Bampton Lectures
Canon John Bampton of Salisbury died in 1751 and endowed in his will an annual lectureship at St. Mary's Church, Oxford. The lectures were first delivered in 1780, and from 1895 they have been given on alternate years. The will specified that the lectures shall cover the exposition and defense of the Christian faith as set out in the creeds, and on the authority of the Scriptures and the Fathers.