Historical development of Church of England dioceses
This article traces the historical development of the dioceses and cathedrals of the Church of England. It is customary in England to name each diocese after the city where its cathedral is located. Occasionally, when the bishop's seat has been moved from one city to another, the diocese may retain both names, for example Bath and Wells. More recently, where a cathedral is in a small or little-known town or city, the diocesan name has been changed to include the name of a nearby larger city: thus the cathedral in Southwell now serves the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, and Ripon Cathedral was in Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014. Cathedrals, like other churches, are dedicated to a particular saint or holy object, or Christ himself, but are commonly referred to by the name of the city where they stand. A cathedral is, simply, the church where the bishop has his chair or "cathedra".
The forty-two dioceses of the Church of England are administrative territorial units each governed by a bishop. Forty-one dioceses cover England, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, and a small part of Wales. One diocese, the Diocese in Europe, is also a part of the Church of England, and covers the whole of mainland Europe, the countries of Morocco and Turkey, and the territory of the former Soviet Union.
The structure of the dioceses within the Church of England was initially inherited from the Catholic Church as part of the English Reformation. During the Reformation, a number of new dioceses were founded. No new English or Welsh dioceses 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.
From 1787, the Anglican church also erected 41 dioceses outside these isles ; these were part of the Church of England until they were separated from the home Church in 1863. From 1801 until 1871, the dioceses of Ireland were also part of the United Church of England and Ireland. In 1920, the Welsh dioceses were separated to form the Church in Wales.
The last dioceses were created in 1927. The 42 dioceses are divided between two Provinces: the Province of Canterbury and the Province of York. The archbishops of Canterbury and York have pastoral oversight over the bishops within their province, along with certain other rights and responsibilities.
History
The history of the cathedrals in Great Britain differs somewhat from that of their European continental counterparts. British cathedrals have always been fewer in number than those of Italy, France, and other parts of Europe, while the buildings themselves have tended to be much larger. While France, at the time of the French Revolution, had 136 cathedrals, England had 27. Because of a ruling that no cathedral could be built in a village, any town in which a cathedral was located was elevated to city status, regardless of its size. To this day several large English cathedrals are located in small "cathedral cities", notably Wells and Ely Cathedrals, both of which rank among the greatest works of English Medieval architecture.Early organisation
In earlier times, populations were sparsely spread and towns were few. The population of the kingdom of England in the 11th century is estimated at between one and two million, with Lincolnshire, East Anglia, and East Kent the most densely populated areas; in other parts of the country many villages had been razed by the conquest armies. Instead of exercising jurisdiction over geographical areas, many of the bishops were linked to tribes or peoples, as the bishops of the South Saxons, the West Saxons, the Somersætas, etc. The cathedra of such a bishop was often migratory.In 1075 a council was held in London, under the presidency of Archbishop Lanfranc, which, reciting the decrees of the council of Sardica held in 347 and that of Laodicea held in 360 on this matter, ordered the bishop of the South Saxons to remove his see from Selsey to Chichester; the Wiltshire and Dorset bishop to remove his cathedra from Sherborne to Old Sarum, and the Mercian bishop, whose cathedral was then at Lichfield, to transfer it to Chester. Traces of the tribal and migratory system may still be noted in the designations of the Irish see of Meath and Ossory, the cathedral church of which is at Kilkenny. Some of the Scottish sees were also migratory.
Late Middle Ages
Between 1075 and the 15th century, the cathedrals of England were almost evenly divided between those ruled by secular canons headed by a dean and those ruled by monastic orders headed by a prior, all of which were Benedictine, except Carlisle, which was Augustinian. Two cathedrals, Bath and Coventry, shared their sees with Wells and Lichfield, respectively.Reformation
The entire structure of the monastic and cathedral system was overthrown and reconstituted during the Reformation. Cathedrals which were once Roman Catholic came under the governance of the Church of England.All the English monastic cathedral chapters were dissolved by Henry VIII and, with the exceptions of Bath and Coventry, were re-founded by him as churches of secular chapters, with a dean as the head, and a certain number of canons ranging from twelve at Canterbury Cathedral and Durham Cathedral to four at Carlisle Cathedral, and with certain subordinate officers as minor canons, gospellers, epistolers, etc. The precentorship in these churches of the "New Foundation", as they are called, is not, as in the secular churches of the "Old Foundation", a dignity, but is merely an office held by one of the minor canons.
