Suffragan Bishops Act 1534

The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen. 8 c. 14) was an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e. assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the diocese other than the town the diocesan bishop is named after can be dated from this Act.

The Act named Thetford, Ipswich, Colchester, Dover, Guildford, Southampton, Taunton, Shaftesbury, Molton, Marlborough, Bedford, Leicester, Gloucester, Shrewsbury, Bristol, Penrith, Bridgwater, Nottingham, Grantham, Hull, Huntingdon, Cambridge, Perth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, St Germans and the Isle of Wight[1][2] as specific suitable suffragan sees.

1534 titles

Those titles mandated by the 1534 Act currently in use as suffragan sees today are indicated in bold type:

See Diocese Years See Diocese Years
Bishop of Bedford Diocese of London 1537–1560, 1879–1898 Bishop of the Isle of Wight No evidence of use
Diocese of St Albans 1935–present Bishop of Leicester Diocese of Peterborough 1888–1927
Bishop of Berwick Diocese of Durham 1537–1571 Diocesan title 1927–present
Bishop of Bridgwater No evidence of use Bishop of Marlborough Diocese of Salisbury 1537–1568
Bishop of Bristol Diocese of Worcester 1538–1542 Diocese of London 1888–1918
Diocesan title 1542–present Bishop of Molton No evidence of use
Bishop of Cambridge No evidence of use Bishop of Nottingham Diocese of York 1567–1570
Bishop of Colchester Diocese of Ely 1536–1541, 1592–1608 Diocese of Lincoln 1870–1884
Diocese of St Albans 1882–1914 Diocese of Southwell 1884–1893
Diocese of Chelmsford 1914–present Diocesan title 2005–present
Bishop of Dover Diocese of Canterbury 1536–1597, 1870–present Bishop of Penrith Diocese of Carlisle 1537–1539, 1939–present
also "Bishop in Canterbury" since c. 1999 Diocese of Ripon 1888–1889
Bishop of Gloucester No evidence of use as suffragan see Bishop of St Germans Diocese of Truro 1905–1918, 1974–present
Diocesan title 1541–present Bishop of Shaftesbury Diocese of Salisbury 1539
Bishop of Grantham Diocese of Lincoln 1905–present Bishop of Shrewsbury Diocese of Llandaff (probably) 1537–1561
Bishop of Guildford Diocese of Winchester 1874–1927 Diocese of Lichfield 1888–1905, 1940–present
Diocesan title 1927–present Bishop of Southampton Diocese of Winchester 1895–present
Bishop of Hull Diocese of York 1538–1579, 1891–present Bishop of Taunton Diocese of Bath and Wells 1538–1559, 1911–present
Bishop of Huntingdon Diocese of Ely 1966–present Bishop of Thetford Diocese of Norwich 1536–1570, 1894–1926, 1945–present
Bishop of Ipswich Diocese unclear 1536–1538
Diocese of Norwich 1899–1909
Diocesan title 1914–present

Other suffragan titles

Since the passage of the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888, it has been lawful to create suffragan sees named for other towns. These have so far included (those titles currently in use as suffragan sees today are indicated in bold type):

References

  1. ^ Bray, Gerald, 2004. Documents of the English Reformation. ISBN 0-227-17239-6. p.115.
  2. ^ Official text of the Act as amended and still in force, Statute Law Database.