As a celebrated natural philosopher who wrote on the possibilities of space travel, John Wilkins was an unconventional churchman. His early background was Puritan: it seems reasonable to assume that he was influenced by his maternal grandfather, ‘Decalogue Dod’, and he almost certainly came within the ambit of the Baptist, John Tombes, whilst at Magdalen Hall. He had little difficulty in accommodating himself to the Interregnum authorities (helped by his marriage to a younger sister of Oliver Cromwell) and developed an influential circle of political connections that no doubt assisted him in adapting to the demands of the Restoration regime. His ‘experimental club’ at Wadham attracted other ‘Christian virtuosi’ such as Seth Ward, later successively bishop of Exeter and Salisbury, and Sir Christopher Wren‡.
Wilkins’ parliamentary activity predated his elevation to the episcopate. In the late summer of 1667, in the midst of the political crisis over the dismissal of Edward Hyde, earl of Clarendon, a plan for comprehension was mooted. A bill was drafted, but although it was never presented to either House, it nevertheless led to something of a minor pamphlet war.
In September when the death of George Hall, created a vacancy at Chester, Sheldon and Herbert Croft, of Hereford, lobbied in favour of William Sancroft, later archbishop of Canterbury, but were unable to prevail against the influence of Buckingham and Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington, who secured Wilkins’ elevation instead.
Early in 1669 Pepys described Wilkins as ‘a mighty rising man’ who could count on the support of Buckingham, ‘his great friend’. By the end of February 1669 it was rumoured that Wilkins was to be promoted, some thought to lord privy seal, others that he was to be translated to Winchester and become lord treasurer.
The disruption caused to parliamentary life by the impasse over Skinner’s Case meant that Wilkins was prevented from taking his seat in the Lords until 19 Oct. 1669. He then embarked on a short but active career in the House as an isolated ecclesiastical spokesman for the Cabal. He attended his first session for over 80 per cent of the sittings, was named to four of the session’s five committees, including the subcommittee appointed to consider the report from the commissions of accounts, and held the proxy of former Presbyterian Edward Reynolds, of Norwich, from 15 Oct. 1669 until the prorogation in December.
On 14 Feb. 1670, Wilkins attended the start of a new session, was present for 79 per cent of sittings and was appointed to almost 50 select committees on a range of public and private bills. He again held Reynolds’ proxy for the entire session. Such a record of attendance and activity suggests that he was something of a parliamentary ‘workhorse’, yet Wilkins was increasingly marginalized from his colleagues on the episcopal bench. His emphasis on practical piety appealed to the king but not to more dogmatic theologians. John Hacket, of Lichfield and Coventry, dismissed Wilkins’ Lenten sermon before the king on the whole duty of man as ‘pitiful’; he suggested that it was ordered to be printed only because ‘the court likes no sermons longer than a quarter of an hour’. As far as he was concerned Wilkins was ‘a shallow man both in philosophy and divinity’. John Dolben, of Rochester, and John Fell, of Oxford, both disliked Wilkins ‘for his wavering … mind in religion’.
On 5 Mar. 1670 the bill to enable John Manners, styled Lord Roos (later 9th earl and duke of Rutland) to remarry was introduced into the House. At the second reading on 17 Mar. in a debate that lasted from noon to 9 p.m., Wilkins and John Cosin, of Durham, were the only bishops to support it. During the various debates Wilkins declared that divorce was not only possible in cases of adultery but also of ‘immundicity of the womb’ – a reference to the queen so barbed ‘that she wept day and night’. Significantly when the bill was committed on 19 Mar. they were the only bishops to be named to the committee. Neither Cosin nor Wilkins was listed in the Journal as present on the day of the third reading (28 Mar. 1670), but Wilkins was presumably present as Edward Montagu, earl of Sandwich, recorded his contribution to the debate that day.
At the same time as the Roos divorce was passing through Parliament there was an attempt to pass a fresh conventicles bill. On 19 Mar. 1670 Wilkins was present in the afternoon when the House went into committee to consider it. When the king tried to rally support for the bill Wilkins refused either to do so or to assist its passage by refraining from attendance. He insisted that the bill was ‘an ill thing both in conscience and policy’ and must be opposed, that he had a right to debate and vote ‘and was neither afraid nor ashamed to own his opinion ... and to act pursuant to it’.
Parliament was adjourned until the autumn of 1670. In the recess Wilkins was one of the commissioners to negotiate union with the Scots.
At the death of John Cosin in January 1672 Wilkins was rumoured to be one of the candidates to succeed him, but no decision was made before Wilkins’ death later that year.