Historical development of Church of England dioceses

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This page traces the history of the dioceses and cathedrals of the Church of England. Since it is customary in that country to name nearly all dioceses after their cathedrals, the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably, even though they are technically separate things. The dioceses of the Church of England are administrative territorial units governed by a bishop, of which there are currently 44. These cover all of England, and also the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, and a small part of Wales. The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe is also a part of the Church of England (rather than a separate Anglican church such as the Church in Wales), and covers the whole of mainland Europe, Morocco, Turkey and the territory of the former Soviet Union.

The structure of diocese within the Church of England was initially inherited from the Roman Catholic Church as part of the English Reformation. During the Reformation, a number of new dioceses were founded. No new dioceses were then created until the middle of the 19th century, when dioceses were founded mainly in response to the growing population, especially in the northern industrial cities.

The last dioceses were created in 1927. The 44 dioceses are divided into two Provinces, the Province of Canterbury (with 30 dioceses) and the Province of York (with 14 dioceses). The archbishops of Canterbury and York have pastoral oversight over the bishops within their province, along with certain other rights and responsibilities.

Current dioceses of the Church of England.
Current dioceses of the Church of England.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Ancient cathedrals

The mediæval Church of England was organized into 17 dioceses. About half of the diocesian cathedrals were also monasteries, with the abbot serving double duty as dean of the cathedral. The rest were served by a college of "secular" canons — non-monastic priests living under no fixed rule of life. Both types often had Saxon foundations

[edit] Pre-Conquest

Diocese Founded Monastic or secular? Notes
Canterbury 597 Monastic None
Rochester 604 Monastic None
London 604 Monastic None
York 625 Secular None
Dorchester/Winchester 634 (Dorchester)
/662 (Winchester)		 Monastic None
Lichfield 669 Secular After 1100, the see was occasionally Coventry or Chester
Leicester / Dorchester 670 (Leicester)
/ 875 (Dorchester)
Hereford 676 Secular None
Lindsey 678
Worcester 680 Monastic None
Bath and Wells 909 Monastic/Secular Bath was monastical and Wells a college of secular canons; after 1090 Wells was usually reckoned as the cathedral
Durham 995 Monastic Transferred in that year from Chester-le-Street, itself a transfer from Lindisfarne
Exeter 1050 Secular None

[edit] Post-conquest

Diocese Founded Monastic or secular? Notes
Lincoln 1072 Secular Transferred in that year from Dorchester
Chichester 1075 Secular Transferred in that year from Selsey
Salisbury 1078 Secular Transferred in that year from Sherborne
Norwich 1091 Monastic Transferred in that year from Thetford, itself a transfer from Elmham
Ely 1109 Monastic None
Carlisle 1133 Monastic None

[edit] The Henrican Reorganization

After Henry VIII's break with the Pope and the dissolution of the monasteries, the formerly monastic cathedrals were "re-founded" with secular canons. Furthermore, a number of new dioceses were formed, using some of the largest and finest of the other dissolved monasteries as cathedrals. Together, these two groups — the old monastic cathedrals and the new sees — were known as cathedrals of the New Foundation; the old cathedrals which had always been served by secular canons were known as those of the Old Foundation.

Diocese Founded Notes
Westminster 1540 Its cathedral was Westminster Abbey; but the diocese only existed 1540-50. From 1550-60, Westminster Abbey was a second cathedral, along with St. Paul's, for the diocese of London. Since then it has not been a cathedral.
Chester 1541 None
Gloucester 1541 None
Peterborough 1541 None
Bristol 1542 None
Oxford 1542 None

[edit] Modern foundations

No further cathedrals were founded until, in the mid 19th century, the huge population growth of north-central England meant that redistricting could no longer be ignored. Since then twenty new dioceses have been founded, each with a cathedral — some are great mediæval monasteries or collegiate churches which were not elevated by Henry VIII but might well have been; others are glorified parish churches; and others are totally new constructions. In the following table, bold type indicates the creation of a new diocese, whilst plain type is used to indicate changes to existing dicoeses.

