The Right Reverend Peter Nott
Well-liked Bishop of Norwich who published a lively account of a visitation of his Norfolk diocese
THE RIGHT REVEREND PETER NOTT, who has died aged 84, was Bishop of Norwich from 1985 to 1999 and before that spent nine years as suffragan Bishop of Taunton in the diocese of Bath and Wells.
Although his background was entirely urban, his ministries made him one of the most highly regarded rural bishops of his time.
He combined what seemed an innate “feel” for countryside with strong pastoral gifts and bold leadership. His administrative skill was also important during a period when depletion of financial and clerical resources required constant vigilance and difficult decisions over the amalgamation of parishes and the future of historic churches.
Insights into Nott’s relationship with the parishes became more widely known with the publication of Bishop Peter’s Pilgrimage: His Diary and Sketchbook (1996), an account of a year-long visitation of his Norfolk diocese stimulated by the 900th anniversary of the completion of Norwich Cathedral.
This had involved meticulous planning, since the General Synod and other external responsibilities could not be entirely neglected. He devoted 20 weeks to visiting every part of the diocese, with stops usually lasting a few days.
This enabled him to to conduct services, confer with clergy and churchwardens, meet civic leaders, visit schools, address meetings and minister to sick people – all in the context of a spiritual encounter between a bishop and his flock. Visits to the formerly prosperous fishing ports of Great Yarmouth and Cromer took Nott into places of deep urban deprivation.
On his pilgrimage Nott always had with him a sketch book and paint brush, so that when his diary was published, with an appreciative foreword by the Prince of Wales, it included charming black and white drawings and watercolours of many of the places he had visited, revealing the hand of an accomplished artist.
Peter John Nott was born in Belfast on December 30 1933. He attended Bristol Grammar School before moving on to Dulwich College. He then went to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. Commissioned into the Royal Artillery, he served for a few years in the regular Army, but felt increasingly drawn to the church.
Leaving the Army in 1958, Nott went to Westcott House, Cambridge, to prepare for Holy Orders. At the same time he become an undergraduate at Fitzwilliam House (later College) in order to take a Cambridge degree in Theology.
From 1961 to 1964 he was a curate in the lively parish of Harpenden, in St Albans diocese, before returning to Fitzwilliam as chaplain, becoming a Fellow after two years. He was also chaplain of New Hall.
In 1969 he was appointed Rector of Beaconsfield, serving the old centre of one of Buckinghamshire’s most affluent market towns, with a thriving church life. He was well suited to this with thoughtful preaching, exemplary pastoral work and much involvement in the life of the wider community.
No one was surprised when, after seven years, he became suffragan Bishop of Taunton. He was by no means the first rector to be so elevated. One of his predecessors had, as a bishop, witnessed the historic meeting between King Henry VIII and Francis I of France on the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520.
Nott took to rural Somerset immediately, established a warm relationship with the parish clergy and became involved in the life of the county. He also got on very well with the diocesan bishop, the ebullient, unpredictable John Bickersteth, who had been largely instrumental in securing his appointment.
Nott held the presidencies of the Somerset Rural Music Assciation and of the South West region of Mencap. More widely he was Archbishops’ Adviser to the Headmasters’ Conference.
His appointment to Norwich provided a sharp, and for many welcome, change of episcopal style. His predecessor, Maurice Wood, had been an enthusiastic evangelical, likely to be encountered in shorts on a pre-breakfast run or, later in the day more formally attired, dispensing challenging Christian literature to unsuspecting passengers on the train to Liverpool Street.
Nott quickly made his number with the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, of which he became president. He also took on the vicechairmanship of an Archbishops’ Commission on the Church in Rural Areas. Published as Faith in the Countryside (1990) as a follow-up to the controversial Faith in the City, this made some sharp criticisms of government rural policies and offered recommendations for the revitalisation of the church in rural areas. But these attracted little attention.
His relations with the Royal family when they were residing at Sandringham were always very cordial and Prince Edward invited him to conduct his marriage to Sophie Rhys-jones in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in 1999.
On retirement to Wantage he became an honorary assistant bishop in Oxford diocese.
In 1961 he married Elizabeth Maingot, who survives him with three daughters and a son.
The Rt Rev Peter Nott, born December 30 1933, died August 20 2018