Bishop David Williams

About Bishop David Williams

David Williams previously served as Bishop of Basingstoke, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Winchester, and before his consecration in 2014 was vicar of Christ Church, Winchester.

Born in Reading in 1961, he spent much of his childhood in Uganda. He attended Newport Free Grammar School in Essex and studied social policy at the University of Bristol, graduating with a Bachelor of Social Science degree.

After university, he worked in Kenya with the Church Mission Society and served as deputy head of a secondary school in eastern Kenya. Returning to the UK, he was a lay assistant at Christ Church Clifton, Bristol (1985–86), then trained for ordination at Wycliffe Hall from 1986 to 1989.

Ordained deacon in 1989 and priest in 1990 in the Church of England, David began ministry as curate at All Saints Church, Ecclesall, in the Diocese of Sheffield (1989–92). He later became vicar of Christ Church, Dore, and Rural Dean of Ecclesall in 1997. In 2002, he became vicar of Christ Church, Winchester, where he founded the city’s Street Pastors project and regularly visited Winchester Prison, the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, and the University of Winchester. He was appointed honorary canon of Winchester Cathedral in 2012.