Church Church of England Role Bishop Birth name Robert James Wickham Predecessor Peter Wheatley | Education Hampton School Consecration September 23, 2015 Name Rob Wickham Diocese Diocese of London | |
 | ||
In office 23 September 2015 to present Other posts Team Vicar of the Parish of Old St Pancras (2003-2007)
Rector of the Church of St John-at-Hackney (2007-2015)
Area Dean of Hackney (2014-2015) Ordination 1998 (deacon)
1999 (priest) Alma mater Grey College, Durham, King's College London | ||
Robert James "Rob" Wickham (born 3 May 1972) is a British Anglican bishop. Since September 2015, he has been the area Bishop of Edmonton. From 2003 to 2007, he was Team Vicar of the Parish of Old St Pancras. From 2007 to 2015, he was Rector of the Church of St John-at-Hackney; he was additionally Area Dean of Hackney from 2014. He has spent all of his ecclesiastical career in the Diocese of London.
Contents
Early life and education
Wickham was born on 3 May 1972. He was educated at Hampton School, an all-boys independent school in Hampton, London. After a gap year, he studied geography at Grey College, Durham. He graduated from the University of Durham with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1994. He then spent a year working at St Luke's Church, Wallsend, an Anglo-Catholic church in a deprived area of North Tyneside. In 1995, he entered Ridley Hall, Cambridge, a Church of England theological college, where he spent three years studying for ordination to the priesthood.
During his ordained ministry, he undertook post-graduate study. In 2012, he completed a Master of Arts (MA) degree in theology, politics and faith-based organisations at King's College London.
Ordained ministry
Wickham was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1998 and as a priest in 1999. From 1998 to 2001, he continued his training for ministry as a curate at St Mary's Church, Willesden in the Diocese of London; the church contains the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Willesden. In 2001, he moved to St Mary's Church, Somers Town where he served as a curate for the next two years. In 2003, he became the Team Vicar of the newly created Parish of Old St Pancras which includes St Pancras Old Church. In 2007, he moved parishes and became Rector of the Church of St John-at-Hackney; this made him the 45th Rector of Hackney. In 2014, he was additionally appointed the Area Dean of Hackney.
Episcopal ministry
In July 2015, Wickham was announced as the next Bishop of Edmonton, an area bishop in the Diocese of London. On 23 September 2015, he was consecrated a bishop in Canterbury Cathedral by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Personal life
Wickham is married to Helen, a primary school teacher. Together, they have three children: Tom (born 2004), Susannah (born 2008), and Harry (born 2014). He is a supporter of Plymouth Argyle football club.