Diocese Year From Cathedral History
Ripon 1836 created from part of York and Chester Great mediæval collegiate church
Oxford 1836 took in Berkshire, from Salisbury
Bristol 1836 abolished: Bristol went to Gloucester, Dorset went to Salisbury
Lichfield 1837 Lichfield and Coventry became Lichfield; Coventry went to Worcester; Lichfield left with Derbyshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire
Ely 1837 took in Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire from Lincoln; part of Suffolk from Norwich
Peterborough 1837 took in Leicestershire from Lincoln
Lincoln 1839 took in Nottinghamshire from York
Oxford 1845 took in Buckinghamshire from Lincoln
Rochester 1845 took in part of Hertfordshire from Lincoln
Rochester 1846 took in Essex from London
Manchester 1847 created from part of Chester Parish church (with remnants visible of older mediæval collegiate church)
Carlisle 1847 (1856) took in part of Chester in Westmorland, Cumberland and Furness/Cartmel
Truro 1876 created from part of Exeter New cathedral (completed 1910)
St Albans 1877 created from part of Rochester Great mediæval monastery
Liverpool 1880 created from part of Chester Parish church, initially; later a huge wholly new cathedral was built
Newcastle 1882 created from part of Durham Parish church
Southwell 1884 created from part of York (Derbyshire) and Lincoln (Nottinghamshire) Southwell Minster: a great mediæval collegiate church
Wakefield 1888 created from part of Ripon Parish church
Bristol 1887 created previous cathedral
Southwark 1905 created from part of Rochester Great mediæval monastery
Birmingham 1906 created from part of Worcester 18th century parish church
St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich 1914 created from part of Ely and Norwich Parish church, with remnants of mediæval monastery visible
Chelmsford 1914 created from part of St Albans Parish church
Sheffield 1914 created from part of York, small part of Southwell Parish church
Coventry 1918 created from part of Worcester Parish church; after destruction in the second world war, a wholly new cathedral was built
Bradford 1920 created from part of Ripon Parish church
Blackburn 1926 created from part of Manchester Parish church
Derby 1927 created from part of Southwell (Derbyshire) Parish church
Leicester 1927 created from part of Peterborough Parish church
Portsmouth 1927 created from part of Winchester Parish church
Guildford 1927 created from part of Winchester New cathedral

[edit] Line of descent

If no split is recorded, the diocese is still whole as founded, though it may have suffragan bishops

  • Canterbury - 597-present
  • Rochester - 604-present
    • split to form Diocese of St Alban's, 1876-present
      • split off (Essex) to form Diocese of St Chelmsford, 1914-present
  • London - 604-present
    • seat at St Paul's 604-1539
      • split into Diocese of Westminster, with seat at Westminster Abbey, 1540-50
    • seats at St Paul's and Westminster Abbey, 1550-60
    • seat at St Paul's, 1560-present
  • York - 625-present
    • Lindisfarne added, 664-678
    • split to form Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, 1836-present
      • split to form Diocese of Wakefield, 1888-present
      • split to form Diocese of Bradford, 1920-present
    • Archdeaconry of Nottingham split off, merged to Diocese of Lincoln, 1837-1884
      • Split off, merged with Archdeaconry of Derbyshire (from Diocese of Lichfield) to form Diocese of Southwell, 1884-1927
        • Arcdeaconry of Derbyshire split off to form Diocese of Derby, 1927-present
      • Diocese of Southwell, seat at Southwell, 1927-2005
      • Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, seat at Southwell, 2005-present
    • split to form Diocese of Sheffield, 1914-present
  • Ripon, 876, lapsed, re-formed 1836
  • Winchester - 662-present
    • Split off (northwestern corner) to form Diocese of Ramsay, 909-1058
      • Merged with Ramsay to form Salisbury, 1058-present
    • Split off (south London area) to form Diocese of Southwark, 1905-present
    • Split off (Portsmouth area) to form Diocese of Portsmouth, 1927-present
    • Split off (Guildford area) to form Diocese of Guildford, 1927-present
  • Mercia
    • founded 656 as Diocese of Lichfield
    • archdiocese of Lichfield over Worcester, Leicester, Lincoln, Hereford, Elmham and Dunwich 786-796 (seized from Canterbury)
    • seat at Chester 1076-1086
      • Chester re-founded as Diocese of Chester, 1541-present
        • split to form Diocese of Manchester, 1847-present
          • split to form Diocese of Blackburn, 1926-present
        • split to form Diocese of Liverpool, 1880-present
    • seat at Coventry, as Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield, 1086-1539
    • seat at Lichfield, as Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, 1539-1918
      • Diocese of Lichfield - 1918-present
        • Archdeaconry of Derbyshire split off, merged with Archdeaconry of Nottingham (from Diocese of York), into Diocese of Lincoln, 1837-1884
          • Split off Lincoln, merged with Archdeaconry of Nottingham (from Diocese of Lichfield) to form Diocese of Southwell, 1884-1927
          • split off Southwell to form Diocese of Derby, 1927-present
      • Diocese of Coventry - 1918-present
  • Dunwich / Norwich
    • Seat at Dunwich, 630-673
    • Seat at Elmham, 673-1070
    • Seat at Thetford, 1070-1094
    • Seat at Norwich, 1094-present
      • Split off to form Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich (with part of Diocese of Ely), 1914-present
      • Western part merged off into Ely, 1914-present
  • Hereford - 676-present
  • Worcester - 680 - present
    • Split to form Diocese of Gloucester, 1541-present
    • Split to form Diocese of Bristol, 1542-1836
      • Merged into Diocese of Gloucester, 1836-1897
      • Re-formed as Diocese of Bristol, 1897-present
    • Split to form Diocese of Birmingham, 1906-present
  • Somerset / Bath and Wells
    • seat at Wells, 909-1090
    • seat at Bath, 1090-1136
    • seat at Wells, 1136-1206
    • Glastonbury forcibly added, 1192
    • as Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury, 1206-1219
    • Diocese of Bath, 1219-1242
    • Diocese of Bath and Wells, 1242-1539, joint seat
    • Diocese of Bath and Wells, 1539-present, seat at Wells
  • Lindisfarne / Durham, 635-present
    • seat at Lindisfarne, 635-664
    • added to York, 664-678
    • re-formed, 678-875, seat at Lindisfarne
    • 875-995, seat at Chester-le-Street
    • renamed and re-seated at Durham, 995-present
      • split to form Diocese of Carlisle, 1133-present
      • split to form Diocese of Newcastle, 1882-present
  • Exeter, 1050-present
    • split to form Diocese of Truro, 1876-present
  • Lindine / Lindsey / Leicester
    • seat at Leicester, pre-706-886
      • seat moved to Dorchester, 886
        • united with Lindine / Lindsey, 971
    • as Lindine, seat at Lincoln, 628, 678-971
      • seat moved to Dorchester, 971
        • seat moved to Lincoln, 1072
          • split to form Diocese of Ely, 1109-present
          • split to form Diocese of Peterborough, 1541-present
            • Leicester split as suffragan, 1888-1926
              • Leicester fully split to form Diocese of Leicester, 1926-present
            • Diocese of Dorchester, refounded as suffragan of Oxford by 2006
          • split to form Diocese of Oxford, 1542-present
            • Dorchester added as suffragan bishop by 2006
  • Selsey / Chichester
    • Seat at Selsey, 680-1075
    • Seat at Chichester, 1075-present
  • Sherbourne, 705-1058
    • Merged with Diocese of Ramsay, seat at Sherbourne, 1058-1078, included parts of Berkshire not in present diocese
      • Seat of combined diocese moved to Salisbury, Diocese of Salisbury, 1078-present
        • Sherbourne refounded as suffragan, 1925
        • Ramsay refounded as suffragan, 1974

[edit] See also