and Bermuda. The first of his ten books, The World our Orphanage (1972) was based on a series of lectures he gave in York. Archbishop In 1974 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey announced his forthcoming retirement. His successor was the Archbishop of York, Donald Coggan, an evangelical. In view of the church's tradition of balance it was widely expected that Coggan's successor at York would be a higher churchman. The two candidates most tipped were Robert Runcie (Bishop of St Albans) and Kenneth Woollcombe (Bishop of Oxford). There was a long delay in making the appointment, and it was rumoured that at least three bishops had declined the post. The Times later named one of them as Runcie. The offer of the archbishopric to Blanch came as a surprise to him. He said that the Prime Minister's invitation "came in one of those plain white envelopes that you open with caution. I am only now beginning to get over the shock." He told the press that he found the prospect daunting because he was at a loss with high formality, was not well up on central church administration and had not much political experience. Blanch was enthroned as ninety-fourth Archbishop of York on 25 February 1975. Of his years as Archbishop, Williams writes, "A superb pastor, he presided over a happy diocese and travelled widely in his province. … No lover of bureaucracy, he was described as the most unecclesiastical of archbishops." One admirer, noting his common touch, said that he wore a flat cap underneath his mitre. In fact, as an evangelical, Blanch was not enthusiastic about vestments and seldom wore a mitre. Blanch's reputation as a theologian and lecturer continued to grow. The Guardian said of him, "At York, Blanch emerged as one of the most thoughtful and touching preachers ever to occupy an archiepiscopal throne." Williams notes that while at York, Blanch made ten working trips abroad, carrying out engagements in fifteen countries, in Europe, Australasia, Asia and the Americas. Academically his strong point was Old Testament scholarship, and this enabled him to establish close ties with the Jewish community. In 1981 Blanch suffered a breakdown in his health. He was absent from his ecclesiastical work for only a month, but thereafter, according to The Times'': He resigned in 1983, and was the first retiring Archbishop of York to be made a life peer immediately, being