Owing to his connection with the
cathedral of
Exeter and his aristocratic connections, Gilbert began early to climb the ladder of preferment. On 1 August 1721 he was appointed to the chapter living of
Ashburton; on 4 January 1723 he succeeded to the
prebendal stall vacated by his father's death; on 4 June 1724 he was appointed subdean of Exeter, which he vacated on his installation to the
deanery, on 27 December 1726; on 8 January 1724 he was granted the degree of
LLD at
Lambeth. In January 1726, he received from the crown a
canonry at
Christ Church, which he held
in commendam with the
bishopric of Llandaff, to which he was consecrated on 28 December 1740. In 1749, he was translated to
Salisbury where he was also
ex officio Chancellor of the Order of the Garter . In 1752, he succeeded Bishop
Joseph Butler as
Clerk of the Closet, and in 1757 the
archiepiscopate of York, to which the office of
Lord High Almoner was added, crowned his long series of ecclesiastical preferments.
Archbishop of York Gilbert was mostly a place-holder archbishop. His health had begun to deteriorate prior to his appointment and he lived "through a pontificate of four years, when he sank under a complication of infirmities." Gilbert seems to have possessed few qualifications to justify his high promotion in the church. He was neither a scholar nor a theologian. Nor were these deficiencies compensated by graces of character. A friendly witness, Bishop
Thomas Newton, speaks of his being regarded as "somewhat haughty;" while
Horace Walpole, describes him as "composed of that common mixture of ignorance, meanness, and arrogance."
John Newton,
William Cowper's friend, when seeking to obtain ordination from him, found Gilbert "inflexible in supporting the rules and canons of the church." His imperious character is illustrated by his refusal to allow the
civic mace to be carried before the mayor of
Salisbury in processions within the
cathedral precincts, for which he claimed a separate jurisdiction, disobedience to which, it is said, caused an unseemly personal scuffle between him and the
mace-bearer. According to Newton, Gilbert was the first prelate to introduce at
confirmations the practice of the bishop laying his hands on each candidate at the altar rails, and then retiring and solemnly pronouncing the prayer once for the whole number. This mode was first observed at
St. Mary's Church, Nottingham; it "commanded attention, and raised devotion," and before long became the regular manner of administering the rite. ==Personal life==