Bishop of Oxford
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The Bishop of Oxford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury.
The diocese covers the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire, with parishes also in Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, and Warwickshire. The see is in the City of Oxford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ which was elevated to cathedral status in 1546, and which (uniquely among English dioceses) is also the chapel of Christ Church College, Oxford.
The Bishop's residence is Diocesan Church House, Oxford.
The origins of Christianity in this part of England go back at least to the 7th century, when Saint Birinus brought his mission to the West Saxons in 634. The West Saxon King Cynegils was baptised in the River Thames near the present site of Dorchester Abbey, where the original See was established.
The see was transferred in 1092 to Winchester, before being absorbed into the Diocese of Lincoln, the vast area of which covered much of central and eastern England from the Thames to the Humber. The establishment of the new diocesan structure by Henry VIII saw a new see located Osney in Oxfordshire in 1542 before finally being moved to its present location in the City of Oxford in 1546.
The present diocese contains the greatest number of parishes of any diocese on England (621) and also the most church buildings (815), of which 475 are grade 1 or 2* listed buildings. The current bishop is the Right Reverend Richard Douglas Harries, the 41st Lord Bishop of Oxford, who signs Richard Oxon.
List of the Bishops of the Diocese of Oxford, England and its precursor offices
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| See at Osney | ||
| 1542 to 1546 | Robert King, Bishop of Oxford | Suffragan Bishop of Lincoln |
| See at Oxford | ||
| 1546 to 1559 | Robert King, Bishop of Oxford | Suffragan Bishop of Lincoln |
| 1559 to 1558 | Thomas Goldwell | Translated from St Asaph; Fled to Milan and Rome |
| 1558 to 1567 | vacant | |
| 1567 to October 1568 | Hugh Coren (Hugh Curwen) | Archbishop of Dublin |
| October 1568 to 1589 | vacant | |
| 1589 to 1592 | John Underhill | Rector of Lincoln College |
| 1592 to 1604 | vacant | |
| 1604 to 1618 | John Bridges | Dean of Salisbury |
| 1619 to 1628 | John Howson | Student of Christ Church; translated to Durham |
| 1628 to 1632 | Richard Corbet | Dean of Christ Church; translated to Norwich |
| 1632 to 1641 | John Bancroft | Master of University College |
| 1641 to 1663 | Robert Skinner | Translated from Bristol; deprived during the Commonwealth |
| 1660 to 1663 | Robert Skinner | Restored; translated to Worcester |
| 1663 to 1665 | William Paul | Dean of Lichfield |
| 1665 to 1671 | Walter Blandford | Warden of Wadham College; translated to Worcester |
| 1671 to 1674 | Nathanial, Lord Crewe | Rector of Lincoln and Dean of Chichester; translated to Durham |
| 1674 to 1676 | Henry Compton | Canon of Christ Church; translated to London |
| 1676 to 1686 | John Fell | Dean of Christ Church |
| 1686 to 20 March 1687 | Samuel Parker | Archdeacon of Canterbury; died in office |
| 1688 to 1690 | Timothy Hall | Denied installation by the Chapter of Christ Church |
| 1690 to 1699 | John Hough | President of Magdalen College; translated to Lichfield |
| 1699 to 1715 | William Talbot | Dean of Worcester; translated to Salisbury |
| 1715 to 1737 | John Potter | Regius Professor of Divinity; translated to Canterbury |
| 1737 to 1758 | Thomas Secker | Translated from Bristol; translated to Canterbury |
| 1758 to 1766 | John Hume | Translated from Bristol; translated to Salisbury |
| 1766 to 1777 | Robert Lowth | Translated from St David's; translated to London |
| 1777 to 1788 | John Butler | Prebendary of Winchester; translated to Hereford |
| 1788 to 1799 | Edward Smallwell | Translated from St David's |
| 1799 to 1807 | John Randolph | Regius Professor of Divinity; translated to Bangor |
| 1807 to 1811 | Charles Moss | |
| 1812 to 1815 | William Jackson | Regius Professor of Greek |
| 1816 to 1827 | The Honourable Edward Legge | Dean of Windsor |
| 1827 to 1829 | Charles Lloyd (bishop) | Regius Professor of Divinity |
| 1829 to 1845 | Richard Bagot | Dean of Canterbury; translated to Bath & Wells |
| 1845 to 1870 | Samuel Wilberforce | Dean of Westminster |
| 1870 to 1889 | John Fielder Mackarness | Prebendary of Exeter |
| 1889 to 1901 | William Stubbs | Translated from Chester |
| 1901 to 1911 | Francis Paget | Dean of Christ Church |
| 1911 to 1919 | Charles Gore | Translated from Birmingham; resigned |
| 1919 to 1925 | Hubert Murray Burge | Translated from Southwark |
| 1925 to 1937 | Thomas Banks Strong | Translated from Ripon; resigned |
| 1937 to 1955 | Kenneth Escott Kirk | Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology |
| 1955 to 1970 | Harry James Carpenter | Warden of Keble; resigned |
| 1971 to 1978 | Kenneth John Woollcombe | Principal of Edinburgh Theological College; resigned |
| 1978 to 1986 | Patrick Campbell Rodger | Translated from Manchester; resigned |
| 1987 to present | Richard Douglas Harries | Dean of King's College, London |
Template:Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain
Sources
- Oxford Diocesan (http://www.oxford.anglican.org) Year Book
- Haydn's Book of Dignities (1894) Joseph Haydn/Horace Ockerby, reprinted 1969
- Whitaker's Almanack 1883 to 2004, Joseph Whitaker and Sons Ltd/A&C Black, London
See also