The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

(i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the diocese other than the town the diocesan bishop is named after can be dated from this act. The act named Thetford, Ipswich, Colchester,

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, Southampton, Taunton, Shaftesbury, Molton, Marlborough, Bedford,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, Gloucester,

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, Bristol, Penrydd,

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

, Nottingham, Grantham,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, Huntingdon, Cambridge, Penrith, Berwick-upon-Tweed, St Germans and the Isle of Wight as specific suitable suffragan sees. This act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010. The repeal by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 of section 2 of the Act of Supremacy (1 Eliz 1 c 1) (1558) does not affect the continued operation, so far as unrepealed, of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534. Since 1898, notwithstanding anything contained in the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 it has been lawful to nominate, present and appoint as suffragan bishop persons already consecrated as a bishop and, in that case, the letters patent presenting them do not require their consecration. The ''Dioceses Measure 1978'' concerns petitions to make appointments under this act Until 1898, men already in episcopal orders were sometimes made

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

s instead.

Provisions

Section 2

In this section, the words from "and have such capacitie" to the end were repealed b
section 15(2)(a)
of the

Dioceses Measure 1978 In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

. This repeal does not invalidate any commission given to a suffragan bishop which was in force immediately before the commencement of that Measure (s. 15(3)). Section 15(4) provides for such commissions to continue in force until the date on which the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given ceases to hold that office, or the date on which the commission is revoked by the bishop of the diocese, whichever first occurs. So long as any such commission remains in force so much of section 2 of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 as is repealed by 15(2)(a) of that Measure continues, notwithstanding the repeal, to apply to the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given (s. 15(5)).

Section 4

In this section, the words from "nor use" to the end were repealed by section 15(2)(b) of the

. This repeal does not invalidate any commission given to a suffragan bishop which was in force immediately before the commencement of that Measure (s. 15(3)). Section 15(4) provides for such commissions to continue in force until the date on which the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given ceases to hold that office, or the date on which the commission is revoked by the bishop of the diocese, whichever first occurs. So long as any such commission remains in force so much of section 2 of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 as is repealed by 15(2)(b) of that Measure continues, notwithstanding the repeal, to apply to the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given (s. 15(5)).

Section 6

In this section, the words "of the bishop to whom he shall be suffragan" were substituted for the words "where he shall have comyssyon" by section 15(6) of the

Section 7

This section was repealed by Part V of Schedule 1 to the

Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977 The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977 (c 18) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This Act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010. It implemented recommendations contained in the eighth report on statute law revisio ...

1534 titles

Those titles mandated by the 1534 Act currently in use as suffragan sees today are indicated in bold type:

Other suffragan titles

Since the passage of the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888, it has been lawful to create suffragan sees named for other towns. These have so far included (those titles currently in use as suffragan sees today are indicated in bold type): * Bishop of Aston (Birmingham, 15 July 1954) * Bishop of Barking (Chelmsford; initially St Albans) * Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness (Carlisle, 6 April 1889) * Bishop of Basingstoke (Winchester) * Bishop of Beverley (York) * Bishop of Birkenhead (Chester) * Bishop of Bolton (Manchester, 8 February 1984) * Bishop of Bradford (Leeds, 20 April 2014) * Bishop of Bradwell (Chelmsford, 20 December 1967) * Bishop of Brixworth (Peterborough, 26 July 1988) * Bishop of Buckingham (Oxford, 22 November 1913) * Bishop of Burnley (Blackburn; initially Manchester) * Bishop of Coventry (Worcester; ''now a diocese'') * Bishop of Crediton (Exeter) * Bishop of Croydon (Southwark; initially Canterbury) * Bishop of Derby (Southwell; ''now a diocese'') *

Bishop of Doncaster The Bishop of Doncaster is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Doncaster in South Yorkshire; the See was erect ...

(Sheffield, 4 February 1972) * Bishop of Dorchester (Oxford, 2 February 1939) * Bishop of Dorking (Guildford; initially Winchester) * Bishop of Dudley (Worcester, 24 October 1973) * Bishop of Dunwich (St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, 14 August 1934) *

Bishop of Ebbsfleet The Bishop of Ebbsfleet is a suffragan bishop who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England. From its creation in 1994 to 2022, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet served traditionist Anglo-Catholic parishes that could not ac ...

(Canterbury, 8 February 1994) * Bishop of Edmonton (London, 29 May 1970) * Suffragan Bishop in Europe (Europe) *

Bishop of Fulham The Bishop of Fulham is a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of London in the Church of England. The bishopric is named after Fulham, an area of south-west London; the see was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by Order in Council dated ...

(London, 1 February 1926) * Bishop of Grimsby (Lincoln, 15 July 1935) * Bishop of Hertford (St Albans) * Bishop of Horsham (Chichester) * Bishop of Huddersfield (Leeds, 20 April 2014) * Bishop of Hulme (Manchester, 11 October 1923) *

Bishop of Islington The Bishop of Islington is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Islington, an inner-city district of London, and the fir ...

(London) *

Bishop of Jarrow The Bishop of Jarrow is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Durham, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the former Anglo Saxon monastery in the town of Jarrow in Tyne and ...

