Willis was born in
Ribbesford,
Worcestershire, where his father was a
tanner. He was educated at
Bewdley Grammar School and
Wadham College, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1684 and graduated
BA in 1688. He became a Fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford. Willis became a curate at
Cheshunt and then, in 1692, lecturer at
St Clement, Strand, where he acquired a reputation as a preacher. In 1694 he was chaplain to
King William III on a journey to the
Netherlands. In 1701 Willis was appointed
Dean of Lincoln He gave in 1702 the first of the annual sermons on behalf of the
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG). It proposed an influential set of theories about evangelical missionary work in connection with the Anglican church settlement, commercial life and colonization. He accused
John Locke of “Hobbism” citing a parallel with
Leviathan. He attacked
deism in general, and
John Toland and
William Stephens in particular. He gave a thanksgiving sermon 23 August 1705, for victories of the
Duke of Marlborough in the
War of the Spanish Succession. Given in
St Paul's Cathedral, it was an elaborate effort for a full state occasion, and was published. It attracted also attracted controversy, with
John Hughes writing
A review of the case of Ephraim and Judah, and its application to the case of the church of England and the dissenters, and
Joseph Williamson replying. He was also attacked by the
Unitarian Thomas Emlyn. He was a
Whig in politics. He died on 10 August 1734 aged 71. There is a large memorial to him in
Winchester Cathedral sculpted by
Henry Cheere. ==Notes==