The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen 8 c 14) is an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant)

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

s in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. 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 Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, Dover, Guildford,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

, Molton,

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, Leicester,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, Shrewsbury,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Penrydd Penrydd (variously spelled Penrhydd, Penrhudd, Penrith, Penreth or Penrieth) is a former parish in the Hundred of Kilgerran, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The parish's history is closely linked with that of Castellan, and included parts of the pres ...

, Bridgwater,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

, Hull,

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, Penrith,

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

, St Germans and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

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 The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It implemented recommendations contained in the first report on statute law revision made by the Law Commission. The enactments which were repealed (whether ...

of section 2 of the

Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the En ...

(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 bishops 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. 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 Dioceses Measure 1978. 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 Dioceses Measure 1978.

Section 7

This section was repealed by Part V of Schedule 1 to the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977.

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 The Bishop of Aston is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Aston, an area of the City of Birmingham; the See was er ...

(Birmingham, 15 July 1954) *

Bishop of Barking The Bishop of Barking is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford, in the Province of Canterbury. The Barking area comprises the east London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, R ...

(Chelmsford; initially St Albans) *

Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness The Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle, in the Province of York, England. The See was created by Order in Council on 6 April 1889 (under the Suffragans Nomina ...

(Carlisle, 6 April 1889) *

Bishop of Basingstoke The Bishop of Basingstoke is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Winchester, in the province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Basingstoke in Hampshire. The previou ...

(Winchester) *

Bishop of Beverley The Bishop of Beverley is a Church of England suffragan bishop. The title takes its name after the town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The suffragan bishop was originally to assist the Archbishop of York in overseeing ...

(York) * Bishop of Birkenhead (Chester) *

Bishop of Bolton The Bishop of Bolton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Bolton in Greater Manchester; the See was erected ...

(Manchester, 8 February 1984) *

Bishop of Bradford The Bishop of Bradford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Leeds, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after Bradford, a city in West Yorkshire. Upon the creation of the ...

(Leeds, 20 April 2014) *

Bishop of Bradwell The Bishop of Bradwell is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex; the ...

(Chelmsford, 20 December 1967) *

Bishop of Brixworth The Bishop of Brixworth is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Peterborough, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the village of Brixworth in Northamptonshire and ...

(Peterborough, 26 July 1988) *

Bishop of Buckingham The Bishop of Buckingham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the historic county town of Buckingham; the See was er ...

(Oxford, 22 November 1913) *

Bishop of Burnley The Bishop of Burnley is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Blackburn, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Burnley in Lancashire. Originally, the suffragan ...

(Blackburn; initially Manchester) *

Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Coventry in the Province of Canterbury. In the Middle Ages, the Bishop of Coventry was a title used by the bishops known today as the Bishop of Lichfield. The presen ...

(Worcester; ''now a diocese'') *

Bishop of Crediton The Bishop of Crediton is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Crediton in Devon, England. The title was originally used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 10th and 11th centuries for a diocese covering Devon and Cornwall. It is now ...

(Exeter) *

Bishop of Croydon The Bishop of Croydon is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The Croydon Archdeaconry was transferred from Canterbury Diocese to Southwark in 1984. ...

(Southwark; initially Canterbury) *

Bishop of Derby The Bishop of Derby is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Derby in the Province of Canterbury.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. . The diocese was formed from part of the Diocese o ...

(Southwell; ''now a diocese'') * Bishop of Doncaster (Sheffield, 4 February 1972) * Bishop of Dorchester (Oxford, 2 February 1939) *

Bishop of Dorking The Bishop of Dorking is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the town of Dorking in Surrey. However, the bishop of ...

(Guildford; initially Winchester) *

Bishop of Dudley The Bishop of Dudley is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dudley in the West Midlands; the See was er ...

(Worcester, 24 October 1973) *

Bishop of Dunwich The Bishop of Dunwich is an episcopal title which was first used by an Anglo-Saxons bishop between the 7th and 9th centuries and is currently used by the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The title takes its name afte ...

(St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, 14 August 1934) * Bishop of Ebbsfleet (Canterbury, 8 February 1994) * Bishop of Edmonton (London, 29 May 1970) *

Suffragan Bishop in Europe The Suffragan Bishop in Europe is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese in Europe (in the Province of Canterbury.) The suffragan bishop assists the diocesan Bishop in Europe in overseeing the largest geo ...

(Europe) * Bishop of Fulham (London, 1 February 1926) *

Bishop of Grimsby The Bishop of Grimsby is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Grimsby in Lincolnshire; the See was erected ...

(Lincoln, 15 July 1935) *

Bishop of Hertford The Bishop of Hertford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of St Albans, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The suffragan See was created by Order in Council of 5 July 1889, but remained dorma ...

(St Albans) *

Bishop of Horsham The Bishop of Horsham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop (area bishop from 1984 to 2013) of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the market town of Hor ...

(Chichester) *

Bishop of Huddersfield The Anglican Diocese of LeedsDio ...

(Leeds, 20 April 2014) *

Bishop of Hulme The Bishop of Hulme was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the Province of York, England. The See was created by Order in Council on 11 October 1923 (under the Suffragans Nomination ...

