Bp Timothy Dudley-Smith is known around the world for his hymn-writing, but he’s also the official biographer of John Stott. Listen to Part 1 of Mark Meynell’s conversation with him for The Stott Legacy podcast.
Timothy Dudley-Smith has written hundreds of hymns, with around 400 published, included in over 250 hymnals globally. But his ministry has extended far beyond writing verse for he was ordained in the Church of England in 1950 (after graduating from Cambridge in 1947), served in Rochester and London, then for many years writing and editing for the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS). In 1973 he was appointed Archdeacon of Norwich, and then Bishop of Thetford (assistant to the Bishop of Norwich).
Stott’s biography
Throughout his life, John Stott was a central figure, which is why he was the perfect choice to work on Stott’s biography in his retirement. This ended up being two volumes and aimed to set down an historical record of Stott’s life but leave much of the evaluation to subsequent historians who had the benefit of distance and greater perspective. Mark Meynell’s conversation with him and his daughter Sarah Walter, in January 2022, was remarkable – he is 95 but his memory is sparkling and only needed the odd prompt from Sarah! This episode is Part 1 of 2.
- Bishop Timothy’s website with details of his publications and hymn writing
- Details of the biography
- Current site of CPAS