The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Diocese of Lincoln The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire. History The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leices ...

in the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

. The present diocese covers the county of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The bishop's seat (''

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

'') is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the city of

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

was originally a

minster church Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most notably York Minster in Yorkshire, Westminster Abbey in London and Southwell Minster in Nottinghamshire. The term ''minster'' is first found in royal foundation charte ...

founded around 653 and refounded as a cathedral in 1072. Until the 1530s the bishops were in full communion with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The historic medieval Bishop's Palace lies immediately to the south of the cathedral in Palace Yard; managed by English Heritage, it is open to visitors. A later residence (first used by Bishop Edward King in 1885) on the same site was converted from office accommodation to reopen in 2009 as a 16-bedroom conference centre and wedding venue. It is now known as Edward King House and provides offices for the bishops, archdeacons and diocesan staff. A 14-bedroom house (Bishop's House) on Eastgate was the official residence in use from 1948 until 2011, when the bishop's office staff and home were separated, allowing the incoming bishop,

Christopher Lowson Christopher "Chris" Lowson (born 3 February 1953) is a retired British Anglican bishop. He served as Bishop of Lincoln, 2011–2021. Education and ordination Lowson was educated at Newcastle Cathedral School, Consett Grammar School and King ...

, to live in a modern five-bedroom house. A further residence of the mediaeval Bishops of Lincoln was

Banbury Castle Banbury Castle was a medieval castle that stood near the centre of the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire. Historian John Kenyon notes that the castle is "remarkable for its early concentric shape".Kenyon, p. 68. History Banbury Castle was built in ...

, built in 1135 by

Alexander of Lincoln Alexander of Lincoln (died February 1148) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln, a member of an important administrative and ecclesiastical family. He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England und ...

, Bishop of Lincoln and retained by the see until 1547.

History

The

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

dioceses of

Lindsey Lindsey may refer to : Places Canada * Lindsey Lake, Nova Scotia England * Parts of Lindsey, one of the historic Parts of Lincolnshire and an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 ** East Lindsey, an administrative district in Lincolnshire, ...

and

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 ...

were established when the large

Diocese of Mercia The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...

was divided in the late 7th century into the bishoprics of

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

and

(for

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

itself),

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

(for the

Hwicce Hwicce () was a tribal kingdom in Anglo-Saxon England. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the kingdom was established in 577, after the Battle of Deorham. After 628, the kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia as a result of the ...

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

(for the

Magonsæte Magonsæte was a minor sub-kingdom of the greater Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, thought to be coterminous with the Diocese of Hereford. The British territory of Pengwern was conquered by Oswiu of Northumbria in 656, while he was overlord of t ...

) and

(for the

Lindisfaras The Lindisfaras (or Lindesfaras) (Old English: ''Lindisfaran'') were an Anglian tribe who, in the 6th century, established the kingdom of Lindsey between the valleys of the rivers Humber and Witham, in the north of what is now Lincolnshire. They ...

). The historic Bishop of Dorchester was a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who administered the Diocese of Dorchester in the

period. The bishop's seat, or

, was at the cathedral in

Dorchester-on-Thames Dorchester on Thames (or Dorchester-on-Thames) is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Wallingford and southeast of Oxford. The town is a few hundred yards from the confluence of the River Thames and River Thame. A c ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. In the 660s the seat at Dorchester-on-Thames was abandoned, but briefly in the late 670s it was once more a bishop's seat under

Ætla Ætla, who lived in the 7th century, is believed to be one of many Bishops of Dorchester during the Anglo-Saxon period. The village of Attlebridge, Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. ...

