Biography.guide
Home › People › Historian › Bill Sheils
Portrait of Bill Sheils

Bill Sheils

British historian

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Bill Sheils

Bill Sheils was a historian and professor.

William J. Sheils , known as Bill Sheils, is professor emeritus in history at the University of York and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Sheils is a specialist in the early modern religious and social history of Britain.

Education Sheils was educated at the William Ellis School, North London (1957–64),

Career Sheils first worked on the Victoria County History in Gloucestershire before joining the University of York as an archivist at the Borthwick Institute in 1973 where he worked on the post-medieval collections until 1988. He then taught nineteenth- and twentieth-century social and economic history, and subsequently early modern religious and social history with a specialism in Britain.

Sheils has written extensively for the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, as well as contributing to the Economic History Review, The Sixteenth Century Journal, and Northern History.

He has served as Chair of the editorial board of the Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 2015-2019, and as Chair of Council of The Catholic Record Society 2018-2021

Personal life Bill is married to Sarah, née Maidlow-Davis, and they have four children; Lucy, Eleanor, Thomas and Richard. Sheils is a parishioner of St Aelred's in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough.

Selected publications The Puritans in the Diocese of Peterborough, 1558–1610. Northamptonshire Record Society, 1979. The English Reformation 1530–1570. Longman, 1989. (Seminar Studies in History)

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Education
University of York, King's College London, William Ellis School
Employers
University of York
Awards
Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Also known as
William J. Sheils

Frequently asked questions

Who was Bill Sheils?

British historian

What was Bill Sheils's occupation?

Bill Sheils was a historian and professor.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Bill Sheils

· Wikidata: Q20128078

· DBpedia: Bill Sheils

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bill Sheils. https://biography.guide/bill-sheils/

MLA: "Bill Sheils." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bill-sheils/.

Chicago: "Bill Sheils." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bill-sheils/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:06 UTC