Suffragan Bishops Act 1534

The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (26 Hen. 8. c. 14) is an act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in the diocese other than the town the diocesan bishop is named after can be dated from this act.

Suffragan Bishops Act 1534^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Acte for nominacion and consecracyon of Suffragans wythin this Realme.[b]
Citation	26 Hen. 8. c. 14
Territorial extent	England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent	18 December 1534
Commencement	3 November 1534[c]
Other legislation
Amended by	Statute Law Revision Act 1888 Criminal Law Act 1967 Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977 Dioceses Measure 1978
Relates to	Statute of Praemunire Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 Suffragan Bishops Act 1898
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The act named Thetford, Ipswich, Colchester, Dover, Guildford, Southampton, Taunton, Shaftesbury, Molton, Marlborough, Bedford, Leicester, Gloucester, Shrewsbury, Bristol, Penrydd,^[1] Bridgwater, Nottingham, Grantham, Hull, Huntingdon, Cambridge, Penrith, Berwick-upon-Tweed, St Germans and the Isle of Wight^[2][3] as specific suitable suffragan sees.

This act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010.^[4]

The repeal by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1969 of section 2 of the Act of Supremacy (1 Eliz. 1. c. 1) (1558) does not affect the continued operation, so far as unrepealed, of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534.^[5]

Suffragan Bishops Act 1898[d]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to explain the Act as to Suffragan Bishops.
Citation	61 & 62 Vict. c. 11
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	1 July 1898
Commencement	1 July 1898[e]
Other legislation
Relates to	Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 Suffragans Nomination Act 1888
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1898 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Since 1898, notwithstanding anything contained in the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 it has been lawful to nominate, present and appoint as suffragan bishop persons already consecrated as a bishop and, in that case, the letters patent presenting them do not require their consecration.^[6] The Dioceses Measure 1978 concerns petitions to make appointments under this act.^[7] Until 1898, men already in episcopal orders were sometimes made assistant bishops instead.

Provisions

Section 2

In section 2 of the act, the words from "and have such capacitie" to the end were repealed by section 15(2)(a) of the Dioceses Measure 1978. This repeal does not invalidate any commission given to a suffragan bishop which was in force immediately before the commencement of that Measure (s. 15(3)). Section 15(4) provides for such commissions to continue in force until the date on which the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given ceases to hold that office, or the date on which the commission is revoked by the bishop of the diocese, whichever first occurs. So long as any such commission remains in force so much of section 2 of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 as is repealed by 15(2)(a) of that Measure continues, notwithstanding the repeal, to apply to the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given (s. 15(5)).

Section 4

In section 4 of the act, the words from "nor use" to the end were repealed by section 15(2)(b) of the Dioceses Measure 1978. This repeal does not invalidate any commission given to a suffragan bishop which was in force immediately before the commencement of that Measure (s. 15(3)). Section 15(4) provides for such commissions to continue in force until the date on which the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given ceases to hold that office, or the date on which the commission is revoked by the bishop of the diocese, whichever first occurs. So long as any such commission remains in force so much of section 2 of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 as is repealed by 15(2)(b) of that Measure continues, notwithstanding the repeal, to apply to the suffragan bishop to whom the commission was given (s. 15(5)).

Section 6

In section 6 of the act, the words "of the bishop to whom he shall be suffragan" were substituted for the words "where he shall have comyssyon" by section 15(6) of the Dioceses Measure 1978.

Section 7

Section 7 of the act was repealed by part V of schedule 1 to the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977.

1534 titles

Those titles mandated by the 1534 act currently in use as suffragan sees today are indicated in bold type:

