on Thursday, 10 April 2025 at 3.10 pm by Peter Owen
categorised as Church of England, News
The Bishop of Brixworth, the Right Reverend John Holbrook, has announced that he will retire on 30 September 2025. Details are on the Peterborough diocesan website.
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Clifford Jones
2 days ago
The first Bishop of Brixworth was consecrated in 1989. Interestingly, that was the centenary of the creation of the Suffragan Bishopric of Northampton in the Diocese of Peterborough. That was never filled. At the same time the Suffragan See of Leicester in the Diocese of Peterborough came into existence, and there were three holders in succession before Leicester became a diocese. Two of them were closely related to archbishops. Lewis Clayton, second Suffragan Bishop of Leicester, was the father of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town. Norman Lang, third and final Suffragan Bishop of Leicester, was the brother of Cosmo… Read more »
Michael OSullivan
1 day ago
As the diocese appears to have no money and we are constantly being told the cathedral will have to close, and as there appears to be so much difficulty finding people who are suitable to be bishops, would it be too much to suggest that we might do without a Bishop of Brixworth especially as it seems we managed perfectly well for a century when far more people went to church.
Over the period when it was without a suffragan, the Diocese of Peterborough benefited from retired bishops resident in the diocese and more than willing to help out. One was Alan Rogers of Mauritius, Fulham and Edmonton. Another was Guy Marshall, previously in Venezuela. They amongst others would have done some of the confirmations.
Thank you. This message is in response to both your postings in this thread. I should think that an assistant bishop having previously worked overseas might for that reason have quite a lot to give in an English diocesan setting. Donald Coggan (whom I frequently quote) said that when he returned from an overseas trip he ‘longed to share with his flock at home the treasures he had found abroad’. An assistant bishop with episcopal experience of another province could do the same. Coggan himself had, at York, an assistant bishop previously a bishop in West Africa. His name was… Read more »
other way around I think – given the twin tendencies of increased admin and diminishing congregations for the admin to be done on/for/to, the need for a Bishop of Brixworth has probably only increased in importance. I don’t know how local you are, but Peterborough diocese is a bizarre shape – over here in the extreme west, it would probably make more sense for us to come under Oxford, but we’re Peterborough. Brixworth is at least on the mental map, rather than expecting someone living and operating in Peterborough (a city I’ve never so much as visited) to have any… Read more »
I remember reading in Church times back in the mid 80’s when Bishop Bill Westwood was Bishop of Peterborough, Bishop Westwood expressing a view when he decided to seek a Suffragan Bishop, when the Diocese had up to the relied on Hon Assistant Bishops, that it was quite wrong to go on using retired Bishops as Assistant Bishops who had already given so much in their previous working lives as Stipendiary Bishops, and he wanted someone who would come to him at the start of the Episcopal Ministry rather then at the end of their working Episcopal ministry on retiring… Read more »
I guess that, like several Henrician creations, Peterborough was a cack-handed and cheapskate partial solution – in that instance to the problem of Lincoln diocese being much too big, but the removal of Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Rutland from Lincoln diocese also conveniently camouflaged the extent to which the see of Lincoln under John Longland was asset stripped (though as Margaret Bowker noted in her 1982 monograph on Longland’s pontificate, that wily old prelate staged a fairly creditable rearguard action, certainly by comparison with such craven and opportunistic contemporaries as William Rugge of Norwich or Rowland Lee of Coventry & Lichfield).… Read more »
Peterborough Abbey was a far grander place than the others you mention, comparable with Norwich and Ely as great Anglian churches, and more than worthy of being a cathedral church. In addition the king’s first wife was buried there, which may have contributed to its repurposing. It would have made a bit more sense if Huntingdonshire had also been taken out of Lincoln at the creation of the see. And if he had created a see of St Albans for Beds, Herts and Bucks (sounds like a radio station!).
