Bishop of Coventry

Diocesan bishop in the Church of England

This article is about the modern diocesan bishops. For the ancient diocesan bishops, see Bishop of Lichfield. For the modern suffragan bishops, see Bishop of Coventry (suffragan).

"The Bishop's House", 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 present diocese covers most of the County of Warwickshire. The see is in the City of Coventry where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael. The Bishop's residence is Bishop's House, Coventry.

## History

[edit]

Main article: Bishop of Lichfield

From 1102 to 1238, the former Benedictine Priory and Cathedral of St Mary in the city was the seat of the early Bishops of Coventry (previously known as Bishops of Chester or of Lichfield). It was, afterwards, one of the two seats of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield until the Reformation of the 1530s when Coventry (St Mary's) Cathedral was demolished and the bishop's seat moved to Lichfield, though the title remained as Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry until 1837, when Coventry was united with the Diocese of Worcester.[1]

Further information: Bishop of Coventry (suffragan)

## Bishops of the modern diocese

[edit]

The diocese was revived in 1918 under King George V when the parish church of Saint Michael was elevated to cathedral status. The cathedral suffered under fire-bombing by the Luftwaffe on the night of 14 November 1940 and remains today as a dignified ruin adjacent to the new cathedral building consecrated on 25 May 1962. The 8th Bishop of Coventry was Colin Bennetts, who retired on 31 January 2008.[2]

Christopher Cocksworth resigned as Bishop of Coventry effective 5 November 2023, to become Dean of Windsor.[3] Because the suffragan See of Warwick is also vacant, so Ruth Worsley (Bishop of Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells) has been seconded part-time as Acting Bishop of Coventry since 6 November.[4]

On 4 November 2024, it was announced that Sophie Jelley, Bishop of Doncaster, had been appointed as the next Bishop of Coventry, to take up the position in spring 2025.[5] She legally became Bishop by the confirmation of her election on 14 February 2025.[6]

## List of bishops

[edit]

Bishops of Coventry

From  | Until  | Incumbent  | Notes
1918  | 1922  |  Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs | Translated from Worcester.
1922  | 1931  |  Charles Lisle Carr | Translated to Hereford.
1931  | 1943  |  Mervyn Haigh | Translated to Winchester.
1943  | 1955  |  Neville Gorton |
1956  | 1976  |  Cuthbert Bardsley | Translated from Croydon.
1976  | 1985  |  John Gibbs | Translated from Bradwell.
1985  | 1997  |  Simon Barrington-Ward |
1998  | 2008  |  Colin Bennetts | Translated from Buckingham.
2008  | 2023  |  Christopher Cocksworth | Resigned in November 2023 to become Dean of Windsor[7]
2023 | 2024 |  Ruth Worsley, Acting Bishop | Also Bishop of Taunton;[4] term to end 31 December 2024.[8]
2025 | 2025 |  Tim Thornton, Acting Bishop | 1 January 2025 until Jelley's arrival.[8]
14 February 2025  | present |  Sophie Jelley | Translated from Doncaster, 14 February 2025.[6]
Source(s): [9][10]

## Assistant bishops

[edit]

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

* 1937–1952: Richard Heywood, retired Bishop of Mombasa[11]
* 1952–1959: Nathaniel Newnham Davis, Rector of Ladbroke and former Bishop of Antigua[12]
* 1960–1980: John McKie, Rector of Berkswell (until 1966),[13] Vicar of Great and Little Packington (from 1966) and former Bishop of Geelong[14]
* 1968–1975 (ret.): John Daly, Priest-in-charge of Honington with Idlicote and Whatcote (until 1970), Vicar of Bishop's Tachbrook thereafter; former Bishop of Gambia and the Rio Pongas, of Accra, in Korea and of Taejon[15]
* November 2023-present: Saju Muthalaly, Bishop of Loughborough, is also serving part-time as an Assistant Bishop supporting the Acting Bishop one day a week[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, pp. 253–255.
2. ^ "New Bishop of Coventry". Coventry Diocese. 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
3. ^ "Vacancy in See". Diocese of Coventry. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
4. ^ a b "Acting Bishop of Coventry". Diocese of Coventry. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
5. ^ "Right Rev Sophie Jelley will become Coventry and Warwickshire's first female bishop". Stratford Herald. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
6. ^ a b Coventry, Diocese of (10 February 2025). "Bishop Sophie's welcome and installation date confirmed". Diocese of Coventry. Archived from the original on 14 February 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
7. ^ "Christopher Cocksworth to be appointed the Dean of Windsor". Diocese of Coventry. 20 June 2023. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
8. ^ a b "An Update on Bishop Ruth and Future Plans". Diocese of Coventry. 5 November 2024. Archived from the original on 24 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
9. ^ Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, p. 241.
10. ^ "Historical successions: Coventry". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
11. ^ "Heywood, Richard Stanley". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
12. ^ "Davis, Nathaniel William Newnham". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
13. ^ "Obituaries: Bishop John David McKie". Church Times. No. 6844\. 15 April 1994. p. 6\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 15 February 2021 - via UK Press Online archives.
14. ^ "McKie, John David". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
15. ^ "Daly, John Charles Sydney". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
16. ^ "Bishop Saju to support Coventry Diocese during Vacancy-in-See". Diocese of Leicester. 13 September 2023. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Crockford's Clerical Directory (100th ed.). London: Church House Publishing. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0.
* 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.

## External links

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* Crockford's Clerical Directory: Historical successions

* v
* t
* e

Bishops of Coventry

for earlier Bishops of Coventry, of Coventry and Lichfield, and of Lichfield and Coventry, see Bishop of Lichfield; for the modern suffragans, see Bishop of Coventry (suffragan)

* Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs
* Charles Lisle Carr
* Mervyn Haigh
* Neville Gorton
* Cuthbert Bardsley
* John Gibbs
* Simon Barrington-Ward
* Colin Bennetts
* Christopher Cocksworth
* Ruth Worsley (Acting)
* Tim Thornton (Acting)
* Sophie Jelley

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