LORD BISHOP OF CHICHESTER 

CHURCH ENGLAND

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Dr Martin Warner, The Bishop of Chichester

According to the Deeds relating to the former stables, 'The Old Rectory' in Lime Park is so named because it was previously owned by the Lord Bishop of Chichester, (Anglican) Church of England. Or if that is not 100% accurate by way of description, the property was in the ownership of the Church. Hence, the name: 'The Rectory' came about.

Long before the formation of Lime Park Estate Limited the Church of England sold the then 'The Rectory' to Anthony and Anne Hall. The Hall's sold on to Peter and June Townley, who opted to keep the same name, presumably from the kudos attaching. Permission of sale and continued use of the name appears to be one of the conditions attaching to whoever owns the converted stables.

For the avoidance of doubt, and to the best of out knowledge and belief, the Church (Bishop of Chichester) are not responsible or in any way connected with the running of the residents property management company in Lime Park, or the recent alterations to what is now called 'The Old Rectory.' 

For sure the buildings are relatively "old," being used for the stabling of horses and parking of carriages and coaches, etc until World War One. But only fairly recently becoming a 'Rectory' and then being sold on by the Church.

INCUMBENT 2024 - The Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner MA PhD is a traditionalist who has worked resolutely in recent years to encourage provision in which people of all integrities can remain together. He worked closely with women priest colleagues at St Paul’s Cathedral and has sought to serve with equal care the ordained men and women in his episcopal patch in the north of England.

ABOUT THE LORD BISHOP OF CHICHESTER

The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity. On 3 May 2012 the appointment was announced of Martin Warner, Bishop of Whitby, as the next Bishop of Chichester. His enthronement took place on 25 November 2012 in Chichester Cathedral.

The bishop's residence is The Palace, Chichester. Since 2015, Warner has also fulfilled the diocesan-wide role of alternative episcopal oversight, following the decision by Mark Sowerby, Bishop of Horsham, to recognise the orders of priests and bishops who are women. 

1974 - 2001

Eric Waldram Kemp, FRHistS (27 April 1915 – 28 November 2009) was the Bishop of Chichester from 1974 to 2001 during the time when the Church sold The Rectory in Lime Park. He was one of the leading Anglo-Catholics of his generation and one of the most influential figures in the Church of England in the last quarter of the twentieth century.

Kemp was educated at Brigg Grammar School and Exeter College, Oxford, graduating with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1936, Master of Arts in 1940, Bachelor of Divinity in 1944 and Doctor of Divinity in 1961. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1951 and received an honorary DLitt from the University of Sussex.

Kemp was one of the leading scholars of ecclesiastical law and a participant in conversations between the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain. He was a former member of the Court of Ecclesiastical Causes Reserved. In 1998 a volume of essays on English Canon Law was published in his honour.

He had special concern for homeless people and people living with HIV and Aids and was a supporter of the campaign to save the French Convalescent Home in Brighton. In 1994 he became President of the National Liberal Club.

He was one of only four bishops in the United Kingdom who declined to sign the Cambridge Accord, affirming the human rights of homosexuals.

He encouraged women to serve in the permanent diaconate in his diocese but was an opponent of the ordination of women to the priesthood and women priests were not licensed in the Diocese of Chichester during his episcopate. The first woman to be licensed in the diocese, following the appointment of Kemp's successor, John William Hind, was the Reverend Pat Sinton who was licensed as priest-in-charge of St Mary's Shipley in November 2001. In Kemp's time women were able to work within the diocese through the approval of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

CONTACTS

The Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner MA PhD
The Palace, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1PY
Tel: 01243 782 161
bishop@chichester.anglican.org

THE OLD RECTORY JULY 2022 - Alterations to the former stable block in Lime Park, may have altered the character of this potentially historic element of Lime Park, should the location become a Conservation Area.

 CHARACTERS

https://www.chichester.anglican.org/the-bishop-of-chichester/

https://www.chichester.anglican.org/the-bishop-of-chichester/

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