THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will be conducting the funeral service of a bishop who had built a retirement home in a North Pennines village.

The Right Reverend Ian Cundy, Bishop of Peterborough, died while on a family outing in Somerset. He had been suffering from cancer and had planned to take early retirement in July and move into the home he had built in Lanehead, Weardale, County Durham.

Bishops from around the UK will attend his funeral service at Peterborough Cathedral on Tuesday.

In a tribute to Bishop Ian, Dr Williams said: “I was deeply saddened to hear of Bishop Ian’s sudden and unexpected death. He will be greatly mourned in the diocese of Peterborough, which he served with love and distinction.”

Bishop Ian, who was 64, kept a low profile over the 20 years he spent in Weardale converting two cottages into his retirement home. He was a keen handyman and did much of the conversion work himself.

Neighbour, retired farmer Neville Rutter, said: “He was a very gentle man who had no airs or graces about him. He would often pop in for a cup of tea and a chat.”

Bishop Ian, who leaves a wife, Jo, two sons and a daughter, discovered Weardale while he was warden at Cranmer Hall, St John’s College, Durham. He served as president of the college from 1999 until last year.