Rt Revd Thomas Wilson D.D. - Kirk Michael, Isle of Man - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

Thomas Wilson's grave is at the east end of St. Michael and All Angels churchyard in the village of Kirk Michael. The grave is topped by a simple rectangular monument of black marble, possibly from the quarry at Poolvash near Castletown. The monument is is inscribed as follows:
THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY HIS SON
THOMAS WILLSON D.D. A NATIVE OF THIS PARISH
WHO IN OBEDIENCE TO THE EXPRESS COMMANDS OF
HIS WORTHY FATHER DECLINES GIVING HIM
THE CHARACTER HE SO JUSTLY DESERVED
LET THIS ISLAND SPEAK THE REST

and
SLEEPING IN JESUS
HERE LYETH THE BODY OF
THOMAS WILSON D.D.
LORD BISHOP OF THIS ISLE
WHO DIED MARCH THE 7TH 1755 AGED 93
AND IN THE 58TH YEAR OF HIS CONSECRATION

Wilson sent a quantity of Poolvash black marble to the Dean and Chapter of St. Pual's in London and it ithis stone which was used for the steps up to the two main doorways of that Cathedral.

Thomas Wilson was first and foremost a Church and Educational Reformer but he was also an Historian and wrote a History of the Isle of Man' which was published in Gifson's (2nd) edit. of Camden's Britannia, 1722. fol.vol.ii.

"The author of the ‘Christian Year,’ Keble in his ‘Life of Bishop Wilson,’ states that ‘Since the days of St. Brandon more than sixty Bishops in succession have occupied the see of the Isle of Man. Of that long list no name stands forth more prominently than that of Thomas Wilson’ and that ‘if simplicity and pathetic earnestness and watchful sympathy will all men, tempered by an unfailing vein of practical common sense, do yet in any degree characterise the teaching and devotion – especially the household devotion – of our clergy and laity; if veneration for the Universal Church and unreserved faith in the Bible do yet in any degree prevail in our popular theology – to Bishop Wilson more than to any single divine of later days, with the single exception of his great contemporary, Bishop Butler, are these good effects owing.’"

And the preface to the 1838 edition of Sacra Privata (one of the literary works of Thomas Wilson, first published posthumously in 1781), John Henry Newman writes of Wilson as follows:

“A burning and shining light was Bishop Wilson; he seemed like the Baptist in an evil time, as if a beacon lighted on his small island to show what his Lord and Saviour could do in spite of man; how when a nation had fallen into the enemies’ hands he could preach to it even off its own shares, and be nigh at hand when they would fain leave him not so much as to set his foot on. The English soil, indeed, had its own witnesses and teachers at the time, but none at once so exalted in station and so saintly in character, so active and so tried in his lifetime, and so influential in his works, as Bishop Wilson.”

Source: (visit link)

Source: (visit link)

Source: (visit link)

Source: (visit link)

Source: (visit link)

Source : (visit link)

Description: Thomas Wilson was first and foremost a Church and Educational Reformer but he was also an Historian and wrote a 'History of the Isle of Man' which was published in Gibson's (2nd) edit. of Camden's Britannia, 1722. fol.vol.ii. Thomas Wilson was Anglican Bishop of Sodor and Man between 1697 and 1755. He was born in Burton and Ness, in the Wirral, Cheshire, North West England on 20th December 1663. He studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, but switched to the Church and was ordained as a priest in 1689 and spent 2 years at Winwick in Lancashire as his uncle’s curate. In 1692 the 9th Earl of Derby, appointed Wilson as his personal chaplain and tutor to his only son, Lord Strange. He held these posts for 5 years, and then in 1698 at the Earl’s insistence he reluctantly accepted promotion to the vacant bishopric of Sodor and Man. On his arrival in the Island, Wilson found Bishopscourt (his official residence) and St. German’s Cathedral in ruins, the churches and vicarages of his diocese in poor repair, the clergy slack and the people illiterate. The 58 years that Wilson remained as Bishop saw great improvements in all these things. Wilson from the start set about restoring Bishopscourt (mostly at his own expense) and the other ecclesiastical buildings of the Island. By the time of his death he had rebuilt or restored nearly all the Islands churches, and built two new ones - St. Matthew’s in Douglas, and St. Mary’s in Castletown. He was responsible for the commencement of the library at Bishopscourt and took up the concept of parochial libraries, which was the idea of his friend Thomas Bray, and encouraged the creation of other such libraries for which he bought books at his own expense. As Bishop, he worked to restore and maintain ecclesiastical discipline on the Island and demanded the highest standards of probity from his clergy and of morality and obedience from their parishioners. Bishop Wilson’s relations with the people of the Isle of Man were marked by mutual affection and esteem. His personal piety expressed itself in energetic charitable activity and he often intervened to shield his flock from the demands of the state authorities. Some of his actions led to clashes with the state authorities as for example when there was a reduction of revenue following his mitigating of fines in the spiritual court. Wilson also oversaw the passing in the Tynwald of the Act of Settlement 1704 that provided tenants with rights to sell and pass on their land, subject only to continued fixed rents and alienation fees. He was a keen promoter of education for all classes and a prime mover in the passing of the Island’s first Education Act in 1703. He also initiated the translation of both the Bible and Prayer Book into Manx. He met James Edward Oglethorpe in London and because of that meeting became interested in foreign missions. He was an early advocate of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. When he died on 7 March 1755 at the age of 91, it is said that his funeral was attended by nearly the whole adult population of the Isle of Man. Date of birth: 12/20/1663 Date of death: 03/07/1755 Area of notoriety: Religion Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Freely accessable at all times. Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.

We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.