The Rt Revd Rachel Treweek Biography

Bishop Rachel has made history with a number of firsts: When she became the first female diocesan bishop in the Church of England and when she became the first female bishop in the House of Lords.

She was consecrated as the 41st Bishop of Gloucester at Canterbury Cathedral in  July 2015 and formally began her new role in September 2015. She entered the House of Lords in October 2015.

The Right Revd Rachel Treweek began her life in ordained ministry in 1994, after training at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. She served her title at St George & All Saints, Tufnell Park before becoming Vicar of St James the Less, Bethnal Green in 1999. During her time in Bethnal Green she also served as CME Officer and Bishop’s Visitor in the Stepney Area. She was appointed as Archdeacon of Northolt in 2006, serving in that role for five years, before becoming Archdeacon of Hackney in July 2011.

Bishop Rachel was brought up in Hertfordshire and was educated at Broxbourne School. She trained as a Speech and Language Therapist at Reading University where she gained a BA in Linguistics and Language Pathology. She worked as a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist within the NHS and served on the Child Development Team at the Royal Free Hospital before becoming the Clinical Manager for Paediatric Speech and Language Therapists in Health Centres across three north London health authorities.

Bishop Rachel is a triple alumna of Windsor Leadership having participated on the SLP (2016), Emerging Leaders programme (2005) and Developing Leaders programme (2008).