Sitting on a red leather, three-seater Chesterfield he looks from the study onto the sweeping lawns towards the stream, pond and fountains beyond.

Bookshelves stacked with tomes, some of religious content some not, surround his huge desk.

The room, like the man himself, is warm and welcoming.

"Nice place isn't it?" he says. "But it isn't mine, it came with the job."

His job, of course, is that of Bishop of Sheffield, but not for very much longer.

In July he turns 65 and with that comes retirement.

On that day he and his wife Judith will leave Bishopscroft for pastures, and parishes, new.

"We're downsizing," says Bishop Jack. "From an eight bedroom, three bathroom house in Ranmoor to a rented semi in Chapel-en-le-Frith."

They chose Chapel-en-le-Frith because it's out of the diocese - which will make things easier for his successor - yet close enough to pay regular visits to Sheffield.

But why rented?

Born in Rossendale, Lancashire, Jack, the son of a bakehouse labourer, has never owned his own home, having lived in church tied homes since he was first ordained as a deacon in 1967.

Now as retirement approaches he doesn't have the means to buy one.

He explained that a Bishop earns a modest £30,000 per year and most of his earnings were swallowed up getting his kids through university.

There was little left for savings but he's not complaining.

Bishopscroft, on Snaithing Lane, has been ideal, especially at Christmas when his children, their partners and nine grandchildren come calling.

But Bishop Jack confesses it's a nightmare to clean - and the family have never had a cleaner, though they do have a gardener to help prepare the grounds to stage regular charity events.

"As a working class lad, opening the place up for others to use is a way I can justify living in a place like this," he says.

Educated at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School in Rossendale, Jack went on to study at King's College London where he graduated in 1966 and then went on to St Boniface College, Warminster, Wiltshire.

"At that time it wasn't thought right to preach in regional accents so I had to have elocution lessons courtesy of a woman from RADA who taught Albert Finney.

"She endeavoured to teach people BBC English but, God bless her, she failed with me."

To this day the Bishop retains his strong Lancashire accent, despite his 11-year-stay in Sheffield.

It's been a stay which he has enjoyed from the start.

"I have a wonderful job 90 per cent of the time. And nine out of ten ain't bad for any job," says the Bishop, adding that the part of the job he doesn't enjoy involves "church politics".

"The job is so varied. I can start by serving breakfast at the Archer Project for homeless people in the morning, follow that up by meeting parishioners on the Manor and then go on to meet the Queen in the evening, it's mad."

He finds Sheffield to be to his taste too.

"Judith and I were happy here from day one.

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