Bishop of Leicester

Bishop of Leicester
Bishopric
anglican
Incumbent:
Tim Stevens
Province Canterbury
Diocese Leicester
Cathedral Leicester Cathedral
First incumbent Cuthwine (historic)
Cyril Bardsley (modern)
Formation 680 (historic)
1927 (modern)

The Bishop of Leicester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury.[1]

The first bishops of Leicester were originally prelates who administered an Anglo-Saxon diocese between the 7th and 9th centuries. The bishopric fell victim to the invasion by the Danes and the episcopal see was transferred to Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.[2][3][4]

After a thousand years the episcopal title was resurrected as a suffragan see within the diocese of Peterborough. The suffragan Bishop of Leicester assisted the diocesan Bishop of Peterborough in overseeing the diocese.[2][5]

Through reorganisation within the Church of England, the Diocese of Leicester was refounded in 1927, and St Martin's Church became Leicester Cathedral.[2][1] The present bishop's residence is Bishop's Lodge, Springfield Road, Leicester.

Anglo-Saxon Bishops of Leicester

The Anglo-Saxon dioceses before 925
Anglo-Saxon Bishops of Leicester
From Until Incumbent Notes
679 c.691 Cuthwine
692 705 Wilfrid Translated from York; later transferred to Hexham
709 c.716/727 Headda also Bishop of Lichfield
c.716/727 737 Aldwine also Bishop of Lichfield
737 764 Torhthelm
764 c.781/785 Eadbeorht
c.781/785 c.801/803 Unwona
c.801/803 c.814/816 Wernbeorht
c.814/816 839 or 840 Hræthhun
839 or 840 c.840/844 Ealdred
c.840/844 c.869/888 Ceobred
In the late 9th century, the episcopal see of Leicester was moved to Dorchester.
Source(s):[2][3][4][6]

Suffragan Bishops of Leicester

Suffragan Bishops of Leicester
From Until Incumbent Notes
1888 1903 Francis Thicknesse Formerly Archdeacon of Northampton
1903 1913 Lewis Clayton
1913 1927 Norman Lang
In 1927, the suffragan see of Leicester ended with the creation of the diocesan see.
Source(s):[2][5]

Diocesan Bishops of Leicester

Bishops of Leicester
From Until Incumbent Notes
1927 1940 Cyril Bardsley Translated from Peterborough
1940 1953 Guy Smith Translated from Willesden
1953 1979 Ronald Williams
1979 1991 Richard Rutt Translated from St Germans. Converted to Roman Catholicism in 1995.
1991 1999 Tom Butler Translated from Willesden; later moved to Southwark
1999 present Tim Stevens Translated from Dunwich; retiring 11 July 2015[7]
Source(s):[1][2][8]

Sources

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Historical successions: Leicester". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Leicester Cathedral: History. Retrieved on 22 November 2008.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, p. 238.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Saxon Bishops of Leicester, Lindsey (Syddensis) , and Dorchester. By D. P. Kirby. Retrieved on 22 November 2008.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Crockford's Clerical Directory (100th ed.). London: Church House Publishing. 2007. p. 947. ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0.
  6. ↑ "Historical successions: Lincoln (including precussor offices)". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Diocese of Leicester – Bishop Tim announces retirement (Accessed 18 November 2014)
  8. ↑ Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, p. 252.
Bibliography
  • Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd, reprinted 2003 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.