of a general license for preaching, and armed with this he regularly made preaching excursions into the wildest parts of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Northumberland. His visits to the turbulent districts of Tynedale and Redesdale he generally made about Christmas time, when it was easiest to gather the people together. The fearlessness of his temper is seen in the story of his taking down and putting into his bosom a glove which had been hung up as a challenge in a church in which he had to preach. His own naturally warm temper he held under complete control. His tall and slender person, his indifference to dress, and temperance in diet, added to his rare spiritual elevation of character, helped to make this singular man's influence over his people supreme. His last years were troubled with infirm health, from which he was relieved by death, 4th March 1583. There is a life of Gilpin written by Bishop Carleton, one of his pupils, in Bates's Vitæ Selectorum aliquot Virorum (1681), a translation of which will be found in vol. iii. of C. Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography. See also Collingwood's Memoirs of Bernard Gilpin (1884).