Bill Westwood

Who was Bill Westwood?

William John "Bill" Westwood was, from 1984 to 1996, the 36th Anglican Bishop of Peterborough.

After ordination as a deacon in 1952, Westwood was appointed curate of Holy Trinity Church, Kingston upon Hull. He was then Rector of Lowestoft; Vicar of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich and an honorary canon of Norwich Cathedral. In 1975 he became the Bishop suffragan of Edmonton in the Diocese of London; from the creation of the London area scheme in 1979, he was the first area bishop.

He was the chairman of the Church of England's Committee for Communications, President of the Church Housing Association, a member of the Board of Governors of Nene College and an honorary fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 1989 until his death.

Westwood was a regular contributor to Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He was a member of the Press Council, the IBA Panel of Religious Advisers, the Video Consultative Council and the Broadcasting Standards Council.

Westwoods's son is the prominent British radio hip-hop DJ Tim Westwood.