The Episcopal Succession of the Church of England

Main List


Note: In this list there are some instances where, entries in registers being wanting, the identity of a Bishop's consecrator is proved by other evidence. This applies in the cases of Odo (927), Elfric (990), Wulfstan (1003), Henry Beaufort (1398) and William Barlow (1536).

The case of Henry Beaufort is particularly problematic. He was consecrated as Bishop of Lincoln on the 14th July 1398, but there seems to be no record of his consecration in any surviving register. The person who had the right to consecrate him was Roger Walden, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had shortly before received the Pallium (giving him the prerogative of consecrating bishops), but unfortunately shortly after Beaufort's consecration Walden was deposed and imprisoned and his Episcopal register was publicly burnt. Since every other register of the period exists, and none mentions Beaufort, we arrive at Walden as his consecrator by a process of elimination. Readers should be aware however that this does not amount to absolute proof of Walden as his consecrator, as it is remotely possible that the consecration could have been performed by another bishop who forgot to put it in his register. Space does not permit the detailed examination of the other cases here, but it may be possible to incorporate this information in the future.

POPE St. NICHOLAS I (consecrated in 858) in 864 consecrated

FORMOSUS as Bishop of Porto (Pope 891) who in 891 consecrated

St. PLEGMUND as Archbishop of Canterbury who in 909 consecrated

ALTHELM as Bishop of Wells (914 Canterbury) who in 914 consecrated

WULFHELM as Bishop of Wells (923 Canterbury) who in 927 consecrated

ODO as Bishop of Ramsbury (942 Canterbury) who in 957 consecrated

St. DUNSTAN as Bishop of Worcester (960 Canterbury) who in 984 consecrated

St. AELPHEGE as Bishop of Winchester (1005 Canterbury) who in 990 consecrated

ELFRIC as Bishop of Ramsbury (995 Canterbury) who in 1003 consecrated

WULFSTAN as Bishop of Worcester and York who on the 13th November 1020 consecrated

ETHELNOTH as Archbishop of Canterbury who in 1035 consecrated

EADSIGE as Bishop of St. Martin's, Canterbury (Archbishop of Canterbury 1038) who on the 3rd April 1043 consecrated

STIGAND as Bishop of Elmham (1052 Canterbury) who in 1058 consecrated

SIWARD as Bishop of Rochester who on the 29th September 1070 assisted William, Bishop of London at the consecration of

Bl. LANFRANC as Archbishop of Canterbury, who in 1070 consecrated

THOMAS as Archbishop of York, who on the 4th December 1094 consecrated

St. ANSELM as Archbishop of Canterbury, who on the 26th July 1108 consecrated

RICHARD DE BELMEIS as Bishop of London, who on the 18th February 1123 consecrated

WILLIAM OF CORBEUIL as Archbishop of Canterbury, who on the 17th November 1129 consecrated

HENRY OF BLOIS as Bishop of Winchester, who on the 3rd June 1162 consecrated

St. THOMAS BECKET as Archbishop of Canterbury, who on the 23rd August 1164 consecrated

ROGER OF GLOUCESTER as Bishop of Worcester, who on the 7th November 1176 assisted Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, at the consecration of

PETER DE LEIA as Bishop of St. David's, who on the 29th September 1185 assisted Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the consecration of

GILBERT GLANVILLE as Bishop of Rochester, who on the 23rd May 1199 assisted Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the consecration of

WILLIAM OF S. MERE L'EGLISE who on the 5th October 1214 assisted Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, at the consecration of

WALTER DE GRAY as Bishop of Worcester (1216 Archbishop of York), who on the 5th December 1249 consecrated

WALTER KIRKHAM as Bishop of Durham, who on the 7th February 1255 consecrated

HENRY as Bishop of Whithern, who on the 9th January 1284 assisted William Wickwane, Archbishop of York, at the consecration of

ANTHONY BECK as Bishop of Durham (1306 Patriarch of Jerusalem) who on the 14th september 1292 consecrated

JOHN OF HALTON as Bishop of Carlisle, who on the 27th June 1322 assisted Thomas Cobham, Bishop of Worcester, at the consecration of

ROGER NORTHBOROUGH as Bishop of Lichfield, who on the 15th July 1330 assisted Henry Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln, at the consecration of

ROBERT WYVIL as Bishop of Salisbury, who on the 12th March 1340 consecrated

RALPH STRATFORD as Bishop of London, who on the 15th May 1346 assisted John Stratford, Archbishop of Canterbury (consecrated ), at the consecration of

