Diocese of Exeter
| Diocese of Exeter Church of England | |
| Province: | Canterbury |
|---|---|
 | |
 Exeter Cathedral | |
| Cathedral: | Exeter Cathedral |
| Organisation | |
| Suffragan bishop(s): |
Bishop of Plymouth, Bishop of Crediton |
| Archdeaconries: | Barnstaple, Exeter, Plymouth, Totnes |
| No. of parishes: | 506 |
| No. of churches: | 625 |
| Details | |
| Website: | 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, 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[2]
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.[3]
Bishops of Exeter
Pre-Reformation
| Pre-Reformation Bishops of Exeter | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1050 | 1072 | Leofric | The first bishop who had transferred the sees of Crediton and Cornwall to Exeter |
| 1072 | 1103 | Osbern FitzOsbern | |
| 1107 | 1138 | William Warelwast | |
| 1138 | 1155 | Robert Warelwast | |
| 1155 | 1160 | Robert of Chichester | |
| 1161 | 1184 | Bartholomew Iscanus | |
| 1186 | 1191 | John the Chanter | |
| 1194 | 1206 | Henry Marshal | |
| 1206 | 1214 | See vacant | Due to papal interdict against King John's realms. |
| 1214 | 1223 | Simon of Apulia | |
| 1224 | 1244 | William Briwere | Also recorded as William Brewer |
| 1245 | 1257 | Richard Blund | Also recorded as Richard Blundy |
| 1258 | 1280 | Walter Branscombe | Also recorded as Walter Bronescombe |
| 1280 | 1291 | Peter Quinel | Also recorded as Peter de Quivel or Quivil |
| 1291 | 1307 | Thomas Bitton | Also recorded as Thomas de Bytton |
| 1308 | 1326 | Walter de Stapledon | |
| 1326 | 1327 | James Berkeley | |
| 1327 | John Godeley | Also recorded as John Godele. Elected, but quashed. | |
| 1327 | 1369 | John Grandisson | |
| 1370 | 1394 | Thomas de Brantingham | Also recorded as Thomas Brantyngham |
| 1395 | 1419 | Edmund Stafford | |
| 1419 | John Catterick | Also recorded as John Ketterick. Translated from Lichfield. | |
| 1420 | 1455 | Edmund Lacey | Also recorded as Edmund Lacy. Translated from Hereford. |
| 1455 | 1456 | John Hales | Appointed, but resigned before consecration. |
| 1458 | 1465 | George Neville | Translated to York |
| 1465 | 1478 | John Booth | |
| 1478 | 1487 | Peter Courtenay | Translated to Winchester |
| 1487 | 1492 | Richard Foxe | Translated to Bath and Wells |
| 1493 | 1495 | Oliver King | Translated to Bath and Wells |
| 1496 | 1502 | Richard Redman | Translated from St Asaph; later translated to Ely |
| 1502 | 1504 | John Arundel | Translated from Lichfield |
| 1505 | 1519 | Hugh Oldham | |
During the Reformation
| Bishops of Exeter during the Reformation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1519 | 1551 | John Vesey (resigned) | |
| 1551 | 1553 | Myles Coverdale | |
| 1553 | 1554 | John Vesey (restored) | |
| 1555 | 1560 | James Turberville | |
From the Reformation
| Bishops of Exeter since the Reformation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1560 | 1571 | William Alley | Also recorded as William Alley |
| 1571 | 1578 | William Bradbridge | |
| 1579 | 1594 | John Woolton | |
| 1595 | 1597 | Gervase Babington | Translated to Worcester |
| 1598 | 1621 | William Cotton | |
| 1621 | 1626 | Valentine Cary | |
| 1627 | 1641 | Joseph Hall | Translated to Norwich |
| 1642 | 1659 | Ralph Brownrigg | |
| 1660 | 1662 | John Gauden | Translated to Worcester |
| 1662 | 1667 | Seth Ward | Translated to Salisbury |
| 1667 | 1676 | Anthony Sparrow | Translated to Norwich |
| 1676 | 1688 | Thomas Lamplugh | Translated to York |
| 1689 | 1707 | Sir Jonathan Trelawney Bt | Translated from Bristol; later translated to Winchester |
| 1708 | 1716 | Ofspring Blackall | |
| 1717 | 1724 | Lancelot Blackburne | Translated to York |
| 1724 | 1742 | Stephen Weston | |
| 1742 | 1746 | Nicholas Clagett | Translated from St David's |
| 1747 | 1762 | George Lavington | |
| 1762 | 1777 | Frederick Keppel | |
| 1778 | 1792 | John Ross | |
| 1792[4] | 1796 | William Buller | |
| 1797 | 1803 | Reginald Courtenay | Translated from Bristol |
| 1803 | 1807 | John Fisher | Translated to Salisbury |
| 1807 | 1820 | George Pelham | Translated from Bristol; later translated to Lincoln |
| 1820 | 1830 | William Carey | Translated to St Asaph |
| 1830 | 1830 | Christopher Bethell | Translated from Gloucester; later translated to Bangor |
| 1831 | 1869 | Henry Phillpotts | |
| 1869 | 1885 | Frederick Temple | Translated to London |
| 1885 | 1900 | Edward Bickersteth | |
| 1901 | 1903 | Herbert Edward Ryle | Translated to Winchester |
| 1903 | 1916 | Archibald Robertson | |
| 1916 | 1936 | Lord William Cecil | |
| 1936 | 1948 | Charles Curzon | |
| 1949 | 1973 | Robert Mortimer | |
| 1973 | 1985 | Eric Mercer | |
| 1985 | 1999 | Hewlett Thompson | |
| 1999 | 30 June 2013 | Michael Langrish | |
Outside links
References
- ↑ Crediton Festival 2009. Retrieved on 5 June 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Exeter: Ecclesiastical History. Retrieved on 5 June 2008.
- ↑ "Exeter Diocese: Resources". http://www.theclergydatabase.org.uk/reference/resources/dioceses/exeter/dioc008.html. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
- ↑ London Gazette: no. 13457. p. 694. 8 September 1792.
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
| Dioceses of the Church of England |
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Province of Canterbury: |