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

in England. 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 Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * 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,

. In late 2013 the

Church Commissioners The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

announced that they were purchasing the Old Rectory, a Grade II-listed building in Croscombe for the Bishop's residence. However this decision was widely opposed, including by the Diocese, and in May 2014 was overturned by a committee of the Archbishops' Council.

History

Somerset originally came under the authority of the Bishop of Sherborne, but

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 Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

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 Pope Celestine III ( la, Caelestinus III; c. 1106 – 8 January 1198), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 March or 10 April 1191 to his death in 1198. He had a tense relationship with several monarchs, ...

. 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 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 ...

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. 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

Bishops during the Reformation

Post-Reformation bishops

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served as assistant bishops of the diocese are: *4 October 185210 May 1853 (res.): George Spencer, commissary during Bagot's illness, and former

Bishop in Madras The Diocese of Madras is a diocese of Church of South India in Tamil Nadu state of India.The diocese is one among the 22 dioceses of Church of South India. History The year 1640 marks the beginning of the Diocese of Madras in the Church of Sout ...

*late 1860s (Eden's illness): James Chapman, Coadjutor-Bishop, Rector of

Wootton Courtenay Wootton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on Exmoor in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Brockwell and Huntscott. The village lies on the route of the Macmillan Way West and the ...

, a Prebendary of Wells and former Bishop of Colombo *1891–1900:

Charles Bromby Charles Henry Bromby (11 July 181414 April 1907) was the Anglican Bishop of Tasmania from 1864 to 1882. __NOTOC__ Early life Bromby was the second son of John Healey Bromby (a priest) and brother of John Edward Bromby. He was born in Hull, E ...

, former Bishop of Tasmania (lived at

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

with

his son His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...

) *19311942 (d.):

Charles de Salis Charles Fane de Salis (1860–1942) was Bishop of Taunton from 1911 to 1930. Early life Born in Fringford, Oxfordshire, on 18 or 19 March 1860 into an occasionally clerical family, he was educated at Eton College, Eton and Exeter College, Ox ...

Archdeacon of Taunton The Archdeacon of Taunton has been, since the twelfth century, the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells (in the Church of England). The archdeaconry includes seven deaneries. Hist ...

until 1938, and former

Bishop of Taunton The Bishop of Taunton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title was first created under the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 and takes its n ...

*19401943 (res.):

Edmund Sara Edmund Willoughby Sara (1891–18 September 1965) was an English Anglican clergyman who served as Bishop Coadjutor of Jamaica from 1937 to 1940. Sara was educated at King's College, Taunton; Trinity College, Dublin; and Salisbury Theological Coll ...

, former

Coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Bishop of Jamaica The Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is a diocese of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. It was originally formed as the Diocese of Jamaica, within the Church of England, in 1824. At that time the diocese included the ...

and later

Assistant Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in t ...

*1950–1967 (ret.):

Fabian Jackson Fabian Menteath Elliot Jackson (22 November 1902 – 16 July 1978) was an Anglican bishop in the mid-20th century. Early life and education Born on 22 November 1902, he was educated at Westminster School and the University of London. Church ca ...

, Rector of Batcombe and former

Bishop of Trinidad The Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago is the administrative structure grouping together Anglicans in the nation of Trinidad and Tobago under a bishop. It is one of eight dioceses of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. As of 2009 ...

*19561973 (ret.): Douglas Wilson, Canon Treasurer of Wells and former

In popular culture

Television

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four period British sitcoms, plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC One from 1983 to 1989. All television episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as the antihero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robins ...

,'' BBC

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

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. ''

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

'' features two skits in which the Bishop of this title is mentioned.

Radio

''Absolute Power'', BBC radio comedy features such a Bishop.

Literature

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

's 2008 work ''

The Graveyard Book ''The Graveyard Book'' is a young adult novel by the English author Neil Gaiman, simultaneously published in Britain and America in 2008. ''The Graveyard Book'' traces the story of the boy Nobody "Bod" Owens who is adopted and reared by the su ...

'' features a character named the Bishop of Bath and Wells – he is one of a trio of ghouls who spirit the main character away. 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

Bibliography

External links

Official Diocese of Bath & Wells Website
{{Diocese of Bath and Wells Christianity in Bath, Somerset Wells, Somerset

Bath and Wells The Diocese of Bath and Wells is a diocese in the Church of England Province of Canterbury in England. The diocese covers the county of Somerset and a small area of Dorset. The Episcopal seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells is located in the C ...

Somerset-related lists