Bishop of Peterborough

Diocesan bishop in the Church of England

For the Canadian Roman Catholic prelate, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Peterborough.

Bishop of Peterborough

Bishopric
anglican

Arms of the Bishop of Peterborough: Gules, two keys in saltire addorsed the wards upwards between four cross-crosslets fitchée or[1]

Incumbent:
Debbie Sellin
Location
Ecclesiastical province| Canterbury
Residence| Bishop's Lodging, The Palace, Peterborough
Information
First holder| John Chambers
Established| 1541
Diocese| Peterborough
Cathedral| Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, Peterborough

The Bishop of Peterborough is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Peterborough in the Province of Canterbury.

The diocese covers the counties of Northamptonshire (including the Soke of Peterborough) and Rutland. The see is in the City of Peterborough, where the bishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew. The bishop's residence is Bishop's Lodging, The Palace, Peterborough. The office has been in existence since the foundation of the diocese on 4 September 1541 under King Henry VIII.

The current Bishop of Peterborough is Debbie Sellin, since the confirmation, on 13 December 2023 at Lambeth Palace Chapel, of her election.[2]

As parts of the City of Peterborough are actually in the Diocese of Ely (those parishes south of the River Nene), the last Bishop of Peterborough was appointed as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Ely with pastoral care for these parishes delegated to him by the Bishop of Ely.[3][4]

## List of bishops

[edit]

Chronological list of the Bishops of Peterborough:

Bishops of Peterborough

From  | Until  | Incumbent  | Notes
1541  | 1556  |  John Chambers | Last Abbot of Peterborough Abbey. Died in office
1557  | 1559  |  David Pole | Deposed
1560  | 1585  |  Edmund Scambler | Translated to Norwich
1585  | 1600  |  Richard Howland | Died in office
1601  | 1630  |  Thomas Dove | Died in office
1630  | 1632  |  William Piers | Translated to Bath & Wells
1633  | 1634  |  Augustine Lindsell | Translated to Hereford
1634  | 1638  |  Francis Dee | Died in office
1639  | 1646  |  John Towers | Deprived of the see when the English episcopacy was abolished by Parliament on 9 October 1646; died 1649.
1646  | 1660  | The see was abolished during the Commonwealth and the Protectorate.[5][6]
1660  | 1663  |  Benjamin Lany | Translated to Lincoln
1663  | 1679  |  Joseph Henshaw | Died in office
1679  | 1685  |  William Lloyd | Translated from Llandaff; translated to Norwich
1685  | 1690  |  Thomas White | Deprived of office
1691  | 1718  |  Richard Cumberland | Died in office
1718  | 1728  |  White Kennett | Died in office
1729  | 1747  |  Robert Clavering | Translated from Llandaff; died in office
1747  | 1757  |  John Thomas | Translated to Salisbury
1757  | 1764  |  Richard Terrick | Translated to London
1764  | 1769  |  Robert Lamb | Died in office
1769  | 1794  |  John Hinchliffe | Died in office
1794  | 1813  |  Spencer Madan | Translated from Bristol; died in office
1813  | 1819  |  John Parsons | Died in office
1819  | 1839  |  Herbert Marsh | Translated from Llandaff; died in office
1839  | 1864  |  George Davys | Died in office
1864  | 1868  |  Francis Jeune | Died in office
1868  | 1891  |  William Connor Magee | Translated to York
1891  | 1897  |  Mandell Creighton | Translated to London
1897  | 1916  |  Edward Carr Glyn | John Mitchinson, assistant bishop once acted diocesan bishop during Carr-Glyn's illness.[7]
1916  | 1923  |  Theodore Woods | Translated to Winchester
1924  | 1927  |  Cyril Bardsley | Translated to Leicester
1927  | 1949  |  Claude Blagden |
1949  | 1956  |  Spencer Leeson | Died in office
1956  | 1961  |  Robert Stopford | Previously Bishop of Fulham; translated to London
1961  | 1972  |  Cyril Easthaugh | Previously Bishop of Kensington
1972  | 1984  |  Douglas Feaver |
1984  | 1995  |  Bill Westwood | Previously suffragan Bishop of Edmonton (London)
1996  | 2009  |  Ian Cundy | Died in office
2010  | 2023  |  Donald Allister | Previously Archdeacon of Chester.[8]
2023  | 2023  |  John Holbrook (acting) | Bishop of Brixworth.
2023  | present |  Debbie Sellin | Translated from Southampton, 13 December 2023.[2]

## Assistant bishops

[edit]

Among those called "Assistant Bishop of Peterborough" were:

