William Dodwell


William Dodwell was an English cleric known as a theological writer, archdeacon of Berkshire from 1763.

Life

He was born at Shottesbrooke, Berkshire, on 17 June 1709, was the second son and fifth child of Henry Dodwell the elder, the nonjuror. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford, where he took his degree of M.A. in 1732.
Dodwell became rector of Shottesbrooke, and vicar of White Waltham and Bucklesbury. Thomas Sherlock as bishop of Salisbury gave him a prebendal stall in Salisbury Cathedral in 1748; and he later obtained a residentiary canonry there. Subsequently, another bishop of Salisbury, John Thomas, made him archdeacon of Berkshire, in 1763.
On 23 February 1750 the university of Oxford conferred on Dodwell the degree of D.D. by diploma, in recognition of his services to religion by his replies to Conyers Middleton.
Dodwell died on 23 October 1785.

Works

Dodwell, like his father, was a keen controversialist: his opponents included Conyers Middleton, William Romaine, William Whiston, and others. His works include:
On 27 November 1740 Dodwell was married at Bray Church to Elizabeth Brown, by whom he had a large family, one of whom married Thomas Ridding, a relation of George Ridding. He was the brother of religious controversialist and lawyer Henry Dodwell jr, who wrote the well known tract Christianity Not Founded on Argument.