Education
University of Oxford.
University of Oxford.
Pilkington received a Bachelor of Music degree from Oxford in 1595. In 1602 he became a singing man at Chester Cathedral and spent the rest of his life serving the cathedral. He became a minor canon in 1612, took holy orders in 1614 and was named precentor of the cathedral in 1623.
Although he was a churchman, Pilkington composed largely secular music—ayres, madrigals, and lute songs.
He died in Chester.