See	Diocese	Years		See	Diocese	Years
Bishop of Bedford	Diocese of London	1537–1560, 1879–1898		Bishop of the Isle of Wight	No evidence of use (now in Portsmouth) There is an application to revive underway as of November 2024.[8][9]
	Diocese of St Albans	1935–present		Bishop of Leicester	Diocese of Peterborough	1888–1927
Bishop of Berwick	Diocese of Durham	1537–1571			Diocesan title	1927–present
	Diocese of Newcastle	2016–present		Bishop of Marlborough	Diocese of Salisbury	1537–1568
Bishop of Bridgwater	No evidence of use (now in Bath & Wells)				Diocese of London	1888–1918
Bishop of Bristol	Diocese of Worcester	1538–1542		Bishop of Molton	No evidence of use (now in Exeter)
	Diocesan title	1542–present		Bishop of Nottingham	Diocese of York	1567–1570
Bishop of Cambridge	No evidence of use (now in Ely)				Diocese of Lincoln	1870–1884
Bishop of Colchester	Diocese of Ely	1536–1541, 1592–1608			Diocese of Southwell	1884–1893
	Diocese of St Albans	1882–1914			Diocesan title	2005–present
	Diocese of Chelmsford	1914–present		Bishop of Penrydd	Diocese of Llandaff	1537–1539
Bishop of Dover	Diocese of Canterbury	1536–1597, 1870–present		Bishop of Penrith	Diocese of Ripon	1888–1889
	also "Bishop in Canterbury" since c. 1999				Diocese of Carlisle	1939–present
Bishop of Gloucester	No evidence of use as suffragan see			Bishop of St Germans	Diocese of Truro	1905–1918, 1974–present
	Diocesan title	1541–present		Bishop of Shaftesbury	Diocese of Salisbury	1539
Bishop of Grantham	Diocese of Lincoln	1905–present		Bishop of Shrewsbury	Diocese of Llandaff (probably)	1537–1561
Bishop of Guildford	Diocese of Winchester	1874–1927			Diocese of Lichfield	1888–1905, 1940–present
	Diocesan title	1927–present		Bishop of Southampton	Diocese of Winchester	1895–present
Bishop of Hull	Diocese of York	1538–1579, 1891–present		Bishop of Taunton	Diocese of Bath and Wells	1538–1559, 1911–present
Bishop of Huntingdon	Diocese of Ely	1966–present		Bishop of Thetford	Diocese of Norwich	1536–1570, 1894–1926, 1945–present
Bishop of Ipswich	Diocese unclear	1536–1538
	Diocese of Norwich	1899–1909
	Diocesan title	1914–present

Other suffragan titles

Suffragans Nomination Act 1888[f]
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make further provision for the Nomination of Bishops Suffragans.
Citation	51 & 52 Vict. c. 56
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	24 December 1888
Commencement	24 December 1888[g]
Other legislation
Relates to	Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 Suffragans Bishops Act 1898
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Since the passage of the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888, it has been lawful to create suffragan sees named for other towns. These have so far included (those titles currently in use as suffragan sees today are indicated in bold type):

Bishop of Aston (Birmingham, 15 July 1954)[10] Bishop of Barking (Chelmsford; initially St Albans) Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness (Carlisle, 6 April 1889)[11] Bishop of Basingstoke (Winchester) Bishop of Beverley (York) Bishop of Birkenhead (Chester) Bishop of Bolton (Manchester, 8 February 1984)[12] Bishop of Bradford (Leeds, 20 April 2014) Bishop of Bradwell (Chelmsford, 20 December 1967)[13] Bishop of Brixworth (Peterborough, 26 July 1988)[14] Bishop of Buckingham (Oxford, 22 November 1913)[15] Bishop of Burnley (Blackburn; initially Manchester) Bishop of Coventry (Worcester; now a diocese) Bishop of Crediton (Exeter) Bishop of Croydon (Southwark; initially Canterbury) Bishop of Derby (Southwell; now a diocese) Bishop of Doncaster (Sheffield, 4 February 1972)[16] Bishop of Dorchester (Oxford, 2 February 1939)[17] Bishop of Dorking (Guildford; initially Winchester) Bishop of Dudley (Worcester, 24 October 1973)[18] Bishop of Dunwich (St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, 14 August 1934)[19] Bishop of Ebbsfleet (Canterbury, 8 February 1994)[20] Bishop of Edmonton (London, 29 May 1970)[21] Suffragan Bishop in Europe (Europe) Bishop of Fulham (London, 1 February 1926)[22] Bishop of Grimsby (Lincoln, 15 July 1935)[23] Bishop of Hertford (St Albans) Bishop of Horsham (Chichester) Bishop of Huddersfield (Leeds, 20 April 2014) Bishop of Hulme (Manchester, 11 October 1923)[24] Bishop of Islington (London) Bishop of Jarrow (Durham) Bishop of Kensington (London) Bishop of Kingston-upon-Thames (Southwark)

