The Prime Minister’s Office has annnounced that the next Bishop of Basingstoke in the diocese of Winchester will be the Ven Kelly Anne Betteridge, currently Archdeacon of Bodmin. The Winchester website carries a press release New Bishop of Basingstoke Announced by Downing Street while Truro has Archdeacon Kelly named as new Bishop.
Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke: 28 August 2025
The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Kelly Anne Betteridge BA, MA, to the Suffragan See of Basingstoke, in the Diocese of Winchester.
From: Prime Minister’s Office, 10 Downing Street
Published 28 August 2025The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Kelly Anne Betteridge BA, MA, Archdeacon of Bodmin in the Diocese of Truro, to the Suffragan See of Basingstoke in the Diocese of Winchester, in succession to the Right Reverend David Williams BSc, following his translation to the See of Truro.
Kelly was educated at Roehampton Institute, gaining a degree in Education and Theology in 1992. She served as a youth and children’s worker in parishes in the Dioceses of Guildford and of Oxford and then as a ministry specialist working with the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS), involved in training and consultancy work with leaders, writing resources and shaping policy relating to children’s ministry.
Kelly trained for ministry at Queen’s College, Birmingham, gaining an MA in Applied Theological Studies. She served her title across the three parishes of St. Nicolas, Nuneaton with St. James, Weddington, and St. Theobold and St. Chad, Caldecote, in the Diocese of Coventry. She was ordained Priest in 2011 and was subsequently appointed Vicar of St. Nicolas and Priest in Charge of St. James and St. Theobold and St. Chad in 2014.
In 2021 Kelly took up her current role as Archdeacon of Bodmin and a Director of Intergenerational Church, in the Diocese of Truro, supporting deaneries to implement plans for sustainability and flourishing, working with leaders (lay and ordained) to embed new patterns of ministry and, promoting intergenerational approaches to church life.
Whilst I wish Bishop Kelly every success in her new role, I do wonder about her selection. She worked at CPAS at the same time as the Bishop.of Winchester, and was his Archdeacon in Truro prior to his move to Winchester. In addition, the previous Bishop of Basingstoke is now Bishop of Truro. Was there a reciprocal arrangement – you get a diocese, I get your Archdeacon? Or was she poached, removing an experienced and knowledgable Archdeacon from a recently consecrated Diocesan? Third, she became vicar of the parish where she served her curacy, directly following her curacy. Whilst there… Read more »
Maybe, maybe not – I don’t know. But if there are machinations behind the appointment they seem no worse than those behind many such appointments to senior staff posts, or more insidious than for the hundreds if not thousands of protégés and/or yes people who have been engineered into such posts over centuries. All this talk of calling is pretty spurious in my view (and that of my spiritual director who is a ‘name’ in things spiritual and far more faith filled and less cynical than I will ever be) – occasionally the Holy Spirit gets a look in –… Read more »
At Evensong tonight in Winchester Cathedral, Bishop Philip introduced and welcomed the new Bishop of Basingstoke. He announced that this was the third time they were working together and stated that there was no nepotism. ( a few chuckles were heard)
Did he add ‘honest, guv’?!
Mark Stibbe is reported as suggesting that ‘… the Bishop of Winchester, who chaired the board which set up the redress scheme, may have to consider standing down.’
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/kennedys-exposes-abuse-victims-details-nightmare-data-breach
Let’s hope +Winchester is more successful with his Suffragans
This appointment appears to give Winchester Diocese three (out of three) evangelical bishops. One presumes other candidates were available for consideration from the list provided by the team at the Wash House.
Yes….but we know how things are today.
It really is not a level playing field.
Depressing.
She may be great….but the cloning continues.
Selection is not constrained to people on the central lists. The diocesan bishop and their advisory group can cast their net as widely as they wish to. Of course a diocesan bishop may have very strong ideas on who they would like working alongside them and who the diocese needs.
