List of Church of England dioceses explained

There are 42 dioceses of the Church of England.^[1] These cover England, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands and a small part of Wales. The Diocese in Europe is also a part of the Church of England, and covers the whole of continental Europe, Morocco and the post-Soviet states.^[2] The structure of dioceses within the Church of England was initially inherited from the Catholic Church as part of the Protestant Reformation. During the Reformation a number of new dioceses were founded, but no more were then created until the middle of the 19th century, when dioceses were founded mainly in response to the growing population, especially in the northern industrial cities. The most recent diocese to be established was the Diocese of Leeds, which came into being on 20 April 2014. Prior to that, no new dioceses had been created since 1927. Leeds was created by combining three previous dioceses: the Diocese of Bradford, the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, and the Diocese of Wakefield.

The 42 current dioceses are divided into two provinces. The Province of Canterbury in the south comprises 30 dioceses and the Province of York in the north comprises 12. The archbishops of Canterbury and York have pastoral oversight over the bishops within their province, along with certain other rights and responsibilities. All of the dioceses have one cathedral each except the Diocese of Leeds, which has three that are considered co-equal. Of all the dioceses, Derby has the smallest cathedral; Derby Cathedral takes up only 10950lk=inNaNlk=in.^[3] One diocese dates back to the 6th century, eight date back to the 7th century, two to the 10th century, five to the 11th century, two to the 12th century, five to the 16th century, seven to the 19th century, and ten to the 20th century. The territories administered by the various dioceses generally accord with the counties as they existed before the Local Government Act 1972.

