The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that the next Suffragan Bishop of Taunton in the diocese of Bath and Wells will be the Ven Fiona Gibson, currently Archdeacon of Ludlow. The Bath and Wells website has the story Fiona Gibson to become the next Bishop of Taunton.
Appointment of the Suffragan Bishop of Taunton: 22nd October 2025
The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Dr Fiona Ruth Gibson, to the Suffragan See of Taunton, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 22 October 2025The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Dr Fiona Ruth Gibson, Archdeacon of Ludlow, in the Diocese of Hereford, to the Suffragan See of Taunton, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells, in succession to the Right Reverend Ruth Elizabeth Worsley, following her translation to the See of Wigan.
Fiona was educated at Homerton College, Cambridge, and trained for ministry at Oak Hill Theological College. She served her title at Christ Church, Bedford, in the Diocese of St Albans, and was ordained Priest in 2012. Fiona was appointed Vicar of Cople, Moggerhanger and Willington in 2014.
In 2021, Fiona took up her current role as Archdeacon of Ludlow, in the Diocese of Hereford, and was installed as a Prebendary of Hereford Cathedral.
Fiona is married to David, and they have two adult children.
As someone who works fairly closely with Fiona, this is such wonderful news and gives me real hope for the C of E. Fiona is a wise, compassionate, insightful and deeply thoughtful priest and one of the finest preachers I’ve heard. B and W are very lucky (though a huge loss to us in Hereford.)
I do not doubt the gifts and qualities Fiona brings to episcopacy but I understand her to be conservative on LLF. At present so many are feeling a raw and deep anguish over the abject failure of the bishops to honour the welcome and joy they proclaimed only a few years ago over those in same-sex relationships. It would have been good to hear you affirm how her appointment will be good news to LGBT+ priests and inclusive churches in her new diocese.
Trained at Oak Hill!
The last time an Archdeacon of Ludlow was appointed as Suffragan Bishop of Taunton was in 1992 when the late Bishop Richard Lewis was appointed on the Translation of Bishop Peter Nott to Norwich, Richard Lewis later went on in 1997 to become Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. Things have a habit of repeating themselves in Church appointments in the Church of England! Jonathan
A little historical Howler I made in earlier comment. It was Bishop Nigel Mucolloch who Bishop Richard Lewis followed as Bishop of Taunton in 1992 when he became Bishop of Wakefield in 1992, Nigel Muccolloch followed Bishop Peter Nott in 1986 after he was translated to Norwich in 1985. When Bishop of Taunton I remember very well from my School days at Chilton Cantelo House in Somerset was Bishop Frank West who was Bishop of Taunton from 1962 until he retired in 1977, Bishop Notts Predecessor. Bishop West came twice to do Confirmations for the School during my time at… Read more »
I too had one or two dealings with Nigel McCulloch. They included attendance at the Trevor Huddleston funeral at Mirfield in 1998. I didn’t have a black tie then, but did have a very decorative tie with a pattern on a black background. I think it originated in Thailand. I put it on for the funeral, and said to +Nigel that I was a bit concerned in case it was seen as frivolous. He assured me that it was not.
But what would GAFCON think about it?
If it’s anything to do with progress you can be sure they’ll be against it.
Congratulations to Fiona. I was her DDO ( in Edmonton 1996 to 2009). The first of my ordinands to become a bishop. ( The Dean of Sheffield was one too). May she be much blessed in her new ministry.
I remember from reading Crockfords and seeing the list of all the previous Bishops of Taunton, that the Suffragan See of Taunton is one of the oldest Suffragan Sees in the Church of England and was established at the Reformation by King Henry the 8th, when he introduced Suffragan Bishops into the Church of England, if my memory serves me well I think there was only one Suffragan Bishop of Taunton Appointed when this See was first set up, then there was a long lapse in the See, with the See being revived in the 19th Century and Bishops of… Read more »
I recall that in that the list of suffragan sees in Crockford to which you refer the name of the suffragan bishopric was followed by the name of the diocese in brackets, e.g. Middleton (Manchester). Over one or two issues of Crockford there was an entry in the list for Aotearoa (Waiapu). There was of course such a post, though I was unaware that it was associated with the diocese of Waiapu and not with the whole NZ Province. More importantly, how could the Suffragan Bishops Act of 1534 have applied to it? This is something else Froghole might have… Read more »
I think I can help Clifford, at a risk of traversing ground of minimal relevance to the Bishopric of Taunton. When General Synod decided in the 1920s to establish a Bishop of Aotearoa, the original intent was that the said Bishop would have a very small geographical Diocese, plus a responsibility for ministry among Maori people across the whole country. There was also an (unstated) assumption that the appointee would be a Pakeha ie European. Maori spokespeople made it quite clear that this would not do – the Bishop of Aotearoa must be a Maori. So GS rescinded their decision,… Read more »
Far from good news for the LGBTQI + people in that diocese.