Why is everything defined by churchmanship? (which by the way on 2 out of 3 of the bishops is so mis informed). Could we not just accept that these three people might be the best placed and gifted to help lead a diverse diocese into a positive future. It was the previous Bishop of Winchester who wanted to turn the Diocese into a monochrome mission agency. I actually rejoice in the diversity and creativity of recent appointments for Winchester.
This is a very fair comment. I agree. We (I can speak only as an Anglican) have become defensive. Lots of reasons why, some fairer than others. But I was struck by a comment on another thread on this site about security staff at the door of churches. I can understand places laden with conflict where that might be essential, but in London? Is life in London so unsafe that we need guards to keep people out of church? I simply don’t believe it. Yes, churches have had for years to cope with assaults and disruption. And there have been… Read more »
Interesting to see that they decided to mention Caldecote twice. I attended a service at SS Theobald & Chad not long before its closure overseen by this appointee – there was then a mid-afternoon service once a month. I also wrote representations prior to the closure scheme being made and had an exchange about it with the then archdeacon of Coventry (and former chaplain of the Fleet). The church is next to the big house which, along with the church, featured in a Civil War skirmish. The big house, having been reconstructed, became a nursing home for inebriates before being… Read more »
John Green retired as Archdeacon of the Navy in 2010 and went to live in Arley – not far from Caldecote. He came out of retirement to be Acting Archdeacon of Coventry. Eventually becoming Archdeacon of Coventry (known as Archdeacon Pastor). When he retired for a second time, someone else was appointed but had to resign in January 2023 after a CDM complaint was upheld. Since then, there’s been another Acting Archdeacon, also involved in a CDM complaint and heavily criticised. Will he become Archdeacon or will the new Bishop of Coventry look elsewhere? The closure of the church in… Read more »
Camp Hill has subsequently re-opened. There was, apparently, no money to fund an appointment there when it was functioning as an Anglo Catholic Parish. But some time after its closure, praise be, money was found for an evangelical church plant into the parish. Proof, perhaps, that the Lord really does work in mysterious ways.
…more chance of it being proof of a Lord Bishop working in mysterious ways, but then again, what do I know? I’m just an old cynic.
To be fair, I don’t think the then Lord Bishop was involved in any of this, though I have my suspicions about other members of the diocesan hierarchy.
And I ought also to say that, whatever I think about how it came about, the church plant is doing some good work. And an article on the diocesan website suggests that the curate who was put in there has served at some cost to himself and his family.
Many thanks for that. I have almost finished attending services around Coventry diocese (indeed, around the pre-1974 boundaries of Warwickshire). In terms of the south of the diocese (i.e., south of a line between, say, Tanworth and Rugby), there are the existing closed churches which come to mind at: (i) Atherstone on Stour (which is a house); (ii) Avon Dassett (CCT, with an annual service); (iii) Compton Verney (which was never really parochial); (iv) Compton Wyniates (when I asked at an annual service at the closed church at Ridgeway it was hoped that Lord Northampton would revive something); (iv) Croxall… Read more »
Froghole I can assist you a little for your records. Upper Shuckburgh: I attended a BCP Mattins there about 20 years ago, women seated on the north side, men on the south side! Within earshot of Sir Rupert Shuckburgh, someone referred to the church as a private chapel. He replied quite strongly that it’s a parish church. Quite so and a private peculiar. There used to be occasional worship in his time but I don’t know about worship since his death a few years ago. Ufton: this has been tossed about for decades. I attended a service there when it… Read more »
Very many thanks indeed for that! I am dismayed to read about Gaydon, as when I went there in 2017 there were a couple of services a month, and attendance was not that bad. I had forgotten the closed church at Chaderton next door (CCT and, like Gaydon, originally a chapelry of Bishops Itchington), where I attended a summer service there that year, which was creditably well attended, with a fine peal of bells well rung. I had been led to believe that it was an annual service, but have not seen it advertised since. I had also omitted Billesley… Read more »
What surprises me ( in retirement now 14 yrs) are the number of stipendiary clergy who think one service a Sunday is all that you should be expected to do.