Bishop of Kirkstall (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Richmond, in Ripon diocese) Bishop of Lancaster (Blackburn, 24 July 1936)[25] Bishop of Lewes (Chichester) Bishop of Loughborough (Leicester, 12 April 2017)[26] Bishop of Ludlow (Hereford, 23 September 1981)[27] Bishop of Lynn (Norwich, 26 June 1963)[28] Bishop of Maidstone (Canterbury) Bishop of Middleton (Manchester, 10 August 1926)[29] Bishop of Plymouth (Exeter, 21 November 1922)[30] Bishop of Ramsbury (Salisbury, 24 October 1973)[18] Bishop of Reading (Oxford) Bishop of Repton (Derby, 18 May 1965)[31] Bishop of Richborough (Canterbury, 8 February 1994)[20] Bishop of Ripon (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Knaresborough, in Ripon diocese) Bishop of Selby (York, 20 December 1938)[32] Bishop of Sheffield (York; now a diocese) Bishop of Sherborne (Salisbury, 6 February 1925)[33] Bishop of Sherwood (Southwell, 18 May 1965)[31] Bishop of Southwark (Rochester; now a diocese) Bishop of Stafford (Lichfield) Bishop of Stepney (London) Bishop of Stockport (Chester) Bishop of Swindon (Bristol; formerly Bishop of Malmesbury, 25 July 1927)[34] Bishop of Tewkesbury (Gloucester) Bishop of Tonbridge (Rochester, 11 September 1958)[35] Bishop of Wakefield (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Pontefract, in Wakefield diocese, 27 October 1930)[36] Bishop of Warrington (Liverpool) Bishop of Warwick (Coventry, 19 December 1979)[37] Bishop of Whalley (Blackburn; initially Manchester, 28 June 1909)[38] Bishop of Whitby (York, 30 July 1923)[39] Bishop of Willesden (London, 8 August 1911)[40] Bishop of Wolverhampton (Lichfield, 6 February 1979)[41] Bishop of Woolwich (Southwark)

In 2015, research by the Church's Legal Office on behalf of the Dioceses Commission uncovered fourteen "forgotten" suffragan Sees which had been erected by Orders-in-Council in 1889 but never filled.^[11] The Dioceses Commission has advised that these may be revived and filled just as any other dormant See might.^[42] The see of Oswestry was filled by the consecration of Paul Thomas on 2 February 2023, and the see of Wigan was filled by the translation of Ruth Worsley from Taunton on 4 April 2025;^[43] but the others remain unfilled.

By Order-in-Council dated 6 April 1889: Bishop of Alnwick (Newcastle) Bishop of Bishopwearmouth (Durham) Bishop of Halifax (Leeds; formerly Wakefield) Bishop of Hexham (Newcastle) Bishop of Kendal (Carlisle) Bishop of Rochdale (Manchester) Bishop of Wigan (Liverpool)

By Order-in-Council dated 5 July 1889: Bishop of Aylesbury (Oxford) Bishop of Boston (Lincoln) Bishop of Chelsea (London) Bishop of Cirencester (Gloucester) Bishop of Leominster (Hereford) Bishop of Northampton (Peterborough) Bishop of Oswestry (Lichfield)

Further — besides that of Penrydd (now in St David's diocese), erected by the 1534 Act — six further Welsh Sees were erected following the 1888 Act: at Cardiff (in Llandaff diocese), Carnarvon (Bangor), Holyhead (Bangor), Monmouth (then in Llandaff, now a diocesan See), Wrexham (St Asaph)^[11] and Swansea (then in St Davids, now a diocesan See as Swansea and Brecon).^[44][45]

Notes

1. The citation of this act by this short title was authorised by section 5 of, and schedule 2 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. Due to the repeal of those provisions, it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
2. These words are printed against this act in the second column of schedule 2 to the Statute Law Revision Act 1948, which is headed "Title".
3. Start of session.
4. Section 2.
5. The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.
6. Section 1.
7. The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.