Bishop of Durham

Bishop of Durham
Bishopric
Anglican
Incumbent: Justin Welby
Province:	York
Diocese:	Durham
Cathedral:	Durham Cathedral
First Bishop:	Aldhun of Durham
Formation:	9th century

Lord Crew's arms has a Baron's coronet, but as Bishop of Durham he showed an Earl's coronet too

The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The Diocese is one of the oldest in the country and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. The current Bishop is Justin Welby who was consecrated on 28 October 2011 and installed on 26 November 2011.

Other duties of the Bishop of Durham include (with the Bishop of Bath and Wells) escorting the sovereign at the coronation.

He is officially styled The Right Reverend Father in God, (Christian Name), by Divine Providence Lord Bishop of Durham, but this full title is rarely used. In signatures, the bishop's family name is replaced by Dunelm, from the Latin name for Durham (the Latinised form of Old English Dunholm). In the past, bishops of Durham varied their signatures between Dunelm and the French Duresm. Auckland Castle has been the official residence of the Bishops of Durham since 1832.

History

From the seventh century A.D. onwards, in addition to his spiritual authority, the bishop of Durham also acted as the civil ruler of the region as the lord of the liberty of Durham, claiming local authority equal to that of the king. The bishop appointed all local officials and maintained his own court. After the Norman Conquest, this claim continued to be maintained by the bishop, and was eventually recognized with the establishment of the region as the County Palatine of Durham. As holder of this office, the bishop was titled a prince-bishop, and considered the equivalent of an earl. Except for a brief period of suppression during the Glorious Revolution, this temporal power of the office lasted until all such authorities were abolished in 1836.

A chronological list of the bishops of Durham follows:

List of bishops

Early Medieval bishops

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
995	1018	Aldhun	Previously Bishop of Lindisfarne.
1021	1041	Edmund
1041	1042	Eadred
1042	1056	Æthelric
1056	1071	Æthelwine

Pre-Reformation Prince-Bishops

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1071	1080	William Walcher
1081	1096	William de St-Calais
1099	1128	Ranulf Flambard
1133	1140	Geoffrey Rufus
1141	1143	William Cumin
1143	1153	William of St. Barbara
1153	1195	Hugh de Puiset
1197	1208	Philip of Poitou
1209	1213	Richard Poore	Election quashed by Pope Innocent III (who was quarrelling with King John); later elected and consecrated.
1214	1214	John de Gray	Died before consecration.
1215	1215	Morgan	Election quashed.
1217	1226	Richard Marsh
1226	1227	William Scot	Election quashed.
1229	1237	Richard Poore
1237	1240	Thomas de Melsonby	Resigned before consecration.
1241	1249	Nicholas Farnham
1249		Walter of Kirkham
1260	1274	Robert Stitchill
1274	1283	Robert of Holy Island
1284	1310	Antony Bek	Also Titular Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1306 to 1311 (the only English person ever to hold this post).
1311	1316	Richard Kellaw
1318	1333	Lewis de Beaumont
1333	1345	Richard de Bury
1345	1381	Thomas Hatfield
1382	1388	John Fordham
1388	1406	Walter Skirlaw
1406	1437	Thomas Langley
1437	1457	Robert Neville
1457	1476	Lawrence Booth
1476	1483	William Dudley
1484	1494	John Sherwood
1494	1501	Richard Foxe
1502	1505	William Senhouse
1507	1508	Christopher Bainbridge
1509	1523	Thomas Ruthall
1523	1529	Thomas Wolsey
1530	1559	Cuthbert Tunstall

Post-Reformation Prince-Bishops

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1530	1559	Cuthbert Tunstall
1561	1576	James Pilkington
1577	1587	Richard Barnes
1589	1595	Matthew Hutton
1595	1606	Tobias Matthew
1606	1617	William James
1617	1627	Richard Neile
1628		George Montaigne
1628	1632	John Howson
1632	1659	Thomas Morton
1660	1672	John Cosin
1674	1722	Nathaniel Crew 1679–1697: The Hon Nathaniel Crew 1697 onwards: The Rt Hon The Lord Crew
1722	1730	William Talbot
1730	1750	Edward Chandler
1750	1752	Joseph Butler
1752	1771	Richard Trevor
1771	1787	John Egerton
1787	1791	Thomas Thurlow
1791	1826	Shute Barrington
1826	1836	William Van Mildert

Late modern bishops (since 1836)

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1836	1856	Edward Maltby	Translated from Chichester.
1856	1860	Charles Longley	Translated to York then Canterbury.
1860	1861	Henry Villiers	Translated from Carlisle.
1861	1879	Charles Baring	Translated from Gloucester and Bristol.
1879	1889	Joseph Lightfoot	Previously Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity.
1890	1901	Brooke Westcott	Previously Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge.
1901	1920	Handley Moule	Previously Norrisian Professor of Divinity.
1920	1939	Hensley Henson	Translated from Hereford.
1939	1952	Alwyn Williams	Translated to Winchester.
1952	1956	Michael Ramsey	Translated to York then Canterbury.
1956	1966	Maurice Harland	Translated to Lincoln.
1966	1972	Ian Ramsey
1973	1983	John Habgood	Translated to Archbishop of York.
1984	1994	David Jenkins
1994	2003	Michael Turnbull	Translated from Rochester.
2003	2010	Tom Wright	Previously Dean of Lichfield; returned to academia.
2011	present	Justin Welby	Previously Dean of Liverpool.

References

• British History Online Bishops of Durham 1066-1300 accessed on October 25, 2007
• Powicke, F. Maurice and E.B. Fryde Handbook of British Chronology 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961