Former midwife appointed Bishop

By Hollie Ewers on 31 December 2017

A former midwife has been appointed as the first female Bishop of London.

The Right Reverend Sarah Mullally, DBE, was only ordained two years ago and has been the Suffragan Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter.

Her nomination to replace Richard John Carew Chartres, who retired earlier this year, was approved by The Queen.

Sarah, who as Bishop of London is now third in seniority in the Church of England, after Canterbury and York, spent more than 35 years in the NHS.

She was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in 2005 for her contribution to nursing and midwifery.

She has followed 132 male Bishops in the role. It was just three years ago that the Church of England allowed female Bishops.

Her new diocese covers 277 square miles of Greater London north of the Thames from Staines in the west to the Isle of Dogs in the east and as far north as Enfield.