Alan David Chesters

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 26 August 1937) was the

Bishop of Blackburn The Bishop of Blackburn is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Blackburn in the Province of York. The diocese covers much of the county of Lancashire and has its see in the town of Blackburn, where the seat of the diocese is loca ...

from 1989 to 2003.

Early life and education

Chesters is the son of Herbert and Catherine Chesters, of

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...

, West Yorkshire. He was educated at Elland Grammar School,

St Chad's College, Durham , motto_English = Not what you have, but who you are , scarf = , established = 1904 , principal = Margaret Masson , senior_tutor = Eleanor Spencer-Regan , undergraduates = 409 , postgraduates = 150 , website = , coordinates = , location_map ...

(Bachelor of Arts, 1959), St Catherine's Society, Oxford (Bachelor of Arts, 1961), Oxford Master of Arts (1965) and

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an Anglican theological college and one of five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford, England. It will cease to be a permanent private hall in 2023. The college has a very small proportion of undergraduate ...

(1959–1962). He was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1962,

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1963 and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

in 1989.

Ministry

Chesters served as

assistant curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of St Anne's

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

from 1962 to 1965. He then became chaplain of

Tiffin School Tiffin School is a boys' grammar school in Kingston upon Thames, England. It has specialist status in both the performing arts and languages. The school moved from voluntary aided status to become an Academy School on 1 July 2011. Founded in ...

(1966–72), a post that he soon combined with that of honorary assistant curate of St Richard's

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

(1967–72). Returning to the

north of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, where he was to spend the rest of his ministry, he became director of education for the

Diocese of Durham The Diocese of Durham is a Church of England diocese, based in Durham, and covering the historic county of Durham (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne, and excluding southern Teesdale). It was created in ...

and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Brancepeth Brancepeth is a village and civil parish in County Durham, in England. It is situated about from Durham on the A690 road between Durham and Weardale. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 414. Brancepeth Castle was u ...

(1972–85). He was an

honorary canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of ...

from 1975 until 1984. In 1985, he was appointed Archdeacon of Halifax in the

Diocese of Wakefield The Diocese of Wakefield is a former Church of England diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covering Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale. The cathedral was Wakefield Cathedral and the bishop was the diocesan Bishop of Wakef ...

. In 1989, the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

appointed him

on the advice of the Prime Minister,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

. He took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

in 1995. He retired in 2003, and became an

honorary assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

in the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

s of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Gibraltar in Europe. He moved from the diocese of Chester in 2010, ceasing to be an assistant bishop in Chester, remaining one in Europe and becoming one in Southwark (where he lives) and Chichester. Chesters was a Church Commissioner from 1982 until 1998. He was first elected to the

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

in 1975. He was a member of its standing committee from 1985 to 1989 and 1990 to 1995, and served as vice chairman (1984–90), and later chairman, of the Board of Education."Distinctive or Divisive? The Role of Church Schools." Alan Chesters (bishop),

: King's College London,

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea ...

. Hockerill Educational Foundation 2001 and Chairman of the Schools Committee. In October 2000, Chesters officially opened an extension at a school in

Oswaldtwistle Oswaldtwistle ( "ozzel twizzel") is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England, southeast of Blackburn, contiguous with Accrington and Church. The town has a rich industrial heritage, being home to James Hargreaves, inventor of th ...

. His involvement in Anglican education continued as he became a member of the board of governors of his old

college A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

St Chad's ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

(1980–89), and chairman of the board of governors of

St Martin's College St Martin's College was a British higher education college with campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside and Carlisle, as well as sites in Whitehaven, Barrow and London. It provided undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, humanities, bus ...

(1991–2003). In 2003, he was appointed to

's first honorary fellowship. He has also been chairman of the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engl ...

Advisory Committee on Church Colleges and president of the Woodard Corporation.

Memberships and honours

Chesters was a member of the

Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...

, and chairman of the North West Rural Affairs Forum. In the New Year Honours List 2007, he was appointed a

Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, for services to the community in the

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. He was awarded an

Honorary Fellowship Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

in 2007 from the

University of Cumbria The University of Cumbria is a public university in Cumbria, with its headquarters in Carlisle and other major campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside, and London. It has roots extending back to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, establis ...

References

Sources

Bishop dices with casino future, ''BBC News'' (26 February 2002)SMC awards Honorary Fellowship to Bishop of Blackburn (15 January 2004)Trinity Foundation for Christianity and CultureGlyn Paflin, Honours for work with children and families, ''Church Times''Gerrard and Hatton head honours, ''BBC News'' (30 December 2006)
*''Debrett's People of Today'' *''Crockford's Clerical Directory'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesters, Alan David 1937 births Living people Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham People associated with Lancaster University People from Huddersfield 20th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of Halifax Bishops of Blackburn 20th-century Church of England bishops Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Clergy from Yorkshire