Basil Wilberforce – Anglican Canon fought evils of alcohol

Canon Basil Wilberforce (1841-1916)

Rev. Basil Wilberforce portrait

“Basil Wilberforce was born in Winchester in 1841, the son of Samuel Wilberforce, the famous Church of England bishop and anti-Darwinian. Queen Victoria was one of Basil’s godparents. He trained for a career in the church and in 1871 became rector of St Mary’s Church in Southampton. While in Southampton he campaigned nationally and locally against the evils of alcoholic drink. As an alternative to the public house he founded a Church of England Young Men’s Association (YMA) in the town.

Wilberforce, Canon Albert Basil Orme”, Sotonopedia, The A-Z of Southampton’s History

“A much more serious development of Wilberforce’s teetotal zeal was his desire to introduce unfermented wine into the celebration of the Holy Communion.”

George W. E. Russell, 1917, “Basil Wilberforce, a memoir”

[See also: The advantages of unfermented grape juice for the Lord’s Supper]

Albert Basil Orme Wilberforce (b. 1841) was appointed canon residentiary of Westminster in 1894, chaplain of the House of Commons in 1896 and archdeacon of Westminster in 1900; he has published several volumes of sermons.

Samuel Wilberforce, Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *