View source for Diocese of Exeter

{{Infobox diocese
|name=Exeter
|church=Church of England
|province=Canterbury
|picture=Cathedral of Exeter edit.jpg
|picture caption=Exeter Cathedral
|arms=Diocese of Exeter arms.svg
|parishes=506
|churches=625
|bishop=
|cathedral=Exeter Cathedral
|archdeaconries=Barnstaple, Exeter, Plymouth, Totnes
|suffragans=Bishop of Plymouth, Bishop of Crediton
|website=[http://www.exeter.anglican.org/ exeter.anglican.org]
}}
The '''Diocese of Exeter''' is one of the largest of the dioceses of the [[Church of England]] and covers [[Devon]], excluding the parishes west of the [[River Tamar]]. The Cathedral is Exeter Cathedral]] is the seat of the diocesan [[Bishop of Exeter]].  It is part of the [[Province of Canterbury]].

==Exeter Cathedral==
'''The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter''', commonly called Exeter Cathedral, is at the heart of the City of Exeter.  The Cathedral Close provides a broad green space in the city centre surrounded by historic buildings and lanes.  Although the Luftwaffe mauled Exeter cruelly during the War, the cathedral and its immediate surrounds largely survived.

==History==
The Diocese of Crediton was created out of the Diocese of Sherborne in AD 909 to serve [[Devon]].<ref>[http://www.creditonfestival2009.co.uk/index.html Crediton Festival 2009]. Retrieved on 5 June 2008.</ref> In that age, Exeter was the largest town of the county, but Crediton was chosen as the site of an important monastery, and it was also the birthplace of Saint Boniface.<ref name=exeterecchisory>[http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Exeter/ExeterHist1850/Ecclesiastical.html Exeter: Ecclesiastical History]. Retrieved on 5 June 2008.</ref> The Diocese of Saint Germans, which served the Cornish, was absorbed at some point later in the century.

In 1046, Leofric became the Bishop of Crediton: following his appointment he decided that the see should be moved to the larger, more culturally significant and defensible walled town of [[Exeter]]. In 1050, King Edward the Confessor authorised that Exeter was to be the seat of the bishop for Devon and Cornwall and that a cathedral was to be built there for the bishop's throne. Thus, Leofric became the last diocesan Bishop of Crediton and the first Bishop of Exeter.<ref name="exeterecchisory"/>

The diocese remained unchanged until 1876, when the Archdeaconry of Cornwall became the independent [[Diocese of Truro]].

==Organisation==
The diocese is divided into four archdeaconries. The Bishop of Crediton oversees the Archdeaconries of Barnstaple and Exeter. The Bishop of Plymouth oversees the Archdeaconries of Plymouth and Totnes.

*The '''Archdeaconry of Exeter''' contains the Deaneries of Aylesbeare, Cadbury, Christianity (Exeter), Cullompton, Honiton, Kenn, Ottery, Tiverton
*The '''Archdeaconry of Totnes''' contains the Deaneries of Moreton, Newton Abbot and Ipplepen, Okehampton, Torbay, Totnes, Woodleigh
*The '''Archdeaconry of Barnstaple''' contains the Deaneries of Barnstaple, Hartland, Holsworthy, Shirwell, South Molton, Torrington
*The '''Archdeaconry of Plymouth''' contains the Deaneries of Ivybridge, Devonport, Moorside, Sutton, Tavistock

==Coat of arms==
The arms of the diocese are Gules two keys in saltire Or a sword hilt downwards in pale Argent with hilt Or surmounted by a mitre. The charges are emblems of Saints Peter (keys) and Paul (sword) who are the patron saints of the cathedral.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theclergydatabase.org.uk/reference/resources/dioceses/exeter/dioc008.html |title=Exeter Diocese: Resources|accessdate=2011-04-20}}</ref>

==Bishops of Exeter==
{{colwidths|10|10|30|50}}
===Pre-Reformation===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:95%;" border="1" cellpadding="2"
! colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;"|Pre-Reformation Bishops of Exeter 
|-valign="center"
! {{cw|1}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |From
! {{cw|2}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Until
! {{cw|3}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Incumbent
! {{cw|5}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Notes
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1050 ||align="center"|1072 ||'''Leofric''' ||The first bishop who had transferred the sees of Crediton and Cornwall to Exeter
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1072 ||align="center"|1103 ||'''Osbern FitzOsbern''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1107 ||align="center"|1138 ||'''William Warelwast''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1138 ||align="center"|1155 ||'''Robert Warelwast''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1155 ||align="center"|1160 ||'''Robert of Chichester''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1161 ||align="center"|1184 ||'''Bartholomew Iscanus''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1186 ||align="center"|1191 ||'''John the Chanter''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1194 ||align="center"|1206 ||'''Henry Marshal''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1206 ||align="center"|1214 || ''See vacant'' || Due to papal interdict against King John's realms.
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1214 ||align="center"|1223 ||'''Simon of Apulia''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1224 ||align="center"|1244 ||'''William Briwere''' ||Also recorded as William Brewer
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1245 ||align="center"|1257 ||'''Richard Blund''' ||Also recorded as Richard Blundy
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1258 ||align="center"|1280 ||'''Walter Branscombe''' ||Also recorded as Walter Bronescombe
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1280 ||align="center"|1291 ||'''Peter Quinel''' || Also recorded as Peter de Quivel or Quivil
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1291 ||align="center"|1307 ||'''Thomas Bitton''' ||Also recorded as Thomas de Bytton
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1308 ||align="center"|1326 ||'''Walter de Stapledon''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1326 ||align="center"|1327 ||'''James Berkeley''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center" colspan="2"|''1327'' ||''John Godeley'' ||Also recorded as John Godele. Elected, but quashed.
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1327 ||align="center"|1369 ||'''John Grandisson''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1370 ||align="center"|1394 ||'''Thomas de Brantingham''' ||Also recorded as Thomas Brantyngham
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1395 ||align="center"|1419 ||'''Edmund Stafford''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|colspan=2 align="center"|1419 ||'''John Catterick''' ||Also recorded as John Ketterick. Translated from [[Diocese of Lichfield|Lichfield]].
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1420 ||align="center"|1455 ||'''Edmund Lacey''' ||Also recorded as Edmund Lacy. Translated from [[Diocese of Hereford|Hereford]]. 
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|''1455'' ||align="center"|''1456'' ||''John Hales'' ||Appointed, but resigned before consecration.
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1458 ||align="center"|1465 ||'''George Neville''' ||Translated to [[Province of York|York]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1465 ||align="center"|1478 ||'''John Booth''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1478 ||align="center"|1487 ||'''Peter Courtenay''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Winchester|Winchester]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1487 ||align="center"|1492 ||'''Richard Foxe''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Bath and Wells|Bath and Wells]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1493 ||align="center"|1495 ||'''Oliver King''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Bath and Wells|Bath and Wells]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1496 ||align="center"|1502 ||'''Richard Redman''' ||Translated from [[Diocese of St Asaph|St Asaph]]; later translated to [[Diocese of Ely|Ely]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1502 ||align="center"|1504 ||'''John Arundel''' ||Translated from [[Diocese of Lichfield|Lichfield]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1505 ||align="center"|1519 ||'''Hugh Oldham''' ||
|}

===During the Reformation===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:95%;" border="1" cellpadding="2"
! colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;"|Bishops of Exeter during the Reformation
|-valign="center"
! {{cw|1}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |From
! {{cw|2}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Until
! {{cw|3}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Incumbent
! {{cw|5}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Notes
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1519 ||align="center"|1551 ||'''John Vesey''' (resigned) ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1551 ||align="center"|1553 ||'''Myles Coverdale''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white"
|align="center"|1553 ||align="center"|1554 ||'''John Vesey''' (restored) ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1555 ||align="center"|1560 ||'''James Turberville''' ||
|}

===From the Reformation===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:95%;" border="1" cellpadding="2"
! colspan="4" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;"|Bishops of Exeter since the Reformation
|-valign="center"
! {{cw|1}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |From
! {{cw|2}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Until
! {{cw|3}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Incumbent
! {{cw|5}} style="background-color:#D4B1BB" |Notes
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1560 ||align="center"|1571 ||'''William Alley''' ||Also recorded as William Alley
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1571 ||align="center"|1578 ||'''William Bradbridge''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1579 ||align="center"|1594 ||'''John Woolton''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1595 ||align="center"|1597 ||'''Gervase Babington''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Worcester|Worcester]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1598 ||align="center"|1621 ||'''William Cotton''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1621 ||align="center"|1626 ||'''Valentine Cary''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1627 ||align="center"|1641 ||'''Joseph Hall''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Norwich|Norwich]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1642 ||align="center"|1659 ||'''Ralph Brownrigg''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1660 ||align="center"|1662 ||'''John Gauden''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Worcester|Worcester]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1662 ||align="center"|1667 ||'''Seth Ward''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Salisbury|Salisbury]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1667 ||align="center"|1676 ||'''Anthony Sparrow''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Norwich|Norwich]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1676 ||align="center"|1688 ||'''Thomas Lamplugh''' ||Translated to [[Province of York|York]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1689 ||align="center"|1707 ||'''Sir Jonathan Trelawney''' Bt ||Translated from [[Diocese of Bristol|Bristol]]; later translated to [[Diocese of Winchester|Winchester]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1708 ||align="center"|1716 ||'''Ofspring Blackall''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1717 ||align="center"|1724 ||'''Lancelot Blackburne''' ||Translated to [[Province of York|York]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1724 ||align="center"|1742 ||'''Stephen Weston''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1742 ||align="center"|1746 ||'''Nicholas Clagett''' ||Translated from [[Diocese of St David's|St David's]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1747 ||align="center"|1762 ||'''George Lavington''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1762 ||align="center"|1777 ||'''Frederick Keppel''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1778 ||align="center"|1792 ||'''John Ross''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1792<ref>{{LondonGazette | issue=13457 | startpage=694 | date=8 September 1792}}</ref> ||align="center"|1796 ||'''William Buller''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1797 ||align="center"|1803 ||'''Reginald Courtenay''' ||Translated from [[Diocese of Bristol|Bristol]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1803 ||align="center"|1807 ||'''John Fisher''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Salisbury|Salisbury]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1807 ||align="center"|1820 ||'''George Pelham''' ||Translated from [[Diocese of Bristol|Bristol]]; later translated to [[Diocese of Lincoln|Lincoln]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1820 ||align="center"|1830 ||'''William Carey''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of St Asaph|St Asaph]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1830 ||align="center"|1830 ||'''Christopher Bethell''' ||Translated from [[Diocese of Gloucester|Gloucester]]; later translated to [[Diocese of Bangor|Bangor]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1831 ||align="center"|1869 ||'''Henry Phillpotts''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1869 ||align="center"|1885 ||'''Frederick Temple''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of London|London]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1885 ||align="center"|1900 ||'''Edward Bickersteth''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1901 ||align="center"|1903 ||'''Herbert Edward Ryle''' ||Translated to [[Diocese of Winchester|Winchester]]
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1903 ||align="center"|1916 ||'''Archibald Robertson''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1916 ||align="center"|1936 ||'''Lord William Cecil''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1936 ||align="center"|1948 ||'''Charles Curzon''' || 
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1949 ||align="center"|1973 ||'''Robert Mortimer''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1973 ||align="center"|1985 ||'''Eric Mercer''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="#F7F0F2"
|align="center"|1985 ||align="center"|1999 ||'''Hewlett Thompson''' ||
|-valign=top bgcolor="white" 
|align="center"|1999 ||align="center"|30 June 2013 ||'''Michael Langrish''' ||
|}

==Outside links==
*[http://www.exeter.anglican.org/ Diocese of Exeter]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Books===
*Oliver, George (1846) ''Monasticon Dioecesis Exoniensis: being a collection of records and instruments illustrating the ancient conventual, collegiate, and eleemosynary foundations, in the Counties of Cornwall and Devon, with historical notices, and a supplement, comprising a list of the dedications of churches in the Diocese, an amended edition of the taxation of Pope Nicholas, and an abstract of the Chantry Rolls''; [with supplement and index]. Exeter: P. A. Hannaford, 1846, 1854, 1889

{{Church of England diocese}}