The Prime Minister’s Office issued the press release below this morning. There is more information on the St Albans diocesan website.
Appointment of Bishop of St Albans: 19 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr. Andrew Paul Rumsey, for election as Bishop of St. Albans
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 19 March 2026
The King has approved the nomination of The Right Reverend Dr. Andrew Paul Rumsey, Suffragan Bishop of Ramsbury in the Diocese of Salisbury, for election as Bishop of St. Albans, in succession to The Right Reverend Alan Smith, following his retirement.
Background
Andrew was born and raised in the Diocese of St Albans, where his father served as a parish priest. He was educated at the University of Reading and Kings College, London, and trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He served his title at Trinity St. Michael, Harrow, in the Diocese of London, and was ordained priest in 1998.
Andrew served as Vicar of Christ Church, Gipsy Hill, in the Diocese of Southwark, from 2001 and was appointed Rector of Oxted & Tandridge (later Team Rector of Oxted) in 2011.
In 2019, Andrew took up his current role as Bishop of Ramsbury, in the Diocese of Salisbury. He is also lead bishop for church buildings.
Andrew is a singer-songwriter and the author of Parish: An Anglican theology of place (Books, 21 July 2017) and English Grounds: A pastoral journal (Books, 11 March 2022).
Bishop Andrew is an excellent pastor. I, and I suspect many others, will really miss him but prayers and good wishes will go with him.
As someone living in the diocese (and a former Chair of the House of Laity, this seems a great appointment. Prayers + Andrew for your ministry
This is an inspired nomination. I was a member of the Bishop’s Advisory Group when Andrew Rumsey was appointed to Ramsbury, the part of the Diocese of Salisbury within Wiltshire. The then bishop, Nick Holtam, said he wanted a bishop who ‘loved the people, and the place.’ And that’s what he got. Deep parish experience, astute theologically and, as you say, an excellent pastor. I imagine he has made a significant contribution to the College of Bishops, and will continue to do so in the House. He will be great for the Diocese of St Albans.
This is a brilliant and refreshing appointment.
Excellent appointment. He has a doctorate (gained while in ministry) so will bring additional theological insight to the H of B. He was also a Ship of Fools columnist and I think wrote for Third Way. He sees the importance of place and of the parish system.
And a guitarist who gives concerts of folk music.
Charles, what was the subject of his doctorate?
D.Th.Min. at Kings in 2016 with a thesis “What kind of place is the Anglican parish? A theological description”, per CT. Sounds like we should all read it!
Thanks, Anthony. Sounds good!
‘Parish’ is the published version of his doctoral work
Not sure I’m going to shell out £20 to read either of his books, which presumably present his doctoral ideas in accessible form, but they sound counter-cultural, at least vis a vis Welbyism. The optimistic side of me hopes that he may be part of a rebalancing of the church’s ethos. The pessimist wonders if talk of place, and the idea that ‘the Anglican parish ‘ is actually a suitably coherent entity for discussion, isn’t just a bit wistful and nostalgic. I love Herbert, Kilvert and even Woodforde as much as anyone else, but wonder if the social facts on… Read more »
Parish boundaries make more sense in the country and small towns than they do in cities. I remember reading a late victorian Bishop of Manchester’s arguments that the idea of parishes didn’t really work in large cities.
Noting this referenence to ‘Welbyism’ I find myself wondering how Mullallyism may be perceived. So much for Williamsism, Careyism, … Fisherism … Laudism … Becketism … Jesusism? Wishing +Rumsey well.
Congratulations to Andrew Rumsey on this deserved appointment. He will be missed in Salisbury Diocese but I suspect I was not the only person to feel that we would be lucky to hold on to him for much longer.
Andrew Rumsey’s father, Philip, was incumbent of High Wych, Eastwick and Gilston in Hertfordshire – now being enveloped by the sprawl of Harlow – so he had some of his formative experiences in St Albans diocese, albeit in the extreme east of the diocese. He appears to have been very diligent in touring Wiltshire, and was very much liked in Oxted (a parish which had been seared by the Guy Bennett abuse scandal). I wrote in last year suggesting that he might be the most credible successor to Welby, despite a lack of diocesan experience; had he been given a… Read more »
Shock, horror! He has over 20 years experience in Parish ministry! Is this a record? Has the CNC imploded?
More seriously, is there any hope that Leeds will get a pastor who will actually encourage and support his clergy rather than….
Wonderful appointment! Made my day.
He is currently my suffragan, so I must admit to a twinge of selfish sadness. But a fantastic appointment in the bigger picture.
I have confirmed on AI that on the scale of frequency of occurrence of surnames in the English speaking world ‘Rumsey’ is at position 4390. It would therefore not be an impossibly long shot if I wondered whether the Bishop-elect of St Albans might be distantly related to the eminent Australian church musician David Rumsey. David Rumsey has a Wikipedia entry, so anyone sufficiently interested can get further information from there. His wife Christa Rumsey was also a musician, and I can recall her singing solo ‘Thou visitest the earth’ at a harvest festival.
Or originated from Romsey, Hampshire – which by some of the more trad locals is pronounced Rumsey
Yes, the AI overview I consulted suggested a connection with Romsey in Hampshire.
Not only locals, always also by the late Queen Elizabeth Ii who spent part of her honeymoon there. Romsey Abbey, a royal Saxon foundation, is the burial place of Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
Having just read his ‘English Grounds’, I feel this appointment should be good news for the parishes of St Albans.
This is quite remarkable. 13 comments all saying good news. I’ll add mine to make it 14 though I’ve never heard of the man. Good luck to him
Can I be the first to say what a disappointing selection. Not only a signatory of the 44 Bishops calling for immediate removal on the restriction of clergy entering same sex marriages, but it appears he has taken part in ceremonies with shaman practitioners. Just what we need in our inclusive church.
Those two reasons alone would suggest this is a very good appointment.
Looking at the composition and theological flavour of the current diocesan senior staff, his first senior appointment will be interesting. Any distinct evangelicals of ethic minority interested in working in Bedfordshire?
Seems that the CNC 14 have actually come up with the goods! My prayers for + Andrew
Another good appointment. My goodness the winds of change do seem to be blowing through The Wash House. Not before time, but very welcome nevertheless.
I have known Andrew since he was a Ridley Hall student on attachment to the parishes I then served in West Cambridgeshire. He was an exceptional, sensitive, intelligent and thoughtful ordinand. I was privileged to be asked to preach at his and Rebecca’s wedding. I am absolutely delighted, both personally and as as a retired priest who is writing my PhD now on the decline of the Church of England and ecclesiology, that he is to join the House of Bishops. I heard him last autumn, speaking at Lambeth Palace on the occasion of degree giving for the Lambeth Advanced… Read more »
I was intrigued to read that the subject of your PhD will be “on the decline of the Church of England and ecclesiology”. I read this as the decline of the CofE and of its ecclesiology. Or am I being mischievous?