Henry Wilkinson (1566–1647)

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Biography of Henry Wilkinson (1566–1647):

Henry Wilkinson was not a man content with quiet mediocrity. Born in the vicarage of Halifax, Yorkshire, on October 9, 1566, he carried the weight of Puritan conviction from his youth, sharpening his mind at Merton College, Oxford. There, under the patronage of his relative Sir Henry Savile, he secured a fellowship, not to chase prestige, but to equip himself for the grueling, faithful labor of the ministry. In 1601, he took up the pastorate of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire, a charge he would hold for an astonishing forty-six years.

Wilkinson was no ceremonial figure, satisfied with lifeless formalities. He preached with unyielding clarity, pressing the truths of Scripture into the hearts of his congregation, calling them to a faith that was not lukewarm, but burning with devotion. His people loved him for it, not because he coddled their consciences, but because he refused to let them drift into careless ease. Even when the political and religious storms of the seventeenth century shook England, Wilkinson remained steady. When he was called to the Westminster Assembly in 1643—a gathering of the sharpest Puritan minds in England—he did not abandon his flock for the halls of debate. His heart remained in Waddesdon, where he continued to shepherd his people with unwavering resolve.

He was not only a preacher but a writer, wielding his pen with the same precision as his pulpit exhortations. His Catechisme for the use of the Congregation of Waddesdon became a spiritual anchor for his people, while The Debt-book; or, a Treatise upon Rom. 13:8 tackled the Christian’s duty in matters of financial integrity and conscience. These were not dusty theological tomes, but living, breathing works meant to stir the soul.

At home, Wilkinson’s life mirrored the doctrine he preached. He was married to Sarah, the only daughter of Arthur Wake, himself a steadfast Puritan. Their union was a testimony to godly marriage—fifty-three years of faithfulness, love, and shared conviction. Together, they raised six sons and three daughters, one of whom, Dr. Henry Wilkinson, would carry on his father’s Puritan legacy as Margaret Professor at Oxford, only to be ejected at the Restoration for his unflinching stand for truth.

Wilkinson labored to the very end, passing into glory on March 19, 1647, at the age of eighty-one. His body was laid to rest in the chancel of his church, the same place where, for nearly half a century, he had preached the unsearchable riches of Christ. His gravestone did not boast of his accomplishments, but his life did. In a world that bends with the winds of culture, Wilkinson stood like an oak, rooted in the Word of God, unmoved by the shifting sands of men’s opinions.

His voice may have fallen silent in Waddesdon’s pulpit, but his sermons still preach. His writings still convict. His legacy still calls to those who would settle for a lukewarm faith: Hold fast to Christ, no matter the cost.