Joanne Grenfell
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Joanne Grenfell | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich | |
| Diocese | Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich |
| In office | 2025 to present |
| Predecessor | Martin Seeley |
| Other post | Lead bishop for safeguarding (2023–present) |
| Previous posts | Archdeacon of Portsdown (2013–2019) Bishop of Stepney (2019–2025) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 2000 (deacon) 2001 (priest) |
| Consecration | 3 July 2019 by Justin Welby |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 May 1972 |
| Denomination | Anglicanism |
| Spouse |
James (m. 1998) |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford University of British Columbia Westcott House, Cambridge |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich 5 February 2026 | |
Joanne Woolway Grenfell (born 27 May 1972) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2025, she has served as Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in the Church of England; she had previously been Bishop of Stepney, an area bishop in the Diocese of London.[1]
Grenfell was born on 27 May 1972 in Enfield, Middlesex, England to John and Christine Woolway.[2] She was educated at Egglescliffe School, a comprehensive school in Eaglescliffe, County Durham. She studied at Oriel College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1993.[3] She then moved to Canada, where she studied English literature at the University of British Columbia: she graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1994.[4] She returned to Oriel to undertake a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree on the writing of Edmund Spenser.[5] Her doctoral thesis was titled "Spenser and the culture of place", and her DPhil was awarded in 1997.[6]
Grenfell was a lecturer in English Literature at Oriel College, Oxford until 1998.[3] She then trained for ordained ministry in the Church of England at Westcott House, Cambridge, from 1998 until 2000.[7]