, under Mercian control.Kirby ''Earliest English Kings'' p. 48-49 The town of Dorchester again became the seat of a bishop in around 875, when the

Bishop of Leicester The Bishop of Leicester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury. Through reorganisation within the Church of England, the Diocese of Leicester was refounded in 1927, and St Martin's Church b ...

transferred his seat there. The diocese merged with that of

in 971; the bishop's seat was moved to

in 1072 and thus the Mercian Bishops of Dorchester were succeeded by the Bishops of Lincoln. The first bishops of Leicester were originally prelates who administered an Anglo-Saxon

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

between the 7th and 9th centuries. The bishopric fell victim to the invasion by the

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

and the

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

was transferred to

in Oxfordshire. The dioceses of Lindsey and Leicester continued until the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

invasions and establishment of the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...

in the 9th century. The

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of Leicester was transferred to Dorchester, now in Oxfordshire, sometime between 869 and 888. After an interruption, the see of Lindsey was resumed until it was united with the bishopric of Dorchester in the early 11th century. The diocese was the largest in England, extending from the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

to the Humber Estuary. In 1072,

Remigius de Fécamp Remigius de Fécamp (sometimes Remigius; died 7 May 1092) was a Benedictine monk who was a supporter of William the Conqueror. Early life Remigius' date of birth is unknown, although he was probably born sometime during the 1030s, as canon la ...

moved the see of Dorchester to Lincoln, but the bishops of Lincoln retained significant landholdings within Oxfordshire. Because of this historic link, for a long time

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

remained a " peculiar" of the Bishop of Lincoln. Until the 1530s the bishops were in full communion with the

. During the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

they changed their allegiance back and forth between the

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

and the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. Under

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

, the bishops conformed to the

, but under

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

they adhered to the Roman Catholic Church. Since the

, the bishops and diocese of Lincoln have been part of the reformed Church of England, and the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. The dioceses of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

were created in 1541, out of parts of the

. The county of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

was transferred from Lincoln to Peterborough in 1837.

List of bishops of Lincoln

Pre-Reformation bishops

Bishops during the Reformation

Post-Reformation bishops

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served as assistant bishops of the diocese have been: *19301934 (d.):

John Hine The Right Reverend John Franklin Meldon Hine (born 26 July 1938) is a Roman Catholic bishop in England. He was an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Southwark from February 2001 until his retirement in May 2016, and holds the titular see o ...

, Archdeacon of Lincoln (until 1933) and former Bishop of Likoma, of Zanzibar, of Northern Rhodesia and of Grantham *19501964 (ret.): Colin Dunlop,

Dean of Lincoln The Dean of Lincoln is the head of the Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral in the city of Lincoln, England in the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln. Christine Wilson was installed as Dean on 22 October 2016.

and former Bishop suffragan of Jarrow

Honorary 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, serving after their retirements, have included: *19681977 (d.):

George Clarkson George William Clarkson (11 December 1897 – 15 August 1977) was an Anglican bishop in the 20th century. Clarkson was educated at New College, Oxford and ordained in 1927. He was then successively a curate in Wigan, Vicar of Aspull, Sub ...

, retired Dean of Guildford and former Bishop suffragan-

Archdeacon of Pontefract The Archdeacon of Pontefract is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Leeds. As Archdeacon he or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the five area deaneries of Dewsbury, Wakefield, Pontefract ...

*19952016 (d.): Donald Snelgrove, retired

Bishop of Hull The Bishop of Hull is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of York, England. The suffragan bishop, along with the Bishop of Selby and the Bishop of Whitby, assists the Archbishop of York in overseeing t ...

*19952011 (d.):

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

, retired

Bishop in Cyprus and the Gulf The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf is one of four dioceses in the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, a province in the Anglican Communion. It covers Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Yemen. The bishop in Cyprus and the G ...

*2001–present:

David Tustin David Tustin was the Bishop of Grimsby, Bishop suffragan of Grimsby from 1979 until 2000. He was born on 12 January 1935 and educated at Solihull School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. After a period of study at what was then Cuddesdon College ...

, retired

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 ...

References

Sources

* {{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain

Bishops of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and N ...

Diocese of Lincoln Religion in Lincolnshire History of Oxfordshire