Indeed, and thank you, but Peterborough would still have remained fairly liminal even if Huntingdonshire had been added. There was the cluster of great monastic churches on the fringes of the Fens, or within them: Bardney, Crowland, Ely, Peterborough, Ramsey, Thorney, etc., but nothing of remotely comparable size in the rest of Lincoln diocese (with the exception of the Augustinian abbey at Leicester), whilst St Albans was within London diocese, which was deemed to be of an acceptable size. This, I suspect, was one of the problems which confronted those who were trying to redraw the diocesan map in 1540-42.… Read more »
I imagine that this is the first time Crowland (Abbey) has been mentioned in Thinking Anglicans (can one do a word search here?) but I write as someone whose vocation was initially stirred as a server at that church in the 1960’s. The situation is that Crowland related much more to Peterborough (only about 10 miles away), albeit being in the diocese of Lincoln (56 miles distant). Diocesan boundaries are indeed a cornucopia of geographical and historical oddities! In spite of the population having doubled since my time (approx 3,000 to 6,000), Crowland Abbey no longer has a resident priest,… Read more »
Well aware of the shape of the diocese. In fact only two weeks ago I replied to the thread regarding the Brackley deanery being closer to seven other cathedrals than it is to its own. The problem is that if every time a slimming down of the episcopal structure is proposed, NIMBYS, like you pop up, it will never get done. We have to start somewhere.
Jonathan Jamal
23 hours ago
Something comes to mind that Bishop Douglas Feaver was happy to operate single handed without a Suffragan Bishop and in Purple Feaver he was reported to have rudely described Suffragan Bishops as “Consecrated Nannies to look after the Clergy!” Jonathan.
Adrian
22 hours ago
I hope that this was a lovely bishop, a godly pious man that blessed the people with his presence and attention.
The first Bishop of Brixworth was consecrated in 1989. Interestingly, that was the centenary of the creation of the Suffragan Bishopric of Northampton in the Diocese of Peterborough. That was never filled. At the same time the Suffragan See of Leicester in the Diocese of Peterborough came into existence, and there were three holders in succession before Leicester became a diocese. Two of them were closely related to archbishops. Lewis Clayton, second Suffragan Bishop of Leicester, was the father of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town. Norman Lang, third and final Suffragan Bishop of Leicester, was the brother of Cosmo… Read more »
As the diocese appears to have no money and we are constantly being told the cathedral will have to close, and as there appears to be so much difficulty finding people who are suitable to be bishops, would it be too much to suggest that we might do without a Bishop of Brixworth especially as it seems we managed perfectly well for a century when far more people went to church.
And large numbers got confirmed. What are the statistics for Confirmation in the Peterborough diocese I wonder?
Over the period when it was without a suffragan, the Diocese of Peterborough benefited from retired bishops resident in the diocese and more than willing to help out. One was Alan Rogers of Mauritius, Fulham and Edmonton. Another was Guy Marshall, previously in Venezuela. They amongst others would have done some of the confirmations.
Indeed. Bishop Alan Rogers confirmed me many moons ago when he was assisting in the diocese in retirement.
Thank you. He was the first Bishop Suffragan of Edmonton.
They also from 1957 to 1970 (when he died) Bishop Weston Stewart former Anglican Bishop In Jerusalem. Jonathan
Thank you. This message is in response to both your postings in this thread. I should think that an assistant bishop having previously worked overseas might for that reason have quite a lot to give in an English diocesan setting. Donald Coggan (whom I frequently quote) said that when he returned from an overseas trip he ‘longed to share with his flock at home the treasures he had found abroad’. An assistant bishop with episcopal experience of another province could do the same. Coggan himself had, at York, an assistant bishop previously a bishop in West Africa. His name was… Read more »
In response to Perry Butler’s question:
Confirmation figures for every diocese are available in the spreadsheet that I produce alongside the Statistics for Mission report: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/statisticsformission2023_tables.xlsx
The stipend, expenses and housing costs will be met by the Church Commissioners . They will cost the diocese nothing.
