The
Diocese of Manchester is a
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
dioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
in the
Province of YorkThe Province of York is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England, and consists of 14 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to a Archbishopric in 735 AD: Ecgbert of York was the first archbishop...
, England. Based in the city of
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
, the diocese covers much of the county of
Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.56 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and...
and small areas of the counties of
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
and
CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
.
The Diocese of Manchester was founded in 1847, having previously been part of the
Diocese of ChesterThe Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
, and originally covered the historic hundreds of
SalfordThe hundred of Salford was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. It was sometimes known as Salfordshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of Salford...
,
BlackburnBlackburnshire was a hundred, or ancient division of the county of Lancashire, in northern England. It was centred on Blackburn, and was divided into the four forests of Accrington, Pendle, Trawden and Rossendale....
,
LeylandThe Leyland hundred, or Leylandshire, was a hundred of the English county of Lancashire. It covered Brindle, Chorley, Croston, Eccleston, Leyland, Penwortham and Standish....
and
AmoundernessAmounderness is an area of North West England. In its most recent incarnation it was a hundred of Lancashire. Previously the name had been used for territories now in Lancashire and north of the River Ribble that had been included in the Domesday Book's Yorkshire section.The name is first recorded...
. However, with the foundation of the
Diocese of BlackburnThe Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley. ...
in 1926, which took the three northern hundreds, Manchester was left with just the hundred of Salford.
The
Diocese of Manchester is a
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
dioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
in the
Province of YorkThe Province of York is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England, and consists of 14 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to a Archbishopric in 735 AD: Ecgbert of York was the first archbishop...
, England. Based in the city of
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
, the diocese covers much of the county of
Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.56 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and...
and small areas of the counties of
LancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Lancashire County Council is based in Preston. However, Lancaster is still considered to be the county town...
and
CheshireCheshire ; also known, archaically, as the County of Chester) is a ceremonial county in North West England. The traditional county town is the city of Chester, although Cheshire's largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Widnes, Runcorn, Macclesfield,...
.
History
The Diocese of Manchester was founded in 1847, having previously been part of the
Diocese of ChesterThe Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
, and originally covered the historic hundreds of
SalfordThe hundred of Salford was an ancient division of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. It was sometimes known as Salfordshire, the name alluding to its judicial centre being the township of Salford...
,
BlackburnBlackburnshire was a hundred, or ancient division of the county of Lancashire, in northern England. It was centred on Blackburn, and was divided into the four forests of Accrington, Pendle, Trawden and Rossendale....
,
LeylandThe Leyland hundred, or Leylandshire, was a hundred of the English county of Lancashire. It covered Brindle, Chorley, Croston, Eccleston, Leyland, Penwortham and Standish....
and
AmoundernessAmounderness is an area of North West England. In its most recent incarnation it was a hundred of Lancashire. Previously the name had been used for territories now in Lancashire and north of the River Ribble that had been included in the Domesday Book's Yorkshire section.The name is first recorded...
. However, with the foundation of the
Diocese of BlackburnThe Diocese of Blackburn is a Church of England diocese, covering much of Lancashire, created in 1926 from part of the Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese includes the towns of Blackburn, Blackpool, Burnley, and the cities of Lancaster, and Preston, as well as a large part of the Ribble Valley. ...
in 1926, which took the three northern hundreds, Manchester was left with just the hundred of Salford. The final boundary change to the diocese was by annexing
WythenshaweWythenshawe is a district in the south of the city of Manchester in North West England.Until 1931 the district formed a part of the administrative county of Cheshire....
from the
Diocese of ChesterThe Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...
.
At the same time the diocese was founded, the
collegiate churchIn Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
in Manchester was elevated to
cathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
status to become the
Cathedral Church of St Mary, St Denys and St GeorgeManchester Cathedral is a Medieval church located on Victoria Street in central Manchester and is the seat of the Bishop of Manchester. The cathedral's official name is The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George in Manchester...
where the bishop's throne (
CathedraA cathedra is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...
) is located.
Archdeaconries and deaneries
The diocese is divided into four
archdeaconA position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
ries, each divided into a number of
deaneriesDeanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Catholic Church and the Church of England. They see over the church and its contents.- Catholic usage :...
.
Archdeaconry of Manchester
- Deanery of Ardwick
Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England. It is approximately one mile south-east of Manchester City Centre.By the early 19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become...
- Deanery of Heaton
The Four Heatons are four affluent suburbs to the northwest of Stockport, bordering the city of Manchester, England. They are: Heaton Norris, Heaton Moor, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Chapel...
- Deanery of Hulme
Hulme is an inner city area and electoral ward of Manchester, in North West England. Located immediately south of Manchester City Centre, it is an area with significant industrial heritage....
- Deanery of North Manchester
North Manchester was, from 1896 to 1916, a township within the Poor Law Union of Prestwich, and the City of Manchester, England. North Manchester was a local government sub-district used for the administration of Poor Law legistlation; it was an inter-parish unit for social security...
- Deanery of Stretford
Stretford is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, in Greater Manchester, England. Lying on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, it is to the southwest of Manchester city centre, south-southwest of Salford and northeast of Altrincham...
- Deanery of Withington
Withington is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south of Manchester city centre, about south of Fallowfield, north-east of Didsbury, and east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near the centre-to-south edges of the Greater Manchester Urban Area; in the...
