A physician and nonconformist minister who was active in the north of England, Richard Gilpin (1625-1700) was a popular preacher, leading large congregations, yet he faced opposition from Quakers and was ultimately unable to unite various dissenting factions. Including details about his descendants, the present work sets his story within the wider context of the Gilpin family history. First published in 1879, it was written in 1791 by fellow clergyman William Gilpin (1724-1804), an enlightened schoolmaster and writer on aesthetics. As well as covering his ancestors, William appends here his own life story, discussing his career as a teacher and his literary calling. He touches on his journeys during summer vacations when, with notebook and sketching materials, he would explore picturesque features of the British landscape. His volumes of Observations, based on these travels, are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.
