The office of President of the Friends of Little Gidding is currently vacant. Until he became Bishop of Lincoln on 20 July 2023, the office was held by the Bishop of Ely, the Rt Revd Stephen Conway.

The Vice-Presidents are:

  • The Rt Hon and Rt Revd Rowan, Lord Williams of Oystermouth, formerly Archbishop of Canterbury
  • The Rt Revd David Thomson, formerly Bishop of Huntingdon

The Constitution of the Society of the Friends of Little Gidding provides that the Bishop of Ely for the time being shall be invited to hold office as President, and that the Committee may invite others to hold the office of Vice-President. The President and Vice-Presidents hold honorary office and do not have any executive authority in the Society.

The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, Bishop of Ely and President of the Friends, lays a wreath of flowers on the tomb of Nicholas Ferrar at the conclusion of the 2012 Pilgrimage

Previous Bishops of Ely have held office as President of the Society since its first foundation in 1946. The Society was refounded in 2003, and in 2012 invited the then Bishop to be President. The Constitution was amended in 2015 to make formal provision for the President and Vice-Presidents.

  • 1946: Edward Wynne
  • 1957: Noel Hudson
  • 1964: Edward Roberts
  • 1977: Peter Walker
  • 1990: Stephen Sykes
  • 2000: Anthony Russell (it is not known whether Bishop Russell was ever invited to serve as President)
  • 2010: Stephen Conway