Henry VIII also created six new cathedrals from old monastic establishments, in each case governed by secular canons. Of these, Westminster did not retain its cathedral status. Four more of England's large historic churches were later to become cathedrals: Southwell, Southwark, Ripon, and St Albans Abbey.
Roles within the Cathedral
Details of cathedrals and their foundation
Ancient cathedrals
The medieval Church of England was organised into 17 dioceses. About half of the diocesan cathedrals were also monasteries, with the prior serving double duty as dean of the cathedral. The rest were served by a college of "secular" canons – non-monastic priests living under no fixed rule of life. Both types often had Saxon foundations. Dioceses which exist in the Church of England today are indicated in bold type.Pre-Conquest
Post-conquest
The Henrician Reorganisation
After Henry VIII's break with the Pope and the dissolution of the monasteries, the formerly monastic cathedrals were "re-founded" with secular canons. Furthermore, a number of new dioceses were formed, using some of the largest and finest of the other dissolved monasteries as cathedrals. Together, these two groups — the old monastic cathedrals and the new sees — were known as cathedrals of the New Foundation; the old cathedrals which had always been served by secular canons were known as those of the Old Foundation. Dioceses which exist in the Church of England today are indicated in bold type.| Diocese | Founded | Notes |
| Westminster | 17 December 1540 | Its cathedral was Westminster Abbey; but the diocese only existed 1540–50. From 1550–56, Westminster Abbey was a second cathedral, along with St Paul's, for the diocese of London. Since then the Abbey has not been a cathedral, but a royal peculiar, in which capacity the Archbishop of Canterbury still uses it for consecrations of bishops. |
| Chester | 4 August 1541 | St Werburgh's Abbey, an 11th-century Benedictine abbey was dissolved and made the new diocese's cathedral. |
| Gloucester | 3 September 1541 | St Peter's Abbey became the new diocese's cathedral. It had been in Benedictine hands since the 11th century. See dissolved and reunited to Worcester, 1552; and re-erected, 1554. |
| Peterborough | 4 September 1541 | The new cathedral had been a Benedictine abbey since the 10th century. |
| Bristol | 4 June 1542 | The 12th century Augustinian abbey was dissolved and became the new diocese's cathedral. |
| Oxford | 1 September 1542 | The cathedral was initially at Osney Abbey, a 12th-century Augustinian abbey. In 1545, the see was transferred to the chapel of Christ Church, Oxford University |
Colonial dioceses
During the British colonial era, the Anglican religion was exported to the colonies. From 1787 onwards, Church of England dioceses were founded in the colonies. A structure of provinces and metropolitans developed until, in 1863, the imperial Privy Council ruled that the English church hierarchy had no legal status in the colonies. Immediately prior to that point, the United Church of England and Ireland had a total of 82 dioceses worldwide.From 1863 onwards, Anglican colonial dioceses have been separate from and independent of the English church. Exceptionally, the Archbishop of Canterbury has retained some metropolitan jurisdictions outside England. Dioceses are listed by their name at creation and their present country, with only their cathedral between creation and independence.
