Trevor Willmott (born 29 March 1950) is a British retired bishop in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Basingstoke (one of two

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

s in the Diocese of Winchester) from 2002 to 2009 and then Bishop of Dover (''de facto'' diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury) from 2010 until his retirement in 2019. In retirement, he remains bishop for the Channel Islands.

Early life and education

Willmott undertook an undergraduate degree at St Peter's College, Oxford. He studied for ordination at Fitzwilliam College and Westcott House, Cambridge.

Ordained ministry

Willmott was made a deacon at Petertide 1974 (30 June), by John Hare, Bishop of Bedford, at

St Mary's Church, Luton St Mary's Church is an Anglican Church in the centre of the town of Luton, England. The church has a rich and long history, being over 900 years old and has been rebuilt and refurbished constantly over the centuries. The Church is one of the lar ...

, and ordained a priest the Petertide following (6 July 1975), by Robert Runcie, Bishop of St Albans, at St Albans Cathedral. He was a curate at St George's Church, Parish of Norton, Letchworth Garden City in the Diocese of St Albans from 1974 to 1977. From 1978 to 1979 he was assistant chaplain of Oslo with Trondheim before moving to become the chaplain of Naples with

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

and Sorrento from 1979 to 1983. He was also Officiating Chaplain to the British and American forces in Southern Europe from 1979 to 1983. All of these appointments were in the Diocese in Europe. In 1983, Willmott returned to the United Kingdom as Rector of Ecton, Northamptonshire and warden of the Peterborough diocesan retreat house at Ecton House. In addition to these positions, he became Diocesan Director of Ordinands and of Post-Ordination Training in 1986. He became a

Canon residentiary 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 ...

and precentor of Peterborough Cathedral in 1989 (remaining Diocesan Director of Ordinands and of Post-Ordination Training) until 1997, when he became a canon residentiary of

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 t ...

and Archdeacon of Durham.

Episcopal ministry

On 8 May 2002, Willmott was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

a bishop by George Carey,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, at Southwark Cathedral. He succeeded Geoffrey Rowell as Bishop suffragan of Basingstoke (in the Diocese of Winchester) following Rowell's appointment as Bishop in Europe. He was installed as the Bishop of Basingstoke on 11 May 2002 at Winchester Cathedral. In 2010, he was translated to Dover: the Bishop suffragan of Dover is legally delegated full responsibility for the Diocese of Canterbury, acting as diocesan bishop in place of the

(who is Primate of All England and first bishop in the Anglican Communion); Willmott was installed as the Bishop of Dover on 6 February 2010 at Canterbury Cathedral. In January 2014, in an interim arrangement, Willmott was appointed to oversight of the Channel Islands (part of the Diocese of Winchester) following a breakdown of relations with the Bishop of Winchester over the handling of alleged abuse. Willmott retired on 12 May 2019.https://www.canterburydiocese.org/we-can-bring-hope-says-bishop-of-dover In retirement, Willmott retains oversight of the Channel Islands and his commission as an honorary assistant bishop of the Diocese of Winchester.

Styles

*'' The Reverend'' Trevor Willmott (1973–1989) *''The Reverend'' Canon Trevor Willmott (1989–1997) *'' The Venerable'' Trevor Willmott (1997–2002) *'' The Right Reverend'' Trevor Willmott (2002–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willmott, Trevor 1951 births Living people Archdeacons of Durham Bishops of Basingstoke Bishops of Dover, Kent Alumni of St Peter's College, Oxford Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge