The Bishop of Dorchester was a bishop in the pre-Reformation Church of England in the Anglo-Saxon period, in charge of the Diocese of Dorchester. His seat, or cathedra, was at the cathedral in Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
Contents |
A cathedral at Dorchester was founded in 634 by the Roman missionary Saint Birinus. It was the seat of a Bishop of the West Saxons; the episcopal see for that kingdom was moved to Winchester in 660 and so the Wessex Bishops of Dorchester were succeeded by the Bishops of Winchester.
In the 660s, the seat at Dorchester-on-Thames was abandoned, but briefly in the late 670s it was once more a bishop's seat under Ætla, under Mercian control.[1]
The town again became the seat of a bishop in around 875, when the Mercian Bishop of Leicester transferred his seat there. The diocese merged with that of Lindsey in 971; the bishop's seat was moved to Lincoln in 1072 and thus the Mercian Bishops of Dorchester were succeeded by the Bishops of Lincoln.
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wessex Diocese of Dorchester | ||
| 625 or 634 to 650 | Birinus | Sent from Rome by the pope, founded missionary diocese; Saint Birinius |
| 650 to ??? | Agilbert | |
| ?660 to ??? | Ætla | |
| Mercian Diocese of Dorchester (seat at Dorchester) | ||
| 869 or 888 to 893 or 896 | Harlardus (Alhheard; Eahlheard) |
|
| 893 or 900 to 903 or 909 | Wigmund of Dorchester (Wilferth) |
|
| 905 or c.909 to 909 or 925 | Coenwulf of Dorchester (Kenulphus) |
|
| 909 or 925 to 934 or 945 | Wynsige | |
| 934 or 945 to 949 or 950 | Æthelwold | |
| 949 to 950 to 971 | Oscytel | Translated to York |
| ??? to ??? | ?Wulfric | |
| Diocese of Lindsey (seat at Dorchester) | ||
| 971 to 971 or 975 | Leofwine | Bishop of Lindsey; united the sees of Dorchester and Sidnacester in 971, bishops of the united diocese known as Bishop of Dorchester |
| 971 or 975 to 975 or 979 | Alnothus (Alfnoth) |
|
| 967 or 975 or 979 to 994 or 23 April 1002 | Æscwig (Œswy; Ascwinus) |
|
| 994 or 1002 to 1004 or 1007 or 1009 | Ælfhelm (Alfhelmus) |
|
| 1004 or 1007 or 1009 to 18 October 1016 | Eadnoth (Eadnothus) |
Abbot of Ramsey; killed at the battle of Assandun |
| 1016 to 8 December 1034 | Æthelric (Eadhericus; Brihtmær) |
|
| 1034 to 18/19 September 1049 | Eadnoth II, Bishop of Dorchester, Leicester, and Sidnacester (Eadnothus) |
|
| 1052 or 1049 to 14 September 1052 | Ulfus Normanus (Ulf) |
Royal priest; suspended at the Council of Vercelli 1050; expelled |
| 1053 to 1067 | Wulfwig (Wulfinus) |
Royal priest |
| 1070 to 1071 | Remigius de Fécamp (Remigius de Feschamp) |
Moved the see to Lincoln |