Bishop_of_Wells

Bishop of Bath and Wells

Bishop of Bath and Wells

Diocesan bishop in the Church of England

The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.

Quick Facts anglican, Location ...

The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew in the city of Wells in Somerset.

The bishop is one of two (the other is the Bishop of Durham) who escort the sovereign at the coronation.

The Bishop's residence is The Palace, Wells. In late 2013 the Church Commissioners announced that they were purchasing the Old Rectory, a Grade II-listed building in Croscombe for the Bishop's residence.[2] However this decision was widely opposed,[3] including by the Diocese,[4][5] and in May 2014 was overturned by a committee of the Archbishops' Council.[6][7]

History

See also: Diocese of Bath and Wells

Somerset originally came under the authority of the Bishop of Sherborne, but Wells became the seat of its own Bishop of Wells from 909. King William Rufus granted Bath to a royal physician, John of Tours, Bishop of Wells and Abbot of Bath, who was permitted to move his episcopal seat for Somerset from Wells to Bath in 1090, thereby becoming the first Bishop of Bath. He planned and began a much larger church as his cathedral, to which was attached a priory, with the bishop's palace beside it.

In 1197 Bishop Savaric FitzGeldewin officially moved his seat to Glastonbury Abbey with the approval of Pope Celestine III. However, the monks there would not accept their new Bishop of Glastonbury and the title of Bishop of Bath and Glastonbury was used until the Glastonbury claim was abandoned in 1219. His successor, Jocelin of Wells, then returned to Bath, again under the title, Bishop of Bath. The official episcopal title became Bishop of Bath and Wells under a Papal ruling of 3 January 1245.

By the 15th century Bath Abbey was badly dilapidated. Oliver King, Bishop of Bath and Wells, decided in 1500 to rebuild it on a smaller scale. The new abbey-church was completed just a few years before Bath Priory was dissolved in 1539. Then Henry VIII considered this new church redundant, and it was offered to the people of Bath to form their parish church; but they did not buy it, and it was stripped of its glass and lead.[8] The last bishop in communion with Rome was deprived in 1559 but the succession of bishops has continued to the present day.

The diocese and the episcopate are today part of the Anglican Communion.

List of bishops

Pre-Reformation bishops

More information Bishops of Wells, From ...

Bishops during the Reformation

More information Bishops of Bath and Wells during the Reformation, From ...

Post-Reformation bishops

More information Post-Reformation Bishops of Bath and Wells, From ...

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served as assistant bishops of the diocese are:

Television

Blackadder, BBC historical sitcom, features a fictional bishop played by Ronald Lacey of this title in the second series' fourth episode "Money", in which the bishop is portrayed as an obese, blasphemous, self-confessed pervert who eats children.[30][31][32]

Monty Python features two skits in which the Bishop of this title is mentioned.[33]

Radio

Absolute Power, BBC radio comedy features such a Bishop.

Literature

Neil Gaiman's 2008 work The Graveyard Book features a character named the Bishop of Bath and Wells – he is one of a trio of ghouls who spirit the main character away.[34][35]

Ralph of Shrewsbury, Bishop of Bath and Wells, appears as a character in the 1994 fantasy novel The Dragon, The Earl and The Troll, by Gordon Dickson.

References

  1. [1]
    Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.121
  2. [2]
    Ovens, Ruth (22 January 2014). "Revealed bishop's new £900k house". Wells Journal. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  3. [3]
    "Hundreds sign petition against Bath and Wells bishop move". BBC News. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  4. [4]
    "Bishop attacks Wells palace move as church split opens". Wells Journal. 24 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  5. [5]
    "Diocese of Bath and Wells 'cannot support' bishop's palace move". BBC News. 25 January 2014.
  6. [6]
    "Bishop of Bath and Wells to stay in Bishop's Palace home". 2 May 2014.
  7. [7]
    "Determination of objection to regulation transaction: House of Residence of Bishop of Bath and Wells" (PDF). Archbishops' Council. 1 May 2014.
  8. [8]
    "Today's Abbey (1499 onwards)". Bath Abbey. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  9. [9]
    NOTE: He is not the more notable Roger of Salisbury who died in 1139.
  10. [10]
    Greenway, D. E. (2001). "Bishops of Bath and Wells". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300, Volume 7: Bath and Wells. British History Online. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  11. [11]
    Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, pp. 222–223, 228–229.
  12. [12]
    Jones, B. (1964). "Bishops of Bath and Wells". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541, Volume 8: Bath and Wells Diocese. British History Online. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  13. [13]
    Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, p. 229.
  14. [14]
    Horn, J. M.; Bailey, D. S. (1979). "Bishops of Bath and Wells". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, Volume 5: Bath and Wells Diocese. British History Online. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  15. [15]
    Plant, David (2002). "Episcopalians". BCW Project. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  16. [16]
    King, Peter (July 1968). "The Episcopate during the Civil Wars, 1642–1649". The English Historical Review. 83 (328). Oxford University Press: 523–537. doi:10.1093/ehr/lxxxiii.cccxxviii.523. JSTOR 564164.
  17. [17]
    "Bishop of Kingston to be Bishop of Bath & Wells". The Diocese of Southwark. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  18. [18]
    Diocese of Bath and Wells – Bishop's Synod address (24 March 2014) Archived 27 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine & Welcome to Christ Church Winchester, 9 March 2014 Archived 27 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine (both accessed 4 April 2014)
  19. [19]
    "New Bishop of Bath and Wells Peter Hancock installed". BBC News. 7 June 2014.
  20. [20]
    "Bishop Peter announces retirement as he continues recovery from leukaemia". Diocese of Bath and Wells. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  21. [21]
    Diocese of Bath & Wells [@BathWells] (29 June 2022). "Bishop Michael Beasley has officially become the 80th Bishop of Bath and Wells..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022 – via Twitter.
  22. [22]
    Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, pp. 229–230.
  23. [23]
    "The late Bishop Spencer". Church Times. No. 182. 28 July 1866. p. 242. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 16 March 2020 – via UK Press Online archives.
  24. [24]
    "The late Bishop Chapman". Church Times. No. 878. 21 November 1879. p. 731. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 26 December 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
  25. [25]
    "Bromby, Charles Henry (BRMY833CH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  26. [26]
    "De Salis, Charles Fane". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  27. [27]
    "Sara, Edmund Willoughby". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  28. [28]
    "Jackson, Fabian Menteath Elliot". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  29. [29]
    "Wilson, Douglas John". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  30. [30]
    "Memorable quotes for "Black-Adder II" Money (1986)". IMDb. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  31. [31]
    "Black Adder II, Episode 4". Adrian Hilton. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  32. [32]
    Walker, Tim (7 December 2008). "Bishop of Bath and Wells' Lingering torment of Blackadder". The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  33. [33]
    Larsen, Darl (2008). Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References. Scarecrow Press. p. 377. ISBN 978-1-4616-6970-8.
  34. [34]
    "The Graveyard Book". shmoop. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  35. [35]
    "The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman". Fantasy Book Review. Retrieved 9 February 2013.

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.
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