Kenneth Skelton

Who was Kenneth Skelton?

Kenneth John Fraser Skelton was the 2nd Bishop of Matabeleland in what was then known as Rhodesia and subsequently the 96th Bishop of Lichfield.

He was born on 16 May 1918 and educated at Dulwich College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Ordained Deacon in 1941 and Priest a year later, his first post was as a Curate at Normanton, Derbyshire . After a spell as a tutor at Wells Theological College he held Lancastrian incumbencies at Atherton and Walton-on-the-Hill before his elevation to the Episcopate. After eight years in Zimbabwe he returned to England to be an Assistant Bishop within the Diocese of Durham before his Lichfield appointment in 1975. Eight years later he gave notice of his resignation but continued to serve the church as an Assistant Bishop within the Sheffield Diocese until his death on 30 July 2003.