Willock, John ( - 1585-12-04)

John Willock (Scottish reformer) was born in 1585, likely in the vicinity of Ayr, where he spent his early adulthood as a Dominican friar. Willock broke with the Catholic church and travelled to England, where in 1539 he was naturalized and given dispensation to change his habit and take up a benefice; after years spent as a curate in London, Willock was presented to the rectory of Loughborough in 1548. His involvement with the attempt to make Lady Jane Grey queen and with Wyatt's rising led to his indictment for treason in 1554, after which he fled to Emden before settling in Scotland in 1557. His reformist practices resulted in several unsuccessful attempts at persecution in his native Scotland. In 1560 he was appointed superintendent of the west; the same year he, along with John Knox and four others, drew up the Scots Confession of Faith. Fleeing threats of imprisonment from Queen Mary, Willock returned to England in 1565 to care for his benefice of Loughborough. Willock died on 4 December 1585 and was buried in his church, survived by his wife Katherine.