Harry Carpenter

Who was Harry Carpenter?

Harry James Carpenter was an English bishop and theologian. He was Warden of Keble College, Oxford and then 37th Bishop of Oxford.

Harry Carpenter was educated at Churcher's College and Queens' College, Cambridge; and ordained after a period of study at Cuddesdon College in 1928. His first post was a curacy in Leatherhead.

Carpenter married Urith Monica Trevelyan, a teacher. Their son was the eminent biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster, Humphrey Carpenter.

From 1962 to 1970, Carpenter he lived in the village of Cuddesdon, where there had historically been a bishop's palace, but his successors found this impractical and in 1978 the bishops reverted to living within the city. He initiated the ecumenical discussions which eventually resulted in the building of the Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes.

There is a parish school named after Carpenter in the Oxfordshire village of North Newington.