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

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.

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.

Medieval Bishops (995–1071)

See also List of bishops of Lindisfarne.

• Aldhun 995–1018 (previously Bishop of Lindisfarne)
• Edmund 1021–1041
• Eadred 1041–1042
• Æthelric 1042–1056
• Æthelwine 1056–1071

Pre-Reformation Prince-Bishops (1071–1559)

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

Post-Reformation Prince-Bishops (1530–1836)

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

• Cuthbert Tunstall 1530–1559
• James Pilkington 1561–1576
• Richard Barnes 1577–1587
• Matthew Hutton 1589–1595
• Tobias Matthew 1595–1606
• William James 1606–1617
• Richard Neile 1617–1627
• George Montaigne 1628
• John Howson 1628–1632
• Thomas Morton 1632–1659
• John Cosin 1660–1672
• Nathaniel Crew 1674–1722
• William Talbot 1722–1730
• Edward Chandler 1730–1750
• Joseph Butler 1750–1752
• Richard Trevor 1752–1771
• John Egerton 1771–1787
• Thomas Thurlow 1787–1791
• Shute Barrington 1791–1826
• William Van Mildert 1826–1836

Modern Bishops (since 1836)

• Edward Maltby 1836–1856
• Charles Longley 1856–1860
• Henry Villiers 1860–1861
• Charles Baring 1861–1879
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot 1879–1889
• Brooke Westcott 1890–1901
• Handley Moule 1901–1920
• Hensley Henson 1920–1939
• Alwyn Williams 1939–1952
• Michael Ramsey 1952–1956
• Maurice Harland 1956–1966
• Ian Ramsey 1966–1972
• John Habgood 1973–1983
• David Jenkins 1984–1994
• Michael Turnbull 1994–2003
• Tom Wright, D.D., 2003–2010
• Justin Welby, 2011–present

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