Archdeaconry of Bolton
- Deanery of Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Situated close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
- Deanery of Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester. Bury is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, of which Bury is the...
- Deanery of Deane
Deane is an area of Bolton, in Greater Manchester, England. It is around to the northwest of the city of Manchester.Historically a part of Lancashire, the Parish of Deane was once a parish within the hundred of Salford and covered roughly half of the present Metropolitan Borough of...
- Deanery of Radcliffe
Radcliffe is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground in the Irwell Valley, along the course of the River Irwell, south-west of Bury and north-northwest of Manchester. Radcliffe is contiguous with the town of Whitefield to the...
and PrestwichPrestwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies close to the River Irwell, north of Salford, to the north-northwest of the city of Manchester, and south of Bury....
- Deanery of Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centred around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
- Deanery of Walmsley
Archdeanonry of Rochdale
- Deanery of Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
- Deanery of Heywood
Heywood is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the south bank of the River Roch and is east of Bury, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north of the city of Manchester. The town of Middleton lies to the south, whilst to the north is the...
and MiddletonMiddleton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Irk, south-southeast of Rochdale, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester...
- Deanery of Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
- Deanery of Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
East
- Deanery of Oldham West
Archdeanonry of Salford
- Deanery of Eccles
Eccles is a town in the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, west of Salford and west of Manchester city centre...
- Deanery of Leigh
Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It is south east of Wigan, and west of Manchester. Leigh is situated on low lying land to the north west of Chat Moss....
- Deanery of Salford
The City of Salford , is a local government district of Greater Manchester, England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Swinton, Walkden, Eccles, and Irlam which apart from...
Bishop of Manchester
The
Bishop of Manchester is the
OrdinaryIn those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws. The term comes from the Latin word ordinarius...
of the diocese and is assisted by the
suffragan bishopA suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop.- Catholic Church :In the Catholic Church, the word "suffragan" is generally used only to refer to a diocese in relation to the metropolitan archdiocese of its ecclesiastical province, e.g., the Diocese of...
s of
HulmeThe Bishop of Hulme is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after Hulme, an area of the city of Manchester...
,
MiddletonThe Bishop of Middleton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Middleton in Greater Manchester....
and
BoltonThe Bishop of Bolton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Bolton in Greater Manchester.-List of the Bishops of Bolton:...
.
List of Bishops of Manchester
- James Prince Lee
James Prince Lee was an English clergyman, the first Bishop of Manchester.Born in London, he was educated at St Paul's School and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he displayed exceptional ability as a classical scholar...
(1848–1869)
- James Fraser
James Fraser was a reforming Anglican bishop of Manchester, England. An able Church administrator and policy leader, he was active in developing the Church's approach to education and in practical politics and industrial relations...
(1870–1885)
- James Moorhouse
James Moorhouse was an Anglican bishop of Melbourne and of Manchester.-Early life and career:Moorhouse was born in Sheffield, England, the only son of James Moorhouse, a book-lover and master-cutler, and his wife Jane Frances née Bowman...
(1886–1903)
- Edmund Knox
Edmund Arbuthnott Knox was the fourth Bishop of Manchester, from 1903 to 1921. He was described as a prominent evangelical ....
(1903–1921)
- William Temple
William Temple was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Bishop of Manchester , Archbishop of York , and Archbishop of Canterbury .- Life :...
(1921–1929)
- Frederic Warman
Frederic Sumpter Guy Warman was an Anglican Bishop who held three separate episcopal appointments between 1919 and 1947.
He was educated at Merchant Taylors' and Pembroke College, Oxford and ordained priest in 1896. After a Curacy at Leyton he held incumbencies at Birkenhead and Bradford...
(1929–1947)
- William Greer
William Derrick Lindsay Greer was an Anglican Bishop for over 20 years in the middle of the 20th century. Born on 28 February 1902 he was educated at Saint Columba's College, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin. After a spell as Assistant Principal, Ministry of Home Affairs, Northern Ireland he...
(1947–1970)
- Patrick Rodger
Patrick Campbell Rodger was an Anglican clergyman and ecumenist. He was Bishop of Manchester and Oxford...
(1970–1978)
- Stanley Booth-Clibborn
Stanley Eric Francis Booth-Clibborn was an Anglican bishop in the late 20th century. He was educated at Highgate School. After wartime service with the Royal Artillery and three years at Oriel College, Oxford he was ordained in 1952...
(1979–1993)
- Christopher Mayfield (1993–2002)
- Nigel McCulloch
Nigel Simeon McCulloch is the Bishop of Manchester. He was named to the post in August 2002, took up duties later that year, and was formally installed in February 2003.-Early life:...
(2002–date)
Further reading
- Dobb, Arthur J. (1978) Like a Mighty Tortoise: the history of the Diocese of Manchester; illustrated by Arthur J. Dobb and Derek Simpson. [Manchester] : [The author] ; Littleborough : [Distributed by] Upjohn and Bottomley (Printers)
- Dobb, Arthur J. et al. (comps.) (2007) The Mighty Tortoise Marches On; or the Seven Stages of Man...chester. (The present study... began by being asked to prepare a presentation on the diocese for the annual national conference of the Central Council for the Care of Churches to be held in Manchester in 2009", preface)
External links