Bishop of Durham

Bishop of Durham
Bishopric
anglican
Incumbent: Paul Butler
Province	York
Diocese	Durham
Cathedral	Durham Cathedral
First incumbent	Aldhun of Durham
Formation	9th century

File:Arms of Lord Crewe impaling Bishop of Durham.jpg

Lord Crew's arms has a Baron's coronet, but as Bishop of Durham he showed an Earl's coronet too

The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in the country and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham since his election was confirmed at York Minster on 20 January 2014. The previous bishop was Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. The bishop is one of two (the other is the Bishop of Bath and Wells) who escort the sovereign at the coronation.

He is officially styled The Right Reverend Father in God, (Christian Name), by Divine Providence Lord Bishop of Durham, but this full title is rarely used. In signatures, the bishop's family name is replaced by Dunelm, from the Latin name for Durham (the Latinised form of Old English Dunholm). In the past, Bishops of Durham varied their signatures between Dunelm and the French Duresm. Prior to 1836, the Bishop of Durham was a prince-bishop and had significant temporal powers over the Liberty of Durham and later the County Palatine of Durham.

The bishop lived in Durham Castle from its construction in the 11th century. In 1832, Auckland Castle became the official residence of the Bishops of Durham until July 2012 when ownership of the castle was transferred over to the Auckland Castle Trust, a charitable foundation with the aim of beginning a major restoration of the grounds and castle and creating permanent exhibitions on the history of Christianity in Britain and the North East. The bishop continues to have offices in Auckland Castle but no longer resides there.

History

From the 7th century onwards, in addition to his spiritual authority, the Bishops of Lindisfarne, and then Durham, also acted as the civil ruler of the region as the lord of the liberty of Durham, with local authority equal to that of the king. The bishop appointed all local officials and maintained his own court. After the Norman Conquest, this power was retained by the bishop and was eventually recognised with the designation of the region as the County Palatine of Durham. As holder of this office, the bishop was titled a prince-bishop and considered the equivalent of an earl. Except for a brief period of suppression during the Glorious Revolution, the bishopric retained this temporal power until it was abolished by the Durham (County Palatine) Act 1836.

List of bishops

Early Medieval bishops

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
995	1018	Aldhun	Previously Bishop of Lindisfarne.
1021	1041	Edmund
1041	1042	Eadred
1042	1056	Æthelric
1056	1071	Æthelwine
Source(s):

Pre-Reformation prince-bishops

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1071	1080	William Walcher
1081	1096	William de St-Calais
1099	1128	Ranulf Flambard
1133	1140	Geoffrey Rufus
1141	1143	William Cumin
1143	1153	William of St. Barbara
1153	1195	Hugh de Puiset
1197	1208	Philip of Poitou
1209	1213	Richard Poore	Election quashed by Pope Innocent III (who was quarrelling with King John); later elected and consecrated.
1214	1214	John de Gray	Died before consecration.
1215	1215	Morgan	Election quashed.
1217	1226	Richard Marsh
1226	1227	William Scot	Election quashed.
1229	1237	Richard Poore	Translated from Salisbury.
1237	1240	Thomas de Melsonby	Resigned before consecration.
1241	1249	Nicholas Farnham
1249	1260	Walter of Kirkham
1260	1274	Robert Stitchill
1274	1283	Robert of Holy Island
1284	1310	Antony Bek	Also Titular Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1306 to 1311 (the only English person ever to hold this post).
1311	1316	Richard Kellaw
1318	1333	Lewis de Beaumont
1333	1345	Richard de Bury
1345	1381	Thomas Hatfield
1382	1388	John Fordham	Translated to Ely.
1388	1406	Walter Skirlaw	Translated from Bath & Wells.
1406	1437	Thomas Langley
1437	1457	Robert Neville	Translated from Salisbury
1457	1476	Lawrence Booth	Translated to York.
1476	1483	William Dudley
1484	1494	John Sherwood
1494	1501	Richard Foxe	Translated from Bath & Wells, later translated to Winchester.
1502	1505	William Senhouse	Translated from Carlisle.
1507	1508	Christopher Bainbridge	Translated to York.
1509	1523	Thomas Ruthall
1523	1529	Thomas Wolsey	Archbishop of York. Held Durham in commendam.
1530	1559	Cuthbert Tunstall	Translated from London.
Source(s):

Post-Reformation prince-bishops

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1530	1559	Cuthbert Tunstall
1561	1576	James Pilkington
1577	1587	Richard Barnes	Translated from Carlisle.
1589	1595	Matthew Hutton	Translated to York.
1595	1606	Tobias Matthew	Translated to York.
1606	1617	William James
1617	1627	Richard Neile	Translated from Lincoln, later translated to Winchester.
1628		George Montaigne	Translated from London, later translated to York.
1628	1632	John Howson	Translated from Oxford
1632	1659	Thomas Morton	Translated from Lichfield.
1660	1672	John Cosin
1674	1722	Nathaniel Crew	Translated from Oxford. Additionally styled The Hon. Nathaniel Crew 1679–1697, then The Rt Hon. The Lord Crew 1697 onwards
1722	1730	William Talbot	Translated from Salisbury.
1730	1750	Edward Chandler	Translated from Lichfield.
1750	1752	Joseph Butler	Translated from Bristol.
1752	1771	Richard Trevor	Translated from St David's.
1771	1787	John Egerton	Translated from Lichfield.
1787	1791	Thomas Thurlow	Translated from Lincoln.
1791	1826	Shute Barrington	Translated from Salisbury.
1826	1836	William Van Mildert	Translated from Llandaff.
Source(s):

Late modern bishops (since 1836)

Bishops of Durham
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1836	1856	Edward Maltby	Translated from Chichester.
1856	1860	Charles Longley	Translated from Ripon, later translated to York, then to Canterbury.
1860	1861	Henry Villiers	Translated from Carlisle.
1861	1879	Charles Baring	Translated from Gloucester and Bristol.
1879	1889	Joseph Lightfoot	Previously Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity.
1890	1901	Brooke Westcott	Previously Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge.
1901	1920	Handley Moule	Previously Norrisian Professor of Divinity.
1920	1939	Hensley Henson	Translated from Hereford.
1939	1952	Alwyn Williams	Translated to Winchester.
1952	1956	Michael Ramsey	Translated to York, then to Canterbury.
1956	1966	Maurice Harland	Translated from Lincoln.
1966	1972	Ian Ramsey	Previously Nolloth Professor in the Philosophy of Christian Religion at Oxford University.
1973	1983	John Habgood	Translated to York.
1984	1994	David Jenkins	Previously Professor of Theology University of Leeds
1994	2003	Michael Turnbull	Translated from Rochester
2003	2010	Tom Wright	Previously Dean of Lichfield; returned to academia.
2011	2013	Justin Welby	Translated to Canterbury.
2014	present	Paul Butler	Previously Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham.
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