Dioceses

Diocese^[4] (bishop)	Coat of arms^[5]	Province	Territory	Cathedral^[6]	Founded
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Somerset North Somerset; Bath and North East Somerset; the parish of Thorncombe in Dorset	Wells Cathedral	(Diocese of Wells)
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Birmingham Sandwell except part of the north; Solihull except part of the east; part of Warwickshire; some parishes in Worcestershire	St Philip's Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Lancashire except part of the east and south, Liverpool, and Manchester; some parishes in Wigan	Blackburn Cathedral	(from Manchester)
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Bristol southern two-thirds of South Gloucestershire; northern quarter of Wiltshire except part of the north; Swindon except part of the north and south; some parishes in Gloucestershire	Bristol Cathedral^[7]
(Archbishop)		Canterbury	Kent east of Medway	Canterbury Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Cumbria except Alston Moor (part of the Diocese of Newcastle), and the former Sedbergh Rural District (part of the Diocese of Leeds)	Carlisle Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Essex except part of the north; part of East London north of the River Thames; part of South Cambridgeshire	Chelmsford Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Cheshire the Wirral Peninsula; Halton south of the River Mersey; Warrington south of the River Mersey; Trafford except part of the north; Stockport except part of the north and east; the eastern half of Tameside; part of Derbyshire; part of Manchester; part of Flintshire	Chester Cathedral
(Bishop)	^[8]	Canterbury	West Sussex except part of the north; East Sussex except part of the north; part of Kent	Chichester Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Coventry Warwickshire except part of the north, southwest, and south; part of Solihull	Coventry Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Derbyshire except part of the north; part of Stockport; part of Staffordshire	Derby Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Durham except part of the southwest and north; Gateshead; South Tyneside; Sunderland; Hartlepool; Darlington; Stockton-on-Tees north of the River Tees	Durham Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Cambridgeshire except part of the northwest and south; the western quarter of Norfolk; part of Bedfordshire	Ely Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Europe except Great Britain and Ireland; Morocco; Turkey; the post-Soviet states in Asia	Gibraltar Cathedral^[9]	(Diocese of Gibraltar)^[10] 1980 (Diocese in Europe)
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Devon except part of the southeast and west; Plymouth; Torbay	Exeter Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Gloucestershire except part of the north, south, and east; the northern third of South Gloucestershire; part of Wiltshire; part of southwest Warwickshire; part of southern Worcestershire	Gloucester Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	The western two-thirds of Surrey south of the River Thames except part of the northeast; part of northeastern Hampshire; part of Greater London; part of West Sussex	Guildford Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Herefordshire the southern half of Shropshire; part of Powys and Monmouthshire	Hereford Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Ripon Bradford; Leeds; Huddersfield; Wakefield^[11]	Co-equally: Ripon Cathedral, Wakefield Cathedral, Bradford Cathedral^[12]	(thereby dissolving the dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds, and Wakefield)^[13]
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Leicestershire part of Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, and Warwickshire	Leicester Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Staffordshire except part of the southeast and southwest; the northern half of Shropshire; Wolverhampton; Walsall; the northern half of Sandwell	Lichfield Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire; North Lincolnshire except part of the west	Lincoln Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Liverpool Sefton; Knowsley; St Helens; Wigan except part of the north and east; Halton north of the River Mersey; most of West Lancashire	Liverpool Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	The City of London; Greater London north of the River Thames except part of the east and north; Surrey north of the Thames; part of Hertfordshire	St Paul's Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Manchester except part of the south; Salford; Bolton; Bury; Rochdale; Oldham; the western half of Tameside; part of Wigan, Trafford, Stockport, and southern Lancashire	Manchester Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Northumberland Newcastle upon Tyne; North Tyneside; part of eastern Cumbria; part of County Durham	Newcastle Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Norfolk except part of the west; part of northeastern Suffolk	Norwich Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Oxfordshire Berkshire; Buckinghamshire; part of Hampshire and Hertfordshire	Christ Church Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Northamptonshire except part of the west; Rutland; Peterborough except part of the southeast; part of Lincolnshire	Peterborough Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	The southeastern third of Hampshire; the Isle of Wight	Portsmouth Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Kent west of the River Medway except part of the southwest; Medway; most of Bromley Bexley; part of East Sussex	Rochester Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Hertfordshire except part of the south and west; Bedfordshire except part of the north and west; part of Greater London	St Albans Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Suffolk except part of the northeast; part of Essex	St Edmundsbury Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	The southern three quarters of Wiltshire; Dorset except part of the east; part of Hampshire and Devon	Salisbury Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Sheffield Rotherham; Doncaster except part of the southeast; part of North Lincolnshire; part of northeastern Barnsley; part of the East Riding of Yorkshire	Sheffield Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	The Isle of Man	Peel Cathedral	(English jurisdiction) 447 (first founded)
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Greater London south of the River Thames except most of Bromley and Bexley and part of the southwest; the eastern third of Surrey	Southwark Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Nottinghamshire part of South Yorkshire	Southwell Minster
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Cornwall the Isles of Scilly; part of Devon	Truro Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Hampshire except the southeastern quarter and part of the northeast, west, and north; part of eastern Dorset; the Channel Islands	Winchester Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Worcestershire except part of the south and north; part of Wolverhampton, Sandwell, and northern Gloucestershire	Worcester Cathedral
(Archbishop)		York	York East Riding of Yorkshire except part of the southwest; Kingston upon Hull; Redcar and Cleveland; Middlesbrough; the eastern half of North Yorkshire; Stockton-on-Tees south of the River Tees; part of Leeds	York Minster

Former dioceses

Diocese (bishop)	Coat of arms	Province	Territory	Cathedral	Founded	Dissolved
(Bishop)		York	Bradford Craven District; the former Sedbergh Rural District	Bradford Cathedral
Sort	Gloucester and Bristol (Bishop)		Canterbury	Gloucestershire except part of the north and east; South Gloucestershire; part of northern Wiltshire; part of southwest Warwickshire; part of southern Worcestershire; Bristol; Swindon except part of the north and south	Co-equally: Gloucester Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Part of western and northern Yorkshire; the south Teesdale area	Ripon Cathedral
(Bishop)		York	Wakefield Barnsley; Kirklees; Calderdale	Wakefield Cathedral
(Bishop)		Canterbury	Westminster Middlesex except Fulham	Westminster Abbey

Statistics

Source:^{[14] [15]} Diocese of Europe excluded.

