The Rt Revd David Stancliffe

Biography


The Rt Revd David Staffurth Stancliffe was consecrated as the 77th Bishop of Salisbury at Westminster Abbey on 30 November 1993 and enthroned in Salisbury Cathedral on 9 December 1993, having previously been Provost of Portsmouth for 11 years.  He is the third generation of his family to serve the ordained ministry.

 

The Bishop's grandfather on his father's side was a country parish priest in Lincolnshire throughout his ministry and his grandfather on his mother's side, Canon Tissington Tatlow, was General Secretary of the Student Christian Movement.

 

Son of the former Dean of Winchester, the Very Revd Michael Stancliffe, who was himself ordained at Salisbury Cathedral, David was born in 1942 in Devizes, Wiltshire, where his father was Curate of St. James', Southbroom, later serving at Ramsbury and Cirencester before becoming Chaplain to Westminster School.

 

It was from Westminster School that David went to Trinity College, Oxford, to study classics and philosophy, and where he was Organ Scholar.

 

At Oxford he met Sarah Smith, a member of the same small choir, and they were married in Westminster Abbey in July 1965.

 

While at university, David abandoned thoughts of a musical career in favour of ordination and instead went on to theological training at Cuddesdon in October 1965, while Sarah taught at Headington School.

 

Ordained deacon in 1967 and priest the following year in the Diocese of Ripon, David served as Curate of the Leeds parish of St. Bartholomew's, Armley.  Three years later he returned to the West Country as Chaplain to Clifton College, Bristol between 1977 and 1982.

 

In 1977, he was appointed Canon Residentiary of Portsmouth Cathedral and Diocesan Director of Ordinands and, subsequently, Lay Ministerial Adviser.  For a time he also undertook the role of Precentor in a combination of duties which recognised his special interests in the areas of liturgy, church architecture and music, while also involving him in clergy formation and training, and in the work of the parishes in the Diocese.

 

He was appointed Provost of Portsmouth in 1982, and his major work from then until 1993 was the completion and re-ordering of Portsmouth Cathedral, shaping its life and work to fulfil its primary function of supporting the Bishop of Portsmouth in his ministry.

 

Alongside other duties in the Diocese of Portsmouth, he was Vice-Chairman of the Governors of Portsmouth Grammar School and a Governor of Chichester Theological College, a member of the governing bodies of the Southern Dioceses Ministerial Training Scheme and of Salisbury & Wells Theological College, and was Chairman of the Southern Regional Institute.

 

In July 1993, David succeeded the Bishop of Winchester as Chairman of the Church of England's Liturgical Commission, a position which he held until 2005.  He has served on the Commission since 1986. Work with the Commission has involved the publication of The Promise of His Glory and the preparation and publication of the Common Worship liturgies. This significant contribution to the life of the Church was recognised by the award by the Archbishop of Canterbury of a Lambeth Doctorate in Divinity in 2004.  David has also been a member of the Council for the Care of Churches, is the President of Affirming Catholicism and Vice-President of the Royal School of Church Music.

 

He conducts regular concerts - Bach and Monteverdi played on original instruments.  These are prepared over a weekend and raise money for the Sudan Medical Link

 

David and Sarah share a concern for the needy and underprivileged - Sarah is often found helping at one of the local hostels for the homeless - and the couple visited the Sudan in January 1996 and December 1999, encountering some appalling conditions but "generous and lively people".  He has returned regularly, most recently in 2006, the first time as a guest at the meeting of the Provincial Synod of the Sudanese Church and on the second occasion accompanying the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, on his first visit to the country.  The Archbishop of Sudan, Archbishop Joseph Marona, and many of his colleagues have been frequent guests at the Stancliffes' home in Salisbury.

 

David and Sarah have two daughters, Rachel, born in 1968, and Hannah, born in 1969, and a son, Ben, born in 1971. They have eight grandchildren.

 

 

Contact:
South Canonry, 71 The Close, Salisbury, SP1 2ER
email: dsarum@salisbury.anglican.org
tel: 01722 334031
fax: 01722 413112
web: http://www.salisbury.anglican.org