Thetford to have Bishop Bishop after royal approval

The Venerable Ian Bishop, current Archdeacon of Macclesfield, has been appointed Bishop of Thetford

A clergyman with the surname Bishop is to become the bishop of a Norfolk town.

The Venerable Ian Bishop, Archdeacon of Macclesfield, has been appointed Bishop of Thetford in the Diocese of Norwich following King Charles III's approval.

He will replace the Right Reverend Dr Alan Winton, who retired in April.

Archdeacon Bishop, who previously served as a vicar in the county, will be ordained at Westminster Abbey in September and said he was "looking forward" to the role.

The father of three, who is married to wife Sue, worked as a chartered surveyor before he was ordained as a deacon in 1991 and as a priest the following year.

He became vicar of Tasburgh, Tharston, Saxlingham Nethergate, Shotesham, Newton Flotman and Swainsthorpe in 1995, before he moved to the Diocese of Chester in 2001.

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He has served as Archdeacon of Macclesfield since 2011.

His appointment is as a suffragan bishop, which means he is an assisting bishop who will not automatically succeed the diocesan bishop, the Right Reverend Graham Usher.