Diocese	Population	Area (sq. m.)	Pop. density^1	Benefices	Parishes	Churches	People per church
Bath & Wells	980,000	1610	600	175	460	557	1,759
Birmingham	1,599,000	290	5420	138	149	180	8,883
Blackburn	1,384,000	930	1480	170	230	276	5,014
Bristol	1,065,000	470	2230	100	167	202	5,272
Canterbury	981,000	970	1020	99	201	313	3,134
Carlisle	498,000	2570	190	104	227	323	1,542
Chelmsford	3,279,000	1530	2130	303	469	575	5,703
Chester	1,677,000	1030	1600	214	264	337	4,976
Chichester	1,704,000	1450	1180	274	348	474	3,595
Coventry	896,000	700	1320	125	204	240	3,733
Derby	1,064,000	990	1080	139	253	312	3,410
Durham	1,475,000	980	1530	169	207	258	5,717
Ely	803,000	1530	500	141	303	327	2,456
Exeter	1,214,000	2570	470	149	484	594	2,044
Gloucester	690,000	1130	610	90	296	377	1,830
Guildford	1,077,000	530	2020	142	160	211	5,104
Hereford	322,000	1650	200	77	338	399	807
Leeds	2,777,000	2630	1060	264	442	580	4,788
Leicester	1,086,000	830	1290	103	245	311	3,492
Lichfield	2,202,000	1730	1270	234	422	542	4,063
Lincoln	1,093,000	2670	410	180	476	622	1,757
Liverpool	1,621,000	390	4130	125	168	233	6,957
London	4,246,000	280	16010	408	402	471	9,015
Manchester	2,233,000	420	5330	175	256	320	6,978
Newcastle	832,000	2100	400	123	170	235	3,540
Norwich	928,000	1800	520	158	554	640	1,450
Oxford	2,511,000	2210	1100	285	609	811	3,096
Peterborough	971,000	1140	830	127	347	379	2,562
Portsmouth	784,000	420	1900	105	132	165	4,752
Rochester	1,375,000	540	2570	171	210	258	5,329
Salisbury	1,148,000	2130	539	164	463	609	1,885
Sheffield	1,278,000	610	2140	141	169	208	6,144
Sodor & Man	86,000	220	390	14	15	38	2,263
Southwark	2,880,000	320	9030	263	295	355	8,113
Southwell & Nottingham	1,152,000	840	1390	151	226	296	3,892
St Albans	1,978,000	1120	1750	187	338	403	4,908
St Eds & Ipswich	684,000	1430	480	111	444	481	1,422
Truro	573,000	1390	420	96	214	298	1,923
Winchester	1,255,000	1130	1100	132	240	352	3,565
Worcester	908,000	670	1350	84	166	273	3,326
York	1,457,000	2670	550	231	441	574	2,538

¹persons per square mile

See also

• • Historical development of Church of England dioceses
• List of Anglican dioceses in the United Kingdom and Ireland
• List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom
• Armorial of the Church of England