WILLIAM EDENDON as Bishop of Winchester, who on the 20th March 1362 consecrated

SIMON SUDBURY as Bishop of London, (later Archbishop of Canterbury) who on the 12th of May 1370 consecrated

THOMAS BRENTINGHAM as Bishop of Exeter, who on the 5th january 1382 consecrated

ROBERT BRAYBROOKE as Bishop of London, who on the 3rd February 1398 consecrated

ROGER WALDEN as Archbishop of Canterbury, who on the 14th July 1398 consecrated

HENRY BEAUFORT as Bishop of Lincoln, who in 1405 became Bishop of Winchester and on the 15th May 1435 consecrated

THOMAS BOURCHIER as Bishop of Worcester (1443 Ely, 1454 Canterbury) who on the 31st January 1479 consecrated

JOHN MORTON as Bishop of Ely (1486 Canterbury) who on the 21st May 1497 consecrated

RICHARD FITZJAMES as Bishop of Rochester (1503 Chichester, 1506 London) who on the 25th September 1502 consecrated

WILLIAM WARHAM as Bishop of London (1503 Cant) who on the 15th May 1521 consecrated

JOHN LONGLANDS as Bishop of Lincoln who on the 30th March 1533 consecrated

THOMAS CRANMER as Archbishop of Canterbury who in June 1536 consecrated

WILLIAM BARLOW as Bishop of St. David's (1549 Bath, 1559 Chichester), who on the 17th December 1559 consecrated

MATTHEW PARKER as Archbishop of Canterbury (see note 3) who, four days later, consecrated

EDMUND GRINDAL as Bishop of London (1570 york, 1576 Canterbury) who on the 21st April 1577 consecrated

JOHN WHITGIFT as Bishop of Worcester (1583 Canterbury) who on the 8th May 1597 consecrated

RICHARD BANCROFT as Bishop of London (1604 Canterbury) who on the 3rd December 1609 consecrated

GEORGE ABBOT as Bishop of Lichfield (1610 London, 1611 Canterbury) who on the 14th December 1617 consecrated

GEORGE MONTAIGNE as Bishop of Lincoln (1621 London, 1628 Durham, 1628 York) who on the 18th November 1621 consecrated

Bl. WILLIAM LAUD as Bishop of St. David's (1626 Bath, 1628 London, 1633 Canterbury) who on the 17th June 1638 consecrated

BRIAN DUPPA as Bishop of Chichester (1641 Salisbury, 1660 Winchester) who on the 28th October 1660 (see note 5) consecrated

GILBERT SHELDON as Bishop of London (1663 Canterbury) who on the 6th December 1674 consecrated

HENRY COMPTON as Bishop of Oxford (1675 London) who on the 27th January 1678 consecrated

WILLIAM SANCROFT as Archbishop of Canterbury who on the 8th November 1685 consecrated

JONATHAN TRELAWNEY as Bishop of Bristol (1689 Exeter, 1707 Winchester) who on the 15th May 1715 consecrated

JOHN POTTER as Bishop of Oxford (1737 Canterbury) who on the 15th January 1738 consecrated

THOMAS HERRING as Bishop of Bangor (1743 York, 1747 Canterbury) who on the 24th April 1748 consecrated

ROBERT HAY DRUMMOND as Bishop of St. Asaph (1761 Salisbuty, 1761 York) who on the 17th February 1771 consecrated

WILLIAM MARKHAM as Bishop of Chester (1777 York) who on the 6th November 1791 consecrated

EDWARD VENABLES VERNON HARCOURT as Bishop of Carlisle (1808 York) who on the 14th September 1828 consecrated

JOHN BIRD SUMNER as Bishop of Chester (1848 Canterbury) who on the 23rd November 1856 consecrated

ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL TAIT as Bishop of London (1868 Canterbury) who on the 25th April 1877 consecrated

EDWARD WHITE BENSON as Bishop of Truro (1893 Canterbury) who on the 25th April 1891 consecrated

RANDALL THOMAS DAVIDSON as Bishop of Rochester (1895 Winchester, 1903 Canterbury) who on the 18th October 1919 consecrated

CYRIL GARBETT as Bishop of Southwark (1932 Winchester, 1942 York) who on the 29th September 1952 consecrated

ARTHUR MICHAEL RAMSEY as Bishop of Durham (York, Canterbury) who on the 24th February 1970 consecrated

ROBERT ALEXANDER KENNEDY RUNCIE as Bishop of St Alban's (1980 Canterbury) who in 1987 consecrated

GEORGE LEONARD CAREY as Bishop of Bath and Wells (1991 Canterbury)


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This page is Copyright Matthew Duckett 1995