Rt Revd , Bishop of . Biography

The Rt Revd David Thomson DPhil, FSA, FRHistS, FRSA has been (Suffragan within the of Ely) since 2008. He is married to Jean, with two sons and two daughters and a growing gang of grandchildren. Dr Thomson was educated at King Edward VII School, ; Keble College, Oxford (MA [English Lang. & Lit.], DPhil 1978); Selwyn College, (BA [Theol.] 1980, MA 1984); and Westcott House, Cambridge. He initially worked in Higher Education, lecturing at Wentworth Castle College of Education and tutoring in Oxford, before preparing for ordination in the as , 1981, and priest, 1982. He served as in the Maltby Team Ministry, 1981–84; Team Vicar, Banbury, 1984–94; Team , Cockermouth, 1994–2002; , and Residentiary, 2002–08, before taking up his present appointment. He chairs the diocesan Board of Education and Council for Ministry and the Ecumenical Council, and he is involved with the Church of England’s education work nationally. He is the co-founder of the Cambridge Conversations, a significant forum for building social capital in the Cambridgeshire area, and serves on the Strategic Partnership. His publications include A Descriptive Catalogue of Middle English Grammatical Texts, 1979; An Edition of the Middle English Grammatical Texts, 1984; A Journey with John, 2004; Lent with Luke, 2005; Christmas by Candlelight, 2006; Ways to Pray, 2007 – and is currently writing a book on Roots – Shoots – Fruits as a model for the growing church. He remains active in academic research, most recently on the iconography of the Bewcastle Cross, Thomas Jolyffe (the fifteenth century founder of Shakespeare’s grammar school), and the early stained glass of Cambridge University. In 2012 he was made a senior member of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, and he is an active supporter of the Faraday Institute based there, with a keen interest in the interface of science and religion. His recreations include solving very difficult crosswords, detective fiction, and fine art.