List of Bishops of Worcester explained

This is a list of Bishops of Worcester from the 7th century up to the present day.

The Bishop of Worcester is the head of the Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury.^[1] The bishop's throne (Cathedra) is in Worcester Cathedral and his official residence is Hartlebury Castle in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England.^[2]

From the first bishop until the 16th century they were in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. During the English Reformation the church broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, at first temporarily and later more permanently. Since the Reformation, the Bishop and Diocese of Worcester has been part of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.

List of the Bishops

To the Norman Conquest

Bishops of Worcester [3] [4] [5]
No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
1	Bosel	680	691	resigned the See
2	Oftfor	691	693
3	Egwin	693	717	also recorded as Ecgwin, Ecgwine and Eegwine
4	Wilfrith I	718	c.744	also recorded as Wilfrid
5	Milred	c.743	c.775	also recorded as Mildred and Hildred
6	Waermund	775	777	also recorded as Wærmund
7	Tilhere	777	c.780/81
8	Heathured	781	c.799	also recorded as Hathored, AEthelred and Æthelred
9	Denebeorht	c.799	822	also recorded as Deneberht
10	Heahbeorht	822	c.845/48	also recorded as Heahberht and Eadbert
11	Ealhhun	c.845/48	872	also recorded as Alwin
12	Waerfrith	873	915	also recorded as Wærferth, Werfrith and Waerfrith
13	Æthelhun	915	922
14	Wilfrith II	922	929
15	Koenwald	fl.929	957	also recorded as Cenwald and Coenwald
16	St. Dunstan	957	959	previously Abbot of Glastonbury; translated to London; and later to Canterbury
17	St. Oswald	961	992	held both Worcester and York, 971-992
18	Ealdwulf	992	1002	previously Abbot of Peterborough; held both Worcester and York, 995-1002
19	Wulfstan	1002	1016	translated from London; also Archbishop of York, 1002-1023
20	Leofsige	1016	1033
21	Beorhtheah	1033	1038
22	Lyfing	c.1038/39	1040	deprived from Worcester; also Bishop of Crediton and Cornwall, 1027-46
23	Aelfric Puttoc	1040	1041	also Archbishop of York, 1023-1041; deprived from both
(22)	Lyfing	1041	1046	restored to Worcester
24	Ealdred	1046	1061	translated from Hereford; later to York
25	St. Wulfstan II	1062	1095	canonized on 14 May 1203 by Pope Innocent III

To the Reformation

Bishops of Worcester [6] [7]
No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
26	Samson	1096	1112
27	Theulf	1113	1123	nominated in 1113; consecrated in 1115
28	Simon of Worcester	1125	1150
29	John de Pageham	1151	1157
30	Alured	1158	1160
31	Roger of Worcester	1163	1179
32	Baldwin	1180	1185	translated to Canterbury
33	William of Northall	1185	1190
34	Robert FitzRalph	1191	1193	previously Archdeacon of Nottingham
35	Henry de Sully	1193	1195	previously Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey
36	John of Coutances	1196	1198
37	Mauger of Worcester	1199	1212	elected in 1199, but quashed by Pope Innocent III; later postulated to the See; consecrated in 1200
-	Randulph of Evesham	1213	1214	elected in December 1213, but quashed by the Papal legate, Niccolò de Romanis, in January 1214
38	Walter de Grey	1214	1216	translated to York
39	Sylvester of Worcester	1216	1218
40	William de Blois	1218	1236
41	Walter de Cantilupe	1237	1236
42	Nicholas of Ely	1266	1268	translated to Winchester
43	Godfrey de Giffard	1268	1302
-	John St German	colspan=2 align=center	1302	elected in March 1302, but quashed in October 1302
44	William Gainsborough	1302	1307
45	Walter Reynolds	1307	1313	translated to Canterbury
46	Walter Maidstone	1313	1317
47	Thomas Cobham	1317	1327	previously Archbishop-elect of Canterbury in 1313
-	Wulstan Bransford	colspan=2 align=center	1327	elected bishop but was quashed; later successfully elected in 1339
48	Adam Orleton	1327	1333	translated from Hereford; later to Winchester
49	Simon Montacute	1333	1337	translated to Ely
50	Thomas Hemenhale	1337	1338	translated from Norwich
51	Wulstan Bransford	1339	1349
52	John de Thoresby	1349	1353	translated from St David's; later to York
53	Reginald Brian	1352	1361	translated from St David's
54	John Barnet	1362	1363	translated to Bath and Wells; and later to Ely
55	William Wittlesey	1363	1368	translated from Rochester; later to Canterbury
56	William Lenn	1368	1373	translated from Chichester
-	Walter Lyghe	1373	1375	elected in 1373, but quashed in 1375
57	Henry Wakefield	1375	1395
58	Robert Tideman of Winchcombe	1394	1401	translated from Llandaff
59	Richard Clifford	1401	1407	previously Bishop-elect of Bath and Wells; later translated to London
60	Thomas Peverel	1407	1419	translated from Llandaff
61	Philip Morgan	1419	1426	translated to Ely
62	Thomas Poulton	1425	1433	translated from Chichester
-	Thomas Brunce	1433	1435	elected bishop, but never consecrated; later became Bishop of Rochester
63	Thomas Bourchier	1434	1443	translated to Ely; and later to Canterbury
64	John Carpenter	1443	1476	nominated in 1443; consecrated in 1444; resigned the See in 1476
65	John Alcock	1476	1486	translated from Rochester; later to Ely
66	Robert Morton	1486	1497	nominated in 1486; consecrated in 1487
67	Giovanni de' Gigli	1497	1498
68	Silvestro de' Gigli	1498	1521
-	Cardinal Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici	1521	1522	Administrator of the See of Worcester; also Archbishop of Narbonne; in 1523 became Pope Clement VII.[8]
69	Girolamo Ghinucci	1522	1535	deprived of the See by Henry VIII when the king broke with Rome; later in 1535 he was created a cardinal.[9]