other way around I think – given the twin tendencies of increased admin and diminishing congregations for the admin to be done on/for/to, the need for a Bishop of Brixworth has probably only increased in importance. I don’t know how local you are, but Peterborough diocese is a bizarre shape – over here in the extreme west, it would probably make more sense for us to come under Oxford, but we’re Peterborough. Brixworth is at least on the mental map, rather than expecting someone living and operating in Peterborough (a city I’ve never so much as visited) to have any… Read more »
I remember reading in Church times back in the mid 80’s when Bishop Bill Westwood was Bishop of Peterborough, Bishop Westwood expressing a view when he decided to seek a Suffragan Bishop, when the Diocese had up to the relied on Hon Assistant Bishops, that it was quite wrong to go on using retired Bishops as Assistant Bishops who had already given so much in their previous working lives as Stipendiary Bishops, and he wanted someone who would come to him at the start of the Episcopal Ministry rather then at the end of their working Episcopal ministry on retiring… Read more »
I guess that, like several Henrician creations, Peterborough was a cack-handed and cheapskate partial solution – in that instance to the problem of Lincoln diocese being much too big, but the removal of Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Rutland from Lincoln diocese also conveniently camouflaged the extent to which the see of Lincoln under John Longland was asset stripped (though as Margaret Bowker noted in her 1982 monograph on Longland’s pontificate, that wily old prelate staged a fairly creditable rearguard action, certainly by comparison with such craven and opportunistic contemporaries as William Rugge of Norwich or Rowland Lee of Coventry & Lichfield).… Read more »
Peterborough Abbey was a far grander place than the others you mention, comparable with Norwich and Ely as great Anglian churches, and more than worthy of being a cathedral church. In addition the king’s first wife was buried there, which may have contributed to its repurposing. It would have made a bit more sense if Huntingdonshire had also been taken out of Lincoln at the creation of the see. And if he had created a see of St Albans for Beds, Herts and Bucks (sounds like a radio station!).
Perhaps Huntingdonshire should be in the Diocese of Peterborough now (dives for cover).
Indeed, and thank you, but Peterborough would still have remained fairly liminal even if Huntingdonshire had been added. There was the cluster of great monastic churches on the fringes of the Fens, or within them: Bardney, Crowland, Ely, Peterborough, Ramsey, Thorney, etc., but nothing of remotely comparable size in the rest of Lincoln diocese (with the exception of the Augustinian abbey at Leicester), whilst St Albans was within London diocese, which was deemed to be of an acceptable size. This, I suspect, was one of the problems which confronted those who were trying to redraw the diocesan map in 1540-42.… Read more »
I imagine that this is the first time Crowland (Abbey) has been mentioned in Thinking Anglicans (can one do a word search here?) but I write as someone whose vocation was initially stirred as a server at that church in the 1960’s. The situation is that Crowland related much more to Peterborough (only about 10 miles away), albeit being in the diocese of Lincoln (56 miles distant). Diocesan boundaries are indeed a cornucopia of geographical and historical oddities! In spite of the population having doubled since my time (approx 3,000 to 6,000), Crowland Abbey no longer has a resident priest,… Read more »
It is an amazing building , and somewhere within its vicinity are the remains of St Guthlac the hermit.
Well aware of the shape of the diocese. In fact only two weeks ago I replied to the thread regarding the Brackley deanery being closer to seven other cathedrals than it is to its own. The problem is that if every time a slimming down of the episcopal structure is proposed, NIMBYS, like you pop up, it will never get done. We have to start somewhere.
Something comes to mind that Bishop Douglas Feaver was happy to operate single handed without a Suffragan Bishop and in Purple Feaver he was reported to have rudely described Suffragan Bishops as “Consecrated Nannies to look after the Clergy!” Jonathan.
I hope that this was a lovely bishop, a godly pious man that blessed the people with his presence and attention.
I knew him when he was Rector of St Mary, High Pavement, In Nottingham. A lovely man indeed.