Indeed. In some benighted areas with the scantest provision, I have sometimes almost felt sufficiently exasperated to offer to drive a couple of hundred miles each way to read the service in multiple churches (which, of course, I have no legal authority to do), even to empty churches – as Gerald Ellison apparently used to enjoin of his clergy when in Cheshire. I should note, viz. my comments above, that Gaydon is still having a couple of services pcm, although there are, it seems, issues with the fabric. The parish is due for significant additional development, albeit of more distribution… Read more »
I sympathise with your view about reading the service in multiple churches.
Re Gaydon:
Fosse Deanery Plan September 2024: ‘the church at Gaydon will be redundant as it is beyond economic repair, and Newbold Pacey will be used as a site for rural retreats’ so not public worship as such.
Many thanks again for that. What a shame. I knew of the cracks, but Gaydon is not a negligible place with similar problems like, say, East Orchard in Dorset (or Hulcote in Buckinghamshire). Moreover, churches closed on account of being ‘beyond economic repair’ have often, in my experience, been perfectly capable of repair within a reasonable period of time – Astwood in Buckinghamshire or Market Stainton in Lincolnshire (South Lindsey). If there were genuine risk pooling with respect to the management of buildings, then there would be no need for such closures, and Gaydon’s future could have been secured at… Read more »
The H of B tells us we will be 1000 clergy less in a few years. Since public worship is the Church’s core activity we would seem to be on a path to “auto- destruction” unless there is some hard thinking. Look across the Channel to ADAP perhaps? Organise active retired clergy better, encourage lay worship leaders to lead a Service of the Word? I’m sure this is happening in some places but I imagine it is still pretty as hoc. And some clergy are reluctant to permit lay led services despite Benefice Services and the like very rarely increase… Read more »
Many thanks, Dr Butler! I fear that your prediction is likely to come to pass, as you and at least one of your colleagues in the City Centre parish have experienced in rural parishes in East Kent. Moves to encourage lay led worship as the rule rather than the exception in many places are belated and often timorous. We also need to factor in the probability that there will soon be far fewer retirees operating on a house for duty basis, or otherwise – not least as more parsonage houses are sold off. Provision in much of the countryside (and,… Read more »
Similar things are proposed in Truro diocese, where a proposal for the Kerrier Deanery is currently out for consultation – 23 parishes spread over a large area to become one benefice to be served by two clergy. If such schemes become more widespread, what does that say about the C of E’s claim to be a Christian presence in every community? Elsewhere on TA there has been discussion about churches in certain networks or franchises. What I see looking at the websites of some of those churches is just how many staff they have. It may be that the C… Read more »
Many thanks for this. In 2022 I attended services in that deanery at Constantine, Cury, Helston, Landewednack, Mullion, Ruan Minor, St Anthony-in-Meneage, St Keverne, Sithney and Wendron. I have been around most of Truro diocese east of St Austell, but only sporadically to the west of it (at least in terms of attending services). Relatively thin and elderly congregations almost everywhere, but no more – it has to be said – than in many other dioceses. Looking at the plan, it does seem unusually and usefully candid, and I noted especially the risk matrix on page 28, which does note… Read more »
“attenuation of worship provision”. which I suppose is one reason for declining numbers
How is Intergenerational Church going in the Truro diocese?
Dying out?
Why the surprise about churchmanship selection?
Here in Chi Dio it has been routine to have diocesan + one suffragan bishop from The Society, while the other bish is evangelical. Traditionally the evangelical was ConEvo, so just as anti-female as the other two, but in sop to women the latest is a woman. The appointment was carefully judged because, apart from being a woman, she has proved reliably conservative on all other matters, so life has not really changed.
I note the announcement describes David Williams as a BSc whereas Who’s Who says he’s a BSocSc