Since the Reformation

Bishops of Worcester [10]
No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
70	Hugh Latimer	1535	1539	resigned the See
71	John Bell	1539	1543
72	Nicholas Heath	1543	1551	translated from Rochester; deprived of the See
73	John Hooper	1552	1554	also Gloucester, 1550-1553; deprived of the See.
(72)	Nicholas Heath	1554	1555	restored to the See; later translated to York
74	Richard Pate	1555	1559	deprived of the See.
75	Edwin Sandys	1559	1570	translated to London; and later to York
76	Nicholas Bullingham	1571	1576	translated from Lincoln
77	John Whitgift	1577	1583	translated to Canterbury
78	Edmund Freke	1584	1591	translated from Norwich
79	Richard Fletcher	1593	1595	translated from Bristol; later to London
80	Thomas Bilson	1596	1597	translated to Winchester
81	Gervase Babington	1597	1610	translated from Exeter
82	Henry Parry	1610	1616	translated from Gloucester
83	John Thornborough	1617	1641	translated from Bristol
84	John Prideaux	1641	1650
85	George Morley	1660	1662	translated to Worcester
86	John Gauden	colspan=2 align=center	1662	translated from Exeter
87	John Earle	1662	1663	translated to Salisbury
88	Robert Skinner	1663	1670	translated from Bristol
89	Walter Blandford	1671	1675	translated from Oxford
90	James Fleetwood	1675	1683
91	William Thomas	1683	1689	translated from St David's
92	Edward Stillingfleet	1689	1699
93	William Lloyd	1699	1717	translated from Lichfield and Coventry
94	John Hough	1717	1743	translated from Lichfield and Coventry
95	Isaac Maddox	1743	1759	translated from St Asaph
96	James Johnson	1759	1774	translated from Gloucester
97	Brownlow North	1774	1781	translated from Lichfield and Coventry; later to Winchester
98	Richard Hurd	1781	1808	translated from Lichfield and Coventry
99	Folliott Herbert Walker Cornewall	1808	1831	translated to Bristol; and later to Hereford
100	Robert James Carr	1831	1841	translated from Chichester
101	Henry Pepys	1841	1860	translated from Sodor and Man
102	Henry Philpott	1860	1890
103	John James Stewart Perowne	1890	1902
104	Charles Gore	1902	1905	translated to Birmingham; and later to Oxford
105	Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman-Biggs	1905	1918	translated from Southwark; later to Coventry
106	Ernest Harold Pearce	1919	1931
107	Arthur William Thomson Perowne	1931	1941	translated to Bradford
108	William Wilson Cash	1941	1956
109	Lewis Mervyn Charles-Edwards	1956	1971
110	Robert Wylmer Woods	1971	1982
111	Philip Goodrich [11]	1982	1996	translated from Tonbridge
112	Peter Selby	1997	2007	translated from Kingston-upon-Thames
113	John Geoffrey Inge	2007	present

Notes and References

1. Crockford's Clerical Directory, 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7151-1030-0.
2. http://www.anglicancommunion.org/tour/diocese.cfm?Idind=233&view=alpha Provincial Directory: Worcester
3. http://www.cofe-worcester.org.uk/work_of_the_diocese/doc_lib/AcopyofBishopJohnsEnthronementService10.pdf Diocese of Worcester: The Enthronment
4. Book: Powicke, F. Maurice. Maurice Powicke

   . Maurice Powicke. E. B. Fryde. Handbook of British Chronology. 2nd. 1961. Offices of the Royal Historical Society. London.

5. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15703a.htm Ancient Diocese of Worcester
6. http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=33881 Bishops of Worcester: 1066-1300
7. http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=32732 Bishops of Worcester: 1300-1541
8. http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1513.htm#Medici Cardinal Giulio de' Medici
9. http://www.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios1535.htm#Ghinucci Cardinal Girolamo Ghinucci
10. http://british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=35280 Bishops of Worcester: 1541-1857
11. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/01/29/db02.xml The Rt Revd Philip Goodrich