(Durham) *

Bishop of Kensington The Bishop of Kensington is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Bishop of Kensington is responsible for a part of Greater London, including Kensington ...

(London) *

Bishop of Kingston-upon-Thames The Bishop of Kingston (technically of ''Kingston upon Thames'' or, originally, of ''Kingston-on-Thames'') is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The ti ...

(Southwark) * Bishop of Kirkstall (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Richmond, in Ripon diocese) * Bishop of Lancaster (Blackburn, 24 July 1936) * Bishop of Lewes (Chichester) * Bishop of Loughborough (Leicester, 12 April 2017) * Bishop of Ludlow (Hereford, 23 September 1981) * Bishop of Lynn (Norwich, 26 June 1963) * Bishop of Maidstone (Canterbury) * Bishop of Middleton (Manchester, 10 August 1926) * Bishop of Plymouth (Exeter, 21 November 1922) * Bishop of Ramsbury (Salisbury, 24 October 1973) * Bishop of Reading (Oxford) * Bishop of Repton (Derby, 18 May 1965) * Bishop of Richborough (Canterbury, 8 February 1994) * Bishop of Ripon (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Knaresborough, in Ripon diocese) * Bishop of Selby (York, 20 December 1938) * Bishop of Sheffield (York; ''now a diocese'') * Bishop of Sherborne (Salisbury, 6 February 1925) *

Bishop of Sherwood The Bishop of Sherwood is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the Royal forest of Sherwood Sherwood may ...

(Southwell, 18 May 1965) * Bishop of Southwark (Rochester; ''now a diocese'') *

Bishop of Stafford The Bishop of Stafford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire. The Bis ...

(Lichfield) * Bishop of Stepney (London) * Bishop of Stockport (Chester) *

Bishop of Swindon The Bishop of Swindon is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Bristol, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Swindon in Wiltshire. The title of Bishop of Mal ...

(Bristol; formerly Bishop of Malmesbury, 25 July 1927) * Bishop of Tewkesbury (Gloucester) * Bishop of Tonbridge (Rochester, 11 September 1958) * Bishop of Wakefield (Leeds; formerly

Bishop of Pontefract The Bishop of Wakefield is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a diocesan bishop in 1888, but it was dissolved in 2014. The Bishop of Wakefield is now ...

, in Wakefield diocese, 27 October 1930) * Bishop of Warrington (Liverpool) *

Bishop of Warwick The Bishop of Warwick is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire; the See was e ...

(Coventry, 19 December 1979) *

Bishop of Whalley The Bishop of Whalley was an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a Church of England suffragan bishop; the See was created by Order in Council on 28 June 1909 (under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888) and took its name after the large villa ...

(Blackburn; initially Manchester, 28 June 1909) * Bishop of Whitby (York, 30 July 1923) *

Bishop of Willesden The Bishop of Willesden is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Willesden, an area of the London Borough of Brent; the See ...

(London, 8 August 1911) * Bishop of Wolverhampton (Lichfield, 6 February 1979) * Bishop of Woolwich (Southwark) In 2015, research by the Church's Legal Office on behalf of the Dioceses Commission uncovered fourteen "forgotten" suffragan Sees which had been erected by Orders-in-Council in 1889 but never filled.Church of England — Dormant Suffragan SeesArchived
30 May 2016, which accessed 4 March 2020) The Dioceses Commission has advised that these may be revived and filled just as any other dormant See might. By Order-in-Council dated 6 April 1889: *

Bishop of Alnwick The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the d ...

(Newcastle) *

Bishop of Bishopwearmouth The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the d ...

(Durham) *

Bishop of Halifax The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan bishop#Anglican Churches, suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England ...

(Leeds; formerly Wakefield) * Bishop of Hexham (Newcastle) *

Bishop of Kendal The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan bishop#Anglican Churches, suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England ...

(Carlisle) *

Bishop of Rochdale The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the d ...

(Manchester) *

Bishop of Wigan The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in th ...

(Liverpool) By Order-in-Council dated 5 July 1889: *

Bishop of Aylesbury The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan bishop#Anglican Churches, suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England ...

(Oxford) *

Bishop of Boston The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the d ...

(Lincoln) *

Bishop of Chelsea The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in th ...

(London) *

Bishop of Cirencester The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the d ...

(Gloucester) *

Bishop of Leominster The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in th ...

(Hereford) * Bishop of Northampton (Peterborough) * Bishop of Oswestry (Lichfield) Further — besides that of Penrydd (now in St David's diocese), erected by the 1534 Act — six further Welsh Sees were erected following the 1888 Act: at Cardiff (in Llandaff diocese), Carnarvon (Bangor),

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

(Bangor),

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

(then in Llandaff, now a diocesan See), Wrexham (St Asaph) and

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

(then in St David's, now a diocesan See as Swansea and Brecon).

References

Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Measur ...

External links

The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534
as amended from the National Archives. {{Anglican Suffragan Bishops Episcopacy in Anglicanism Acts of the Parliament of England concerning religion Acts of the Parliament of England still in force 1534 in law 1534 in England Christianity and law in the 16th century 1534 in Christianity