He was appointed Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons in 1896, and continually re-elected to the post until his death in 1916. Biographer Charlotte Elizabeth Woods wrote that "[f]ew Chaplains have filled this time-honoured post with so much dignity, grace, and distinction."[3]
He married Charlotte Langford on 28 November 1865 at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge.[5] Both of them were supporters of the Broadlands conference on spiritualism.[6]
He was a strong supporter of the temperance movement, and abstained from all alcohol after 31.[7] He was good friends with temperance leader Lady Henry Somerset.
He died on 13 May 1916. He was 75.[8]
Partial list of published works
The battle of the Lord. (London : Elliot Stock)
The established church and the liquor traffic : being a letter addressed to His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Important correspondence with Canon Wilberforce on vivisection. (Boston, Mass.)
Mystic Immanence, the Indwelling Spirit.
New (?) theology : thoughts on the universality and continuity of the doctrine of the immanence of God. (London : Stock) 1908
Our Father's Lent and His Easter land. (Butler & Tanner)
The secret of the quiet mind. (London : E. Stock)
Seeing God : personal recognition of divine love. (London : Elliot Stock)
Sermon preached to the 2nd special service battalion of the Royal Canadian regiment, in Westminster Abbey, on Advent Sunday.
Spiritual consciousness. (New York : Dodd, Mead)
There is no death. (New York : Dodd, Mead)
The trinity of evil : I. infidelity, II. impurity, III. intemperance. (Toronto : S.R. Briggs) 1885
Why does not God stop the war?. (London : Elliot Stock)
^"Edward Clifford (British 1844-1907), A group portrait of The Broadlands Conference: The Sitters | Dreweatts". www.dreweatts.com. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
^Blocker, Fahey & Tyrrell 2003, 660–661
^Death Of Archdeacon Wilberforce. Chaplain To The Commons. The Times, Monday, May 15, 1916; pg. 4; Issue 41167; col F.
Works cited (by date)
News items and websites listed in Reference section only.
Woods, Charlotte Elizabeth (1917). Archdeacon Wilberforce, his ideals and teaching. London: E. Stock.
Blocker, Jack S.; Fahey, David M.; Tyrrell, Ian R., eds. (2003). Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History: An International Encyclopedia · Volume 1. ABC-CLIO.