GILPIN

gilpin, bernard (1517-1583), the "apostle of the north," was descended from a westmorland family, and was born at kentmere in 1517. he was educated at queen's college, oxford, graduating b.a. in 1540, m.a. in 1542 and b.d. in 1549. he was elected fellow of queen's and ordained in 1542; subsequently he was elected student of christ church. at oxford he first adhered to the conservative side, and defended the doctrines of the church against hooper; but his confidence was somewhat shaken by another public disputation which he had with peter martyr. in 1552 he preached before king edward vi. a sermon on sacrilege, which was duly published, and displays the high ideal which even then he had formed of the clerical office; and about the same time he was presented to the vicarage of norton, in the diocese of durham, and obtained a licence, through william cecil, as a general preacher throughout the kingdom as long as the king lived. on mary's accession he went abroad to pursue his theological investigations at louvain, antwerp and paris; and from a letter of his own, dated louvain, 1554, we get a glimpse of the quiet student rejoicing in an "excellent library belonging to a monastery of minorites." returning to england towards the close of queen mary's reign, he was invested by his mother's uncle, tunstall, bishop of durham, with the archdeaconry of durham, to which the rectory of easington was annexed. the freedom of his attacks on the vices, and especially the clerical vices, of his times excited hostility against him, and he was formally brought before the bishop on a charge consisting of thirteen articles. tunstall, however, not only dismissed the case, but presented the offender with the rich living of houghton-le-spring; and when the accusation was again brought forward, he again protected him. enraged at this defeat, gilpin's enemies laid their complaint before bonner, bishop of london, who secured a royal warrant for his apprehension. upon this gilpin prepared for martyrdom; and, having ordered his house-steward to provide him with a long garment, that he might "goe the more comely to the stake," he set out for london. fortunately, however, for him, he broke his leg on the journey, and his arrival was thus delayed till the news of queen mary's death freed him from further danger. he at once returned to houghton, and there he continued to labour till his death on the 4th of march 1583. when the roman catholic bishops were deprived he was offered the see of carlisle; but he declined this honour and also the provostship of queen's, which was offered him in 1560. at houghton his course of life was a ceaseless round of benevolent activity. in june 1560 he entertained cecil and dr nicholas wotton on their way to edinburgh. his hospitable manner of living was the admiration of all. his living was a comparatively rich one, his house was better than many bishops' palaces, and his position was that of a clerical magnate. in his household he spent "every fortnight 40 bushels of corn, 20 bushels of malt and an ox, besides a proportional quantity of other kinds of provisions." strangers and travellers found a ready reception; and even their horses were treated with so much care that it was humorously said that, if one were turned loose in any part of the country, it would immediately make its way to the rector of houghton. every sunday from michaelmas till easter was a public day with gilpin. for the reception of his parishioners he had three tables well covered--one for gentlemen, the second for husbandmen, the third for day-labourers; and this piece of hospitality he never omitted, even when losses or scarcity made its continuance difficult. he built and endowed a grammar-school at a cost of upwards of