| Diocese | Year | Notes | Cathedral |
| Nova Scotia, Canada | 1787 | First colonial diocese – originally covered all British North America. Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island since 1999. | St Luke's Pro-Cathedral, Halifax |
| Quebec, Canada | 1793 | Created from Nova Scotia diocese. | Holy Trinity, Quebec City |
| Calcutta, India | 1814 | Jurisdiction originally included all of the Indian subcontinent and Australasia. | St. Paul's, Kolkata |
| Barbados | 1824 | Originally one of two Caribbean dioceses. | St Michael and All Angels, Bridgetown |
| Jamaica | 1824 | Originally one of two Caribbean dioceses. Now the West Indies Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. | St. Jago de la Vega, Spanish Town |
| Madras, India | 1835 | Created from Calcutta diocese. At its creation, Calcutta gained metropolitan authority over all its former jurisdiction. | St. George's, Chennai |
| Australia | 1836 | Created from Calcutta diocese. Originally covered all of Australia and New Zealand, etc. Now the metropolitan Diocese of Sydney. | St Andrew's, Sydney |
| Bombay, India | 1837 | Created from Calcutta diocese. Now the CNI Diocese of Mumbai. | St. Thomas, Mumbai |
| Newfoundland, Canada | 1839 | Created from Nova Scotia diocese from its creation to the present day. | — |
| Colombo, Ceylon | 1845 | Created from Madras diocese and originally subject to the metropolitan bishop of Calcutta. Now extraprovincial to the Archbishop of Canterbury. | — |
| Fredericton, Canada | 1845 | Created from Nova Scotia diocese. | Christ Church, Fredericton |
| Adelaide, Australia | 1847 | Created from the first split of the Diocese of Australia. Adelaide and Melbourne are now metropolitan archiepiscopal sees. | Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral, Adelaide |
| Melbourne, Australia | 1847 | Created from the first split of the Diocese of Australia. Adelaide and Melbourne are now metropolitan archiepiscopal sees. | St James Old Cathedral, Melbourne |
| Newcastle, Australia | 1847 | Created from the first split of the Diocese of Australia. Adelaide and Melbourne are now metropolitan archiepiscopal sees. | old Christ Church, Newcastle |
| Cape Town, South Africa | 1847 | Now primate, metropolitan and sole archbishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. | old St. George's, Cape Town |
| Rupert's Land, Canada | 1849 | Originally covered the area of the current Ecclesiastical Province of the Northern Lights. | St. John, Winnipeg |
| Victoria, Hong Kong | 1849 | Originally covered all South China and Hong Kong. First in Canterbury province, then in China, split in 1998 into the three dioceses of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui. | St. John's, Hong Kong |
| Montreal, Canada | 1850 | Created from Quebec diocese. | old Christ Church, Montreal |
| Grahamstown, South Africa | 1853 | Split from Cape Town diocese. Cape Town became the metropolitan see. | SS Michael & George, Grahamstown |
| Natal, South Africa | 1853 | Split from Cape Town diocese. Cape Town became the metropolitan see. | St Peter's, Pietermaritzburg |
| Mauritius | 1854 | Created from Colombo diocese. | St James's, Port Louis |
| Labuan, Malaysia | 1855 | Created from Calcutta diocese. | old St. Thomas, Kuching |
| Christchurch, New Zealand | 1856 | Created from the first split of the New Zealand diocese. That diocese became Auckland diocese and its bishop metropolitan over all New Zealand. | — |
| Perth, Australia | 1856 | Created from Adelaide diocese. Metropolitan archbishop over North West Australia since 1914. | old St George's, Perth |
| Huron, Canada | 1857 | Created from Toronto diocese. | St Paul's, London |
| Brisbane, Australia | 1858 | Created from the Australian Newcastle diocese. Metropolitan archbishop over Queensland since 1905. | old St John's Pro-Cathedral, Brisbane |
| Nelson, New Zealand | 1858 | Created from the New Zealand diocese. | old Christ Church, Nelson |
| Waiapu, New Zealand | 1858 | Created from the New Zealand diocese. | — |
| Wellington, New Zealand | 1858 | Created from the New Zealand diocese. | — |
| British Columbia, Canada | 1859 | Created from Rupert's Land diocese. | — |
| St Helena | 1859 | Created from Cape Town diocese. Now in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. | St Paul's, Saint Helena |
| Nassau, Bahamas | 1861 | Created from the Diocese of Jamaica. | Christ Church, Nassau |
| Ontario, Canada | 1862 | Created from Toronto diocese. | St. George's, Kingston |
| Goulburn, Australia | 1863 | Created by letters patent from Queen Victoria on 14 March 1863, from Sydney diocese. Now the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. | — |
| Grafton & Armidale, Australia | 1863 | Created by letters patent from Queen Victoria in March 1863, from the Australian Newcastle diocese. Now the two dioceses of Armidale and of Grafton. | — |