Brownlow North

Who was Brownlow North?

Brownlow North was an English evangelist.

North was born in Winchester House, Chelsea. He was the grandson of Brownlow North, Bishop of Winchester. When he was born, he was in line to receive the earldom of Guilford, since the current earl, Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford, had no son, and neither did Brownlow's uncle, Francis North. However, due to Brownlow's "youthful extravagances", Francis remarried on the death of his wife, and did have a son, thus denying Brownlow the earldom.

North was educated at Eton College. He lived for a while with his great uncle Frederick on Corfu, and fought with Dom Pedro's army in Portugal, before eventually settling in Scotland. North lived a life of pleasure, being fond of hunting and gambling, broken only by a period at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, when he considered taking holy orders.

North experienced a religious conversion in November 1854, and began to attend Elgin Free Church. He proceeded to engage in public preaching. In 1859, he was appointed as an evangelist by the Free Church of Scotland. Moody-Stuart suggests that he gained in this an "express recognition" for lay-effort "such as it had not obtained since the period immediately succeeding the Reformation."