Stephen Pedley, a senior figure in the Church of England, died at the age of 85. He served as bishop of Lancaster from 1998 until 2005, a position he held for seven years before retiring.
Pedley was born in Coventry to Geoffrey, a clergyman, and his wife Muriel. He attended Marlborough school in Wiltshire and subsequently read history at Queens’ College, Cambridge. He studied for ordination at Ripon College Cuddesdon in Oxfordshire, where he trained under the influence of the Oxford Movement’s emphasis on Catholic traditions within Anglicanism. Following his ordination in 1966, he began his clerical career as a curate at Liverpool parish church, a prominent city-center congregation.
During his time in Liverpool, Pedley met Mary Macdonald, daughter of a clergyman and an aspiring teacher, whom he married in 1970. His early career included positions at Holy Trinity Coventry and a period serving as a priest in Kitwe, in Zambia’s copper belt region, from 1971 to 1977. After returning to England, he held positions including vicar at Stockton, rector at Whickham from 1988 to 1993, and residentiary canon at Durham Cathedral from 1993 to 1998. He also served as chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II beginning in 1984.
As bishop of Lancaster based in Blackburn, Pedley became known locally as “the people’s bishop” and was noted for providing pastoral reassurance and encouragement to those under his care. Following his retirement from the episcopate, he served as an honorary assistant bishop for the diocese of Newcastle. In retirement, Pedley and Mary lived in Northumberland, where they were known for their hospitality. He is survived by Mary, their three children—Mark, Andrew, and Philippa—and six grandchildren.
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