Will Stewart (bishop)

Will Stewart
Bishop of Taunton
DioceseDiocese of Bath and Wells
PredecessorRichard Lewis
SuccessorAndy Radford
Orders
Ordination1968 (deacon); 1969 (priest)
ConsecrationJune 1997
Personal details
Born(1943-09-19)19 September 1943
Died24 March 1998(1998-03-24) (aged 54)
DenominationAnglican
ParentsWilliam & Betty Stewart
SpouseJanet Andrews (m. 1969)
Children2 sons; 2 daughters
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge

William Allen Stewart (called Will;[1] 19 September 1943 – 24 March 1998) was a Bishop of Taunton whose brief tenure from June 1997 until his death March 1998[2] was one of the shortest in the Anglican Communion. He was also, at 6 feet 7 inches,[3] one of its tallest.

Stewart was educated at Uppingham and Trinity College, Cambridge (where he gained a Cambridge Master of Arts {MA Cantab}).[4] Made a deacon at Michaelmas 1968 (29 September)[5] and ordained a priest the Michaelmas following (28 September 1969), both times by John Taylor, Bishop of Sheffield, at Sheffield Cathedral;[6] he was a curate at Ecclesall then Cheltenham.[7] Following this he was Vicar of St James, Gloucester[8] then Rector of St Mary Magdalene, Torquay.[9] A sideways move to St Mark, Oulton Broad[10] led to promotion to be Rural Dean of Lothingland and finally, before his appointment to the episcopate, a Canon of Norwich Cathedral.

  1. ^ "Bishop shares his reaction to suffering". Church Times. No. 7039. 9 January 1998. p. 3. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 24 January 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
  2. ^ “Priests and Prelates: The Daily Telegraph Clerical Obituaries” Beeson, T (Ed) London Continuum 2002 ISBN 978-0-8264-8100-9
  3. ^ 201 centimetres
  4. ^ “Who was Who” 1897–1990 London, A & C Black, 1991 ISBN 0-7136-3457-X
  5. ^ "Michaelmas Ordinations". Church Times. No. 5512. 4 October 1968. p. 19. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 24 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  6. ^ "Michaelmas Ordinations". Church Times. No. 5564. 3 October 1969. p. 15. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 24 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  7. ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory 1975–76 London: Oxford University Press, 1976 ISBN 0-19-200008-X
  8. ^ Church web site (1)
  9. ^ Church web site (2)
  10. ^ Church web site (3)