The Rt Rev Hewlett Thompson, long-serving Bishop of Exeter greatly valued for his pastoral gifts

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23-05-2025

The Right Reverend Hewlett Thompson, who has died aged 95, was Bishop of Exeter from 1985 to 1999, and before that spent 11 years as Suffragan Bishop of Willesden in the London diocese.
Thompson was essentially a pastoral bishop, who eschewed controversy and was once accused by a vicar's wife of 'elevating the ostrich position to an art form'. This was in marked contrast to the style of his maternal grandfather, Lewis Donaldson, a socialist Canon of Westminster who had led marches of the unemployed in the 1920s and whose friendship with his grandson's godfather Hewlett Johnson, the notorious 'Red' Dean of Canterbury, had influenced the choice of name for the future bishop.
In 1987 Thompson secured a Church Times headline for his advocacy of a lunchtime break for the clergy, and when at home he set them a good example by having a short afternoon nap. As one of the earliest and most enthusiastic advocates of collaborative ministry, he complained whenever he was given a special welcome to a parish on the grounds that he was not a visitor but a partner in a joint spiritual enterprise.
He was therefore all the more surprised, and hurt, when in 1991 one of his senior priests, the Vicar of Plymouth, published an open letter accusing him of being 'cocooned and complacent' and of 'lofty disdain' for the needs of the parishes. Other Devon clergy were, however, quick to come to the defence of their bishop and to praise his approachability and pastoral concern. It was suggested that the aggrieved vicar was upset by Thompson's suggestion that the time had come for him to move to another parish.
The son of an RAMC Colonel who served in both world wars and won an MC, Geoffrey Hewlett Thompson was born in Hove on August l 1929. He was educated at Aldenham School and after National Service in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment went to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he took Seconds in history and theology.
He prepared for Holy Orders at Cuddesdon Theological College and was ordained in 1954 to a curacy at St Matthew's Church, Northampton – a church famous for its Henry Moore statue of the Virgin and Child and other artistic enterprises.
In 1959 Thompson was appointed Vicar of St Augustine's Church, Wisbech, and after a strong pastoral ministry there moved to St Saviour's Church, Folkestone, a parish of more than 10,000 people.
This was a time of reform and renewal in the Church of England, and Thompson had a particular concern for encouraging and equipping the laity for greater responsibility in their parishes and for stronger witness in their workplaces.
It was on the strength of his leadership at Folkestone that the Bishop of London invited Thompson to become Suffragan Bishop of Willesden in 1974. He quickly settled into a caring pastoral ministry in an area of north London that had considerable social problems, and he identified the improvement of race relations as a priority. In 1976 he became vice-chairman of the British Council of Churches Community and Race Relations Unit and was chairman from 1980 to 1984.
Thompson was also one of the first bishops to initiate a system of clergy appraisal – a voluntary scheme which enabled him to have annual discussions with his parish priests on the essentials of their ministries. This proved to be so successful that it was eventually adopted throughout the London diocese and spread to many other dioceses.
After ll years in north London, Thompson was beginning to wonder where his future work might be, when he was given the opportunity to become Bishop of Exeter. This appointment owed something to the fact that Graham Leonard had succeeded Gerald Ellison as Bishop of London and wished to surround himself with suffragans who shared his own distinctive views, not least outright opposition to the ordination of women to the priesthood. But Exeter was looking for a pastoral bishop and this is what they got, and in 1992 their bishop was among those who voted for women priests.
From 1991 to 1997 he was chairman of the Hospital Chaplaincies Council where, once again, his pastoral skill and experience, as well as his ecumenical commitment, proved invaluable.
On retiring from Exeter he moved to Westmorland, helping out there by officiating at St Theobald's at Great Musgrave in the Vale of Eden, where his wife's family's came from, as well as at other local churches. He set up a trust to buy the field next to St Theobald's to ensure that it was preserved, and in 2013 the tithe barn was restored for use as a community amenity.
Among his interests outside the Church Thompson enjoyed fell walking, and latterly he made a written study of his colourful family history, which included suffragette aunts. He read Gladstone's Diaries and Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga in cycles.
Hewlett Thompson married, in 1954, (Elisabeth) Joy Fausitt, who survives him with their two sons and two daughters.
The Rt Rev Hewlett Thompson, born August 14 1929, died May 13 2025
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