The Right Reverend Michael Manktelow
Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke who was close to the Orthodox and much valued for his spirituality
THE RIGHT REVEREND MICHAEL MANKTELOW, who has died aged 89, was suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke from 1977 to 1993, and for 14 of these years he combined this post with that of Canon Residentiary of Winchester Cathedral.
Before that he had been, successively, Vicar of the Yorkshire parishes of Knaresborough and St Wilfrid’s, Harrogate, and the strong pastoral gifts he had exercised in these parishes made him an admirable bishop. They were enhanced by a deep spirituality and theological acumen that earlier had equipped him for the training of ordination candidates.
Manktelow was also much concerned to strengthen relations between the Anglican and Orthodox churches and, as President of the Anglican and Eastern Churches Association from 1980 to 1987, travelled widely in eastern Europe, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury on official visits and taking part in unity conversations.
Following his retirement to Chichester in 1993, he became an assistant bishop in the diocese of Europe and was able to indulge his love of travel, including visits to Scandinavia to minister to the Englishspeaking congregations there.
Michael Richard John Manktelow was born on September 23 1927. His father, Richard (later Sir Richard) Manktelow, was senior civil servant at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and would be responsible for the wartime “Dig for Victory” campaign.
Young Michael went from Whitgift School, Croydon, to Christ’s College, Cambridge, as a scholar to read Theology. After National Service in the Royal Navy he prepared for Holy Orders at Chichester Theological College, where he imbibed the Catholic ethos of the college and was greatly influenced by its principal, the Franciscan scholar John Moorman, under whom he would later serve in Ripon diocese and whose biography he would publish in 1999.
In 1953 Manktelow became a curate of Boston parish church in Lincolnshire, a church and parish for which he retained the greatest affection, but after four years he returned to Christ’s College, Cambridge, as chaplain. During his time there he edited a second edition of a widely read collection of letters by Forbes Robinson, who had been chaplain of Christ’s at the beginning of the 20th century and, having died aged 37, was venerated as an outstanding scholar and a saint.
At Lincoln Theological College, to which Manktelow moved in 1961, he was first chaplain, then sub-warden, and in both offices was a useful foil to the Warden, Alan Webster – a future Dean of St Paul’s who had a new idea most days. In 1966 he married Rosamund Mann, secretary to the Bishop of Lincoln, and embarked on what proved to be a notably happy family life.
In 1966 he became Vicar of Knaresborough and, seven years later, Vicar of the important parish of St Wilfrid’s, Harrogate, also serving as Rural Dean of Harrogate. In both parishes he was much involved in the life of the wider community and greatly loved.
It was always apparent, however, that sooner or later he would become a bishop, and the opportunity came in 1977 when the Bishop of Winchester, John Taylor, invited him to become suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke. This involved particular responsibility for the New Town and of north Hampshire but, since there was neither stipend nor house for the recently created bishopric, it was necessary for Manktelow to undertake also the duties of a Canon Residentiary of the Cathedral and live in the Close at Winchester.
For several years he valued this arrangement. The cathedral provided him with a spiritual base and he was assiduous in attending its daily services and sharing in its sacramental life. He, in turn, contributed a great deal through his spirituality and pastoral sensitivity, and his home became a centre of warm and generous hospitality.
He was also much valued for his care of the parishes and their clergy, and his Catholic outlook helped to balance the liberal evangelicalism of Bishop Taylor. He was president of the Association for Promoting Retreats from 1982 to 1987.
After 10 years, however, two problems arose. Although Manktelow was in no sense ambitious he had, rightly or wrongly, been given to understand that, after an appropriate spell as a suffragan bishop, he would become a diocesan – but no offer ever came. This was probably because he lacked the dynamic style of leadership deemed to be essential to the struggling Church of the late 20th century. The offer of the Deanery of Worcester, which he rightly declined as he was no fundraiser, added to his frustration and disappointment since it signalled the end of episcopal possibility.
The second problem came with the appointment of Trevor Beeson as Dean of Winchester in 1987. Under Beeson’s predecessor Michael Stancliffe, the cathedral’s life had been tranquil and none too demanding of its Chapter. But Beeson initiated a programme of reform and fundraising that made the cathedral hum with activity. Manktelow approved of this, but because of his episcopal responsibilities found himself unable to share in the work of the new regime without considerable stress.
Similar problems had arisen earlier in other dioceses and he was the last suffragan bishop to be also a residentiary canon. In 1991, therefore, it was agreed that he should be relieved of his cathedral responsibilities and move to the outskirts of Basingstoke.
There, without the support of the cathedral’s community, he felt lonely, however, and his unease was compounded by the General Synod’s decision that women could be ordained to the priesthood – something he had strongly opposed because of its effect on relations with the Orthodox churches.
After about 18 months, and having reached the age of 65, he decided to retire and to rent a house in the Close at Chichester.
This brought him a new lease of life. A short, tubby figure, with an excellent sense of humour, he played a full part in the life of the cathedral, serving for several years on its Chapter, and as an assistant bishop in the diocese of Chichester and Europe found many opportunities to exercise his episcopal vocation. The leisure to write the biography of Bishop John Moorman added to his sense of fulfilment.
His greatest literary achievement, however, was the meticulous correction of the proofs of the monumental third edition of the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (1997).
He is survived by his wife and by three daughters.
The Right Reverend Michael Manktelow, born September 23 1927, died July 24 2017