Bampton Lectures


The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. On a number of occasions, especially in the 19th century, they attracted great interest and controversy.
Originally a series of lectures was held annually. In 1896 the income from the agricultural estate which formed the original bequest had reduced so much that the year's lectures were cancelled; since then they have usually been every two years. They continue to concentrate on Christian theological topics. It is a condition of the Bampton Bequest that the lectures are published by the lecturer; they have traditionally been published in book form, and recent ones are available as video recordings.

Lecturers (incomplete list)

Links to the text of some of the lectures up to 1920 are available at the Project Canterbury Web site.

1780–1799

  • 1780 – James Bandinel Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford
  • 1781 – Timothy Neve Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford
  • 1782 – Robert Holmes The Prophecies and Testimony of John the Baptist, and the parallel Prophecies of Jesus Christ
  • 1783 – John Cobb
  • 1784 – Joseph White Mahometism and Christianity
  • 1785 – Ralph Churton On the Prophecies Respecting the Destruction of Jerusalem
  • 1786 – George Croft Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford
  • 1787 – William Hawkins Discourses on Scripture Mysteries
  • 1788 – Richard Shepherd The Ground and Credibility of the Christian Religion
  • 1789 – Edward Tatham Chart and Scale of Truth
  • 1790 – Henry Kett A Representation of the Conduct and Opinions of the Primitive Christians, with Remarks on Gibbon and Priestley
  • 1791 – Robert Morres
  • 1792 – John Eveleigh Eight Sermons Preached before the University of Oxford
  • 1793 – James Williamson The Truth, Inspiration, Authority, and End of the Scriptures, considered and defended
  • 1794 – Thomas Wintle Expediency, Prediction, and Accomplishment of the Christian Redemption Illustrated
  • 1795 – Daniel Veysie The Doctrine of Atonement illustrated and defended
  • 1796 – Robert Gray Sermons on the Principles Upon Which the Reformation of the Church of England was Established
  • 1797 – William Finch Objections of Infidel Historians and Other Writers Against Christianity
  • 1798 – Charles Henry Hall Fulness of Time
  • 1799 – William Barrow ''Answers to some Popular Objections against the Necessity or the Credibility of the Christian Revelation''

1800–1824

  • 1800 – George Richards The Divine Origin of Prophecy Illustrated and Defended
  • 1801 – George Stanley Faber Horae Mosaicae
  • 1802 – George Frederic Nott Religious Enthusiasm
  • 1803 – John Farrer Sermons on the Mission and Character of Christ and on the Beatitudes
  • 1804 – Richard Laurence An attempt to illustrate those articles of the Church of England, which the Calvinists improperly consider as Calvinistical
  • 1805 – Edward Nares A View of the Evidences of Christianity at the End of the Pretended Age of Reason
  • 1806 – John Browne, Fellow of Corpus Christi College Eight un-named sermons
  • 1807 – Thomas Le Mesurier The Nature and Guilt of Schism
  • 1808 – John Penrose An Attempt to Prove the Truth of Christianity
  • 1809 – John Bayley Somers Carwithen A view of the Brahminical religion
  • 1810 – Thomas Falconer Certain Principles in Evanson's Dissonance of the 'Four generally received Evangelists'
  • 1811 – John Bidlake The Truth and Consistency of Divine Revelation
  • 1812 – Richard Mant An Appeal to the Gospel
  • 1813 – John Collinson A Key to the Writings of the Principal Fathers of the Christian Church who flourished during the first three centuries
  • 1814 – William Van Mildert The General Principles of Scripture-Interpretation
  • 1815 – Reginald Heber The Personality and Office of the Christian Comforter
  • 1816 – John Hume Spry Christian Union Doctrinally and Historically Considered
  • 1817 – John Miller The Divine Authority of Holy Scripture
  • 1818 – Charles Abel Moysey The Doctrines of Unitarians Examined
  • 1819 – Hector Davies Morgan A Compressed View of the Religious Principles and Practices of the Age
  • 1820 – Godfrey Faussett The Claims of the Established Church to exclusive attachment and support, and the Dangers which menace her from Schism and Indifference, considered
  • 1821 – John Jones The Moral Tendency of Divine Revelation
  • 1822 – Richard Whately The Use and Abuse of Party Feeling in Matters of Religion
  • 1823 – Charles Goddard The Mental Condition Necessary to a due Inquiry into Religious Evidence
  • 1824 – John Josias Conybeare ''An Attempt to Trace the History and to Ascertain the Limits of the Secondary and Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture''

1825–1849

1850–1874

1875–1899

1900–1949

1950–1999

Since 2000

Video recordings of the most recent years' lectures are available via links to YouTube.