Bibliography

• Book: Avis. Paul. Paul Avis. 2013. The Anglican Understanding of the Church: An Introduction. 2nd. London. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 978-0-281-06815-9.
• Book: Bond. Francis. 2007. The Cathedrals of England and Wales. Huddersfield, England. Jeremy Mills Publishing. 978-1-905217-82-3.
• Book: Buchanan , Colin . 2006. Historical Dictionary of Anglicanism. Lanham, Maryland. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-0-8108-6506-8.
• Book: 2014. The Church of England Year Book. 130th. London. Church House Publishing. 978-0-7151-1071-3. .
• Book: Cormack. Patrick. Patrick Cormack. 1984. English Cathedrals. Harmony Books. 978-0-517-55409-8.
• Book: Cummings , Owen F. . 2007. Canterbury Cousins: The Eucharist in Contemporary Anglican Theology. Mahwah, New Jersey. Paulist Press. 978-0-8091-4490-7.
• Book: Foster , Andy . 2005. Birmingham. New Haven, Connecticut. Yale University Press. 978-0-300-10731-9.
• Book: Galloway. Peter. 1999. A Passionate Humility: Frederick Oakeley and the Oxford Movement. Leominster, England. Gracewing Publishing. 978-0-85244-506-8.
• Book: Jones , Ian . 2012. The Local Church and Generational Change in Birmingham, 1945–2000. Woodbridge, England. The Boydell Press. 978-0-86193-317-4.
• Book: Livingstone. E. A.. Sparks. M. W. D.. Peacocke. R. W.. 2013. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 3rd. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-965962-3.
• Book: Mullett , Michael . 2010. Historical Dictionary of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Lanham, Maryland. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-0-8108-7393-3.
• Book: Nicholls. J. F.. James Fawckner Nicholls. Taylor. John. 1881. Bristol Past and Present. 1. Bristol, England. J. W. Arrowsmith. 16 June 2016.
• Book: Pepin , David . 2004. Discovering Cathedrals. Oxford. Osprey Publishing. 978-0-7478-0597-7.
• Book: Podmore. Colin . Colin Podmore. 2005. Aspects of Anglican Identity. London. Church House Publishing. 978-0-7151-4074-1.
• Book: Ren , C. H. . 2011. Christianity and the Future. Thomas Nelson. 978-1-4497-1380-5.
• Book: Tate. William Edward. 1969. The Parish Chest: A Study of the Records of Parochial Administration in England. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-06603-7.
• Book: Weaver. Jeffrey. Caviness. Madeline H.. 2013. The Ancestors of Christ Windows at Canterbury Cathedral. Los Angeles. Getty Publications. 978-1-60606-146-6.
• Book: Weaver. Mary Jo. Brakke. David. 2008. Introduction to Christianity. 4th. Cengage Learning. 978-0-495-09726-6.
• Book: Wilson , Fiona M. . 2013. Organizational Behaviour and Work: A Critical Introduction. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-964598-5.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dioceses. Church of England. 17 August 2014. 17 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170917040244/https://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/dioceses.aspx. live.
2. Web site: Church Locations. Diocese in Europe. 17 August 2014. 24 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210424011404/https://europe.anglican.org/where-we-are/church-locations. live.
3. Web site: Cathedral Time. 2000. Christ Church, Oxford. https://web.archive.org/web/20041206173809/http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/cathedral/present/misc.html. December 6, 2004.
4. Web site: List of all Bishops . https://web.archive.org/web/20050419234842/http://www.crockford.org.uk/listing.asp?id=68 . dead . 19 April 2005 . Crockfords . Archbishops' Council . 18 August 2014 .
5. Web site: Diocesan Arms. Trinity Amblecote. 18 August 2014. 7 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201007035610/http://www.holytrinityamblecote.org.uk/diocesan_arms.html. live.
6. Web site: List of cathedrals . https://web.archive.org/web/20050420000022/http://www.crockford.org.uk/listing.asp?id=75 . dead . 20 April 2005 . Crockfords . Archbishops' Council . 18 August 2014 .
7. Book: 141. The Monthly Review from May to August Inclusive. 1830. Hurst & Robinson.
8. Web site: Insignia and shield of the Diocese. Diocese of Chichester. 18 August 2014. 27 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210127032939/https://www.chichester.anglican.org/shield/. live.
9. Web site: The Cathedral of The Holy Trinity Gibraltar. Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Gibraltar. 1 October 2014. 1 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210301034310/http://holytrinitygibraltar.com/. live.
10. Web site: Our History. Diocese in Europe. 17 June 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160603200442/http://europe.anglican.org/who-we-are/our-history. 3 June 2016.
11. Web site: Maps and Information about Deaneries and Parishes. Diocese of Leeds. 13 July 2016. 15 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160815125426/http://leeds.anglican.org/content/maps-and-information-about-deaneries-and-parishes. dead.
12. Web site: 4. The Dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield Reorganisation Scheme 2013. 2013. Church of England. 1 October 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140220111709/http://www.churchofengland.org/media/1915420/reorganisation%20scheme.pdf. 20 February 2014.
13. 15 April 2014 . First New Diocese for More than 85 Years Created on April 20 . Press release . The Transformation Programme for The Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales . https://web.archive.org/web/20140420040111/http://www.wyadtransformation.org/?q=content%2Ffirst-new-diocese-more-85-years-created-april-20 . 20 April 2014 . 16 June 2016 . dead .
14. Web site: Dioceses. www.crockford.org.uk. en. 2017-10-22. 2017-10-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063651/https://www.crockford.org.uk/dioceses. live.
15. Web site: Statistics for Mission 2022 . 2024-05-08 . 2024-02-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240214133949/https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/statisticsformission2022.pdf . live .