Researching Charles Wilkinson

He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was Curate in charge of Trinity Church, Hinckley from 1846 to 1849 and then Perpetual curate at Attercliffe. After this he was Rector of St Thomas's, Birmingham then Vicar of St Andrew's, Plymouth.

An Honorary Chaplain to the Queen, he died on 14 July 1910. He had married Louise, widow of William Phillipps of Leigham Villas, Plymouth and daughter of Edmund Rich of Willesley, Wiltshire.

Wilkinson was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge. He played cricket for Eton as a middle-order batsman and a bowler and appeared in the 1832 Eton v Harrow match at Lord's, when he was captain of the Eton team. It is not known whether he was right- or left-handed in either batting or bowling. At Cambridge University, he appeared in six games over three seasons that have since been designated as first-class, and was successful as a batsman. Against the Cambridge Town Club in 1833, he played an innings of 58 which was the highest of the match; against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1835, he opened the innings and carried his bat for an unbeaten 86 out of a total of 170. He played in the 1834 Gentlemen v Players game, but made no impact. The University Match between the cricket clubs of Oxford and Cambridge Universities was not played in the seasons that Wilkinson was in the Cambridge side.

Wilkinson became a Fellow of King's College in 1836 and graduated from Cambridge University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1837, which converted to a Master of Arts in 1841. In 1841 also, he was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon, becoming a priest the following year. From 1843 to 1865, he was the domestic chaplain to Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover and to his successor, George V of Hanover, the kingship of Hanover having separated from that of the United Kingdom at the death of William IV in 1837, when Queen Victoria succeeded to the UK throne. Returning to England in 1865, he was vicar of Sixhills, Lincolnshire and rector of nearby South Willingham to 1879, and then rector of Boxworth and of Childerley in Cambridgeshire to his death in 1889. He wrote a book about his experiences at the court of Hanover.

Wilkinson's nephew, Edward Wilkinson, was also a first-class cricketer for Cambridge University.

Wilkinson's father was estate agent to the Duke of Newcastle and Charles helped his father in managing the Duke's pocket boroughs of Aldborough and Boroughbridge. In 1774 he was returned as Member of Parliament for Aldborough.

By May 1775 Wilkinson had suffered a mental breakdown. and on 8 September was confined under the care of Dr. Willis. The Duke was at pains to get him to resign his seat, and the question was whether he was actually sane enough to resign from Parliament. In 1776 when he was asked, he could not be prevailed upon to give any direct answer. Instead he made confused remarks that “his consent signified nothing about his seat in Parliament, but that he would never go again either into the House of Commons or to London - all he wished for was a safe retirement”. With the consent of Charles's friends, it was concluded that the Duke was at full liberty to proceed as he intended and the seat was vacated in 1777.

Wilkinson died in March 1782.