* August 1881[9] – November 1900:[10] John Mitchinson (Rector of Sibstone[9] then Master of Pembroke College, Oxford)[11]
* 1912–1917 (d.): Lewis Clayton, Canon residentiary of Peterborough Cathedral and former Bishop suffragan of Leicester[12]
* 1926 – 1945 (ret.): Norman Lang, Canon residentiary of Peterborough Cathedral; Archdeacon of Northampton (until 1936), of Oakham (thereafter); and former Bishop suffragan of Leicester[13] (resigned his suffragan See due to the erection of the Diocese of Leicester, but continued in essentially the same role)[14]
* 1950 – 1963: Charles Aylen, Vicar of Flore (1945–58) and non-residentiary Canon of Peterborough (1946–61); former Bishop of St Helena[15]
* 1952–1957 (res.): Gerald Vernon, Vicar of Finedon and former Bishop of Madagascar[16]
* 1957–1969 (d.): Weston Stewart, Rector of Cottesmore, Rutland until 1964 and former Bishop in Jerusalem[17]
* 1978 – 1986 (ret.):[18][19] William Franklin. former Bishop of Colombia[20]

Honorary assistant bishops — retired bishops taking on occasional duties voluntarily — have included:

* 1974–1978 (d.): Guy Marshall, Vicar of Blakesley with Adstone,[21] former suffragan Bishop in Venezuela (Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago)[22]
* 1975–1984 (res.): Alan Rogers, retired Bishop of Fulham and of Edmonton[23][24]
* 1981–1985 Paul Burrough, Rector of Empingham, Rutland and retired Bishop of Mashonaland.[25]

## See also

[edit]

* List of abbots of Peterborough
* Dean of Peterborough

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.882, with added "the wards upwards" for clarity, as Debrett's blazon for Bishop of Gloucester
2. ^ a b @Peterborodio (13 December 2023). "This evening Bishop Debbie was confirmed as the 39th Bishop of Peterborough..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023 – via Twitter.
3. ^ "Religion: Bishops bridge boundaries aboard boat". Peterborough Evening Telegraph. Johnston Press. 2 August 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
4. ^ "Bridging the divide in a city". Diocesan website - press releases. Diocese of Ely. 29 July 2004. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2007.
5. ^ Plant, David (2002). "Episcopalians". BCW Project. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
6. ^ King, Peter (July 1968). "The Episcopate during the Civil Wars, 1642-1649". The English Historical Review. 83 (328). Oxford University Press: 523–537\. doi:10.1093/ehr/lxxxiii.cccxxviii.523. JSTOR 564164.
7. ^ "in memoriam: John Mitchinson, Bishop". Church Times. No. 2905\. 27 September 1918. p. 225\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
8. ^ "Bishop of Peterborough announces retirement". Diocese of Peterborough. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
9. ^ a b "Church News (col. 4)". Church Times. No. 988\. 30 December 1881. p. 914\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
10. ^ "Personal (col. 1)". Church Times. No. 1972\. 9 November 1900. p. 514\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
11. ^ "Preferments and Appointments". Church Times. No. 8829\. 17 February 1899. p. 190\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
12. ^ "Church news". Church Times. No. 2605\. 27 December 1912. p. 880\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 20 September 2020 – via UK Press Online archives.
13. ^ "Lang, Norman Macleod". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
14. ^ "in memoriam: Norman Lang, Brother of Cosmo". Church Times. No. 4865\. 11 May 1956. p. 7\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 1 June 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
15. ^ "Aylen, Charles Arthur William". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
16. ^ "Vernon, Gerald Richard". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
17. ^ "Stewart, Weston Henry". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
18. ^ "Assistant Bishop of Peterboro'". Church Times. No. 6028\. 25 August 1978. p. 2\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 1 June 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
19. ^ "Retirement of Bishop Franklin". Church Times. No. 6439\. 11 July 1986. p. 2\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 1 June 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
20. ^ "Franklin, William Alfred". Who's Who. A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U178507. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
21. ^ "Marshall, Guy". Who's Who. A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U157211. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
22. ^ "Death of Bishop Guy Marshall". Church Times. No. 6026\. 11 August 1978. p. 2\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 1 June 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
23. ^ "Rogers, Alan Francis Bright". Who's Who. A & C Black. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U33014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
24. ^ "Clerical Appointments". Church Times. No. 5998\. 27 January 1978. p. 13\. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 1 June 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
25. ^ "Who was Who" 1897–2007 London, A & C Black, 2007 ISBN 978-0-19-954087-7 [1]

## References

[edit]

* Haydn, Joseph and Ockerby, Horace Haydn's Book of Dignities W.H. Allen & Co. Ltd., London, 1894 reprinted 1969
* Whitaker's Almanack Joseph Whitaker & Sons Ltd. and A&C Black Publishers Ltd., London, 1883 to 2004
* King, Richard John Handbook to the Cathedrals of England (Part II: History of the See, with Short Notices of the principal Bishops) John Murray, London, 1862

## External links

[edit]

* Diocese of Peterborough website

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