William John Denbigh Down (15 July 1934 – 4 February 2025) was a British cleric who was the ninth

Bishop of Bermuda The Bishop of Bermuda is an episcopal title given to the ordinary of the Anglican Church of Bermuda, one of six extra-provincial Anglican churches within the Church of England overseen by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The present Bishop is Nic ...

and later the Assistant Bishop of Leicester.

Biography

Educated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, Down was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1960. His first post was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () 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 who are as ...

at St Paul's Church, Salisbury, after which he was secretary to the Missions to Seaman, chaplain of

St Michael Paternoster Royal St Michael Paternoster Royal is a church in the City of London. The original building, which was first recorded in the 13th century, was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. The church was rebuilt under the aegis of Sir Christopher Wr ...

, and honorary chaplain to the Carmen's Company until his ordination to the

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

in 1990. He returned to England as the Assistant Bishop of Leicester in 1995 before retiring in 2001. He was ultimately honorary assistant bishop in the

Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, ...

, where he settled at

Witney Witney is a market town on the River Windrush in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is west of Oxford. History The Toponymy, place-name "Witney" is derived from the Old English for "Witta's island". The earliest kno ...

. Down died on 4 February 2025, at the age of 90.

References

1934 births 2025 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 20th-century Anglican bishops in Bermuda Anglican bishops of Bermuda Assistant bishops of Leicester (1987–2017) {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub