Printers' Charity Appoints Bishop Of London

A Printers Charitable Corporation product story

Edited by the Printingtalk editorial team Oct 27, 2004

The Printers' Charitable Corporation (PCC) has named its 2005 president, the Bishop of London, The Right Reverend and Rt Hon Richard Chartres.

The Printers' Charitable Corporation (PCC) has named its 2005 president, the Bishop of London, The Right Reverend and Rt Hon Richard Chartres.

The Bishop takes up the Presidency of the PCC on January 1 2005 and, commenting on the appointment, PCC Chairman Alan Miller said: "The PCC is honoured to welcome such a distinguished public figure as Bishop Chartres to be our president next year.

He has expressed an interest in being closely involved in the work of our charity and we look forward to benefiting from his leadership and experience.

Ordained in 1973, he served as a curate in Bedford before becoming Domestic Chaplain to the Bishop of St Albans, Robert Runcie.

When Robert Runcie became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1980 Richard Chartres became his Chaplain for the period 1980-1984.

In 1984 he became Priest-in-Charge of St Stephen's Rochester Row and later Vicar of that parish.

He was Professor of Divinity at Gresham College from 1986 to 1992 and was consecrated Bishop of Stepney in 1992, whilst in 1995, he was appointed the 132nd Bishop of London.

The Bishop of London automatically becomes a Privy Counsellor and additionally he was appointed Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal and became ex-officio Prelate of the Order of the British Empire and of the Imperial Society of Knight's Bachelor.

An Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple, Bishop Chartres is also an Honorary Freeman of several City of London Livery Companies and a member of the Livery of the Merchant Taylors' Company.

Within the Church of England Richard Chartres is Chairman of the Churches Heritage Forum.

He is a Church Commissioner and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors.

Bishop Chartres has a personal interest in the history of the London Book Trade and in particular the career of the eminent publisher and antiquarian bookseller William Pickering.

Pickering (1796-1854) was the original publisher of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and specialised in scholarly editions of classic authors.