Reflections: tricentenary celebrations planned to honour Reverend William Gilpin
OUR local history often records the good work, philanthropy and kindness of people who have had a positive impact on the community. The Reverend William Gilpin (1724-1804) is a good example of this. He changed the lives of the people in Boldre parish for the better.
Gilpin was born on 4th June at Scaleby Castle, near Carlisle. His father was a military officer, and at one time governor of Carlisle Castle. William studied at Queen’s College Oxford where obtained a BA in 1744. He was then ordained into the church. Four years later, he returned to Queen’s College and took his MA. On leaving Oxford he became a curate in a London parish.
Gilpin as a school master
Gilpin became interested in education, and in the early 1750s was offered a post as a teacher at Cheam School, the oldest preparatory school in England. He became a principal assistant one year later. The establishment was failing, with just 15 pupils on the books. The headmaster was uninterested in the running of the school and when he saw how efficient and industrious Gilpin was, offered him the chance to take over. The headmaster was so keen to hand over to Gilpin that he arranged for his brother to provide a financial loan to help pay for the purchase.
Gilpin realised he could not run the school as head by himself. He married his cousin Margaret Farish, who was described as a “young woman of admirable good sense, generosity and sincerity”. While William looked after the education of the students and the business side of the school, his wife managed the health and welfare of the pupils. They were a formidable team, and by 1877 the number of pupils attending Cheam School had risen to 80 boys with a waiting list.
Gilpin was an inspirational head teacher. He ensured that the core subjects were taught, but at the same time developed the pupils’ moral character and a sense of justice. This was grounded in a study of the Bible. Knowledge of the classics took second place to a good general knowledge and reasoning along with a sense of natural justice. He introduced a set of rules with appropriate punishments linked to each transgression. The students were given the opportunity to comment on the punishments given out. If they felt that the punishment was not in accordance with the rules, they could raise this as a point of discussion.
In some of the more difficult cases of the rules being broken, 12 pupils were selected to hear the facts and come to a decision as to the appropriate punishment. Gilpin is recorded as saying that he never knew of an improper verdict being given. Gilpin made it clear that the rules applied to him as well as to the pupils. The sanctions were often detentions and fines, rather than corporal punishment, which was reserved for the most serious offences. The money from the fines went into buying books, sporting equipment and to provide bread for the poor of the local parish. The scholars were asked to give out the bread to those in need.
As the school became more successful and its reputation grew, money was less of an issue for the Gilpins, and during the school holidays, William enjoyed travelling to different parts of the country with his notebook and sketchpad to record what he found. His drawings were drawn in a “picturesque light”. Gilpin defined ‘picturesque’ as “a term expressive of that peculiar kind of beauty, which is agreeable in a picture”. Picturesque images featured a “ruggedness, roughness and irregularity, coupled with an unfinished quality, that left the imagination free to complete the picture as it pleased”.
Vicar of Boldre parish
After 25 years as headmaster of Cheam School, both Margaret and William were looking forward to retiring. A former pupil, Lt Colonel William Mitford of Exbury House, offered him the living at St John the Baptist’s Church in Boldre. William and Margaret moved to Boldre in 1777. The parish was an extensive area and included Lymington and Brockenhurst, which had their own curates and the villages of Sway, East Boldre and South Baddesley.
Gilpin was concerned by the behaviour and morals of his parishioners. They had been poorly served by the previous vicar and were, according to curate the Rev Richard Warner, open to “every temptation of pillage and robbery”. He described them as “little better than a hoard of banditti” and “presented a picture of savage life, which, perhaps was hardly paralleled in a civilised country”. Gilpin realised that this would be no easy retirement and that he had simply “changed the kind but not lessened the weight of his labours”.
Gilpin would visit each household in the local parish once a week. He visited the outlying homes once a month. These unannounced visits were carried out on foot. In later years when Gilpin was unable to walk that far, he would do his rounds by pony and cart. The congregation in church began to rise, and illegitimacy in the parish was reduced. In one case, a couple’s banns were called in church in the morning, they were married in the afternoon and their child was christened immediately afterwards.
Strength of character
One parishioner, a wealthy local farmer who was married with a large family, was openly having an affair. Gilpin tried to persuade him to change his ways, but the man refused. Eventually Gilpin began the process of excommunication against the farmer in the ecclesiastical court. It was this threat that eventually caused the errant parishioner to change his ways. Gilpin required him to attend church and read a public confession and “an avowal of his contrition”.
Afterwards Gilpin gave a short but succinct sermon. This was carried out in front of a large congregation, who went away suitably impressed at the strength of character of their vicar.