(Manchester, 11 October 1923) * Bishop of Islington (London) * Bishop of Jarrow (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 Kensingt ...

(London) * Bishop of Kingston-upon-Thames (Southwark) *

Bishop of Kirkstall __NOTOC__ The Bishop of Kirkstall is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Leeds, in the Province of York, England. It is the suffragan see serving the episcopal area of Leeds, and takes its ...

(Leeds; formerly Bishop of Richmond, in Ripon diocese) * Bishop of Lancaster (Blackburn, 24 July 1936) *

Bishop of Lewes The Bishop of Lewes is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Lewes, the county town of East Sussex East Sussex i ...

(Chichester) *

Bishop of Loughborough The Bishop of Loughborough is an episcopal title used by the sole suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury, England. From 1987 to 2017, the Assistant Bishop of Leicester was an episcopal title ...

(Leicester, 12 April 2017) *

Bishop of Ludlow The Bishop of Ludlow was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford, which is within the Province of Canterbury, England. The See of Ludlow was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by ...

(Hereford, 23 September 1981) * Bishop of Lynn (Norwich, 26 June 1963) *

Bishop of Maidstone The Bishop of Maidstone is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent. Canterbury suf ...

(Canterbury) *

Bishop of Middleton The Bishop of Middleton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Middleton in Greater Manchester; the See was ...

(Manchester, 10 August 1926) * Bishop of Plymouth (Exeter, 21 November 1922) *

Bishop of Ramsbury The Bishop of Ramsbury is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the village of Ramsbury in Wiltshire, and was first used ...

(Salisbury, 24 October 1973) * Bishop of Reading (Oxford) *

Bishop of Repton The Bishop of Repton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Derby, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Repton, a large village in Derbyshire; the See was erected ...

(Derby, 18 May 1965) *

Bishop of Richborough The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop and provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Province of Canterbury in the Church of England. History The see was erected under the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 by Order in Council dat ...

(Canterbury, 8 February 1994) *

Bishop of Ripon The Bishop of Ripon is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. The bishop is one of the area bishops of the Diocese of Leeds in the Province of York. The area bishop of Ripon has oversight o ...

(Leeds; formerly

Bishop of Knaresborough A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, in Ripon diocese) * Bishop of Selby (York, 20 December 1938) *

Bishop of Sheffield The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York. A similar title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. John Quirk, the only Bishop suffragan of Sh ...

(York; ''now a diocese'') *

Bishop of Sherborne The Bishop of Sherborne is an episcopal title which takes its name from the market town of Sherborne in Dorset, England. The see of Sherborne was established in around 705 by St Aldhelm, the Abbot of Malmesbury. This see was the mother diocese of ...

(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 in Nottinghamshi ...

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

Bishop of Stepney The Bishop of Stepney 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 Stepney, an inner-city district in the London Borough of T ...

(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 ...

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

Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a Diocese, diocesan Anglican minist ...

(Leeds; formerly Bishop of Pontefract, in Wakefield diocese, 27 October 1930) *

Bishop of Warrington __NOTOC__ The Bishop of Warrington is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Warrington in Cheshire; the current ...

(Liverpool) * Bishop of Warwick (Coventry, 19 December 1979) * Bishop of Whalley (Blackburn; initially Manchester, 28 June 1909) *

Bishop of Whitby The Bishop of Whitby is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of York, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire; the See was erected under the ...

(York, 30 July 1923) * Bishop of Willesden (London, 8 August 1911) *

Bishop of Wolverhampton The Bishop of Wolverhampton 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 the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands; t ...

(Lichfield, 6 February 1979) *

Bishop of Woolwich The Bishop of Woolwich is an episcopal title used by an area bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Southwark, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Woolwich, a suburb of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Tw ...

(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 An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy 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 (Newcastle) * Bishop of Bishopwearmouth (Durham) * Bishop of Halifax (Leeds; formerly Wakefield) *

Bishop of Hexham The Bishop of Hexham was an episcopal title which took its name after the market town of Hexham in Northumberland, England. The title was first used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 7th and 9th centuries, and then by the Roman Catholic Church sinc ...

(Newcastle) * Bishop of Kendal (Carlisle) * Bishop of Rochdale (Manchester) * Bishop of Wigan (Liverpool) By Order-in-Council dated 5 July 1889: * Bishop of Aylesbury (Oxford) * Bishop of Boston (Lincoln) * Bishop of Chelsea (London) * Bishop of Cirencester (Gloucester) * Bishop of Leominster (Hereford) *

Bishop of Northampton The Bishop of Northampton is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Northampton in the Province of Westminster, England. The see is in the town of Northampton where the bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and ...

(Peterborough) *

Bishop of Oswestry __NOTOC__ The Bishop of Oswestry is a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Lichfield who fulfils the role of a provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England. Background Following the first ordinations of women in 1993 to the priesthood in ...

(Lichfield) Further — besides that of

(now in St David's diocese), erected by the 1534 Act — six further Welsh Sees were erected following the 1888 Act: at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

(in Llandaff diocese), Carnarvon (Bangor), Holyhead (Bangor), Monmouth (then in Llandaff, now a diocesan See),

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

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

References

* Halsbury's Statutes,

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