He was an Anglican Bishop and leader in the movement for the ordination of women. He lived at Bishops's House in Garrad's Road, Streatham; the official residence of the Bishop of Southwark
The seventh Bishop of Southwark, Ronald Bowlby (1980-1991) had at one time been Vicar of Croydon and it was during his episcopate that the 32 parishes of the Croydon area were added to the Diocese. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College Oxford.