It was through his sermons that Gilpin was able to improve the morals of his parishioners. The Rev Warner is quoted as saying that “Gilpin’s sermons ranked amongst the most useful compositions if this description in the English language.
“Sufficiently correct and refined to please the most polished taste; they are at the same time, so plain and simple, as to be perfectly intelligible to the humblest classes and the most ordinary understandings.” The brevity of Gilpin’s sermons made them popular with the congregation.
Gilpin was a published author of religious works and essay. In 1782 Gilpin started to publish his travel notes along with illustrations in the picturesque style. ‘Observation on the River Wye’ was a huge success and was the first of five works with similar titles. In 1791 he published his three volumes of ‘Remarks on Forest Scenery’. This was perhaps the most popular of his tour books. The sales of his publications brought Gilpin a reasonable income which he used for the benefit of the parish.
The church and the vicarage were in desperate need of restoration. Gilpin made the vicarage habitable by spending several hundred pounds of his own money on the building. The house was made into a happy welcoming and comfortable home by Margaret, while Gilpin set about creating a beautiful garden.
To raise funds for the church he sold two of the bells and met the rest of the cost from his savings. In 1787 Gilpin wrote in a letter “I made a neat cornice – gave capitals to my pillars – tinted the whole in a light leaden colour and turned a very ugly thing into a very decent parish church”.
Village school
It was clear to Gilpin that the reform of the adults in his parish would be difficult. However, if he created a school that taught Christian morals to the local children this would lead to an improvement in the parish in the long term. Initially he ran a Sunday school in the kitchen of the vicarage. He quickly realised that what was needed in Boldre was a school.
He set about fundraising, and by using the proceeds of his book sales he was able to build and equip a school and school house and employ a master and mistress to teach the children. The pupils, 20 boys and 20 girls, were from the poor of the parish. Along with the “faith and practice of a Christian” they were taught writing and arithmetic.
The girls received some instruction in writing and maths but were taught practical skills that would make them useful for domestic service.
The poor house
The large population of impoverished families in Boldre were ever on Gilpin’s mind. He attended the parish meetings of the Poor Law Officers and became aware of how important the workhouse was, which Gilpin described as a “wretched place, and managed without any economy and at great expense”.
He arranged for a loan of £800, bought two and a half acres of land in the village and built a new poor house in 1783. The inmates consisted of 10 adults and 30 children, overseen by a master and mistress. The residents were set to work doing gardening, cooking, spinning, weaving, mending of clothes and laundry.
This brought in a small income for the benefit of the poor house. The running of the premises was under monthly scrutiny from a committee of local gentry and farmers. Great emphasis was placed on good food, good clothes, and cleanliness, which reduced the cost of doctors and medicines. The old poor house had cost the parish £654 per annum whereas the new establishment cost £454 a year and was a model of management and economy.
In later life, Gilpin suffered from a heart condition, and the Rev Warner took on more of his duties. Gilpin began to make provision for the school after his death. He endowed the school with funds by selling his drawings. In 1802 a sale of his work at Christies raised over £1,200. After his death a further sale of Gilpin’s drawings realised £1,625. When wisely invested, this allowed the school to run for many years.
William Gilpin died on 5th April 1805, aged 79. He is buried along with his wife at St John’s church in Boldre. He was a truly remarkable man.
Tricentenary celebration
In Boldre village there will be a tricentenary celebration of the life of Gilpin.
From Friday the 31st of May to Sunday the 2nd of June the William Gilpin School will be holding an exhibition of children’s art and history projects exploring his life.
St John’s Church, Boldre will host an exhibition from 10am to midday on Saturday 1st June and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 2nd June. The Sunday service that day will include Matins, gallery music and an extract from an original Gilpin sermon.
On Tuesday 4th June at 10am there will be a short service to commemorate Gilpin’s actual birthday, followed by a laying of flowers on his grave.
In the Boldre War Memorial Hall on Saturday 1st June there will be an exhibition illustrating different aspects of Gilpin’s life. There will also be an opportunity to create your own artwork on canvas. A reception will be held at 5pm followed by a talk on Gilpin from local historian Peter Goodchild. The following day from 10am to 4pm, in addition to the exhibition, there will be music from Gilpin’s time performed by the Milford West Gallery Group. Tea and cakes will be provided by the WI.
The public are welcome to attend the celebrations, and entry is free.
Thanks to Jo Humphreys of Boldre for her help and assistance with this article.
Nick Saunders MA is a local historian and chair of the Milton Heritage Society. Email nick@miltonheritagesociety.co.uk
