The Bishop of Bedford is an episcopal

Episcopal polity

Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...

 title used by a Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 suffragan bishop

Suffragan bishop

A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...

 who, under the direction of the Diocesan

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 Bishop of St Albans

Bishop of St Albans

The Bishop of St Albans is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is supported in his work by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Hertford and the Bishop of Bedford, and three archdeacons....

, oversees 150 parishes in Luton

Luton

Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....

 and Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

.

The title, which takes its name after the town of Bedford

Bedford

Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...

, was created under the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534

Suffragan Bishops Act 1534

The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 was an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan bishops in England and Wales...

. The first three suffragan bishops were appointed for the Diocese of London

Diocese of London

The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...

, but through reorganisation within the Church of England in 1914, Bedford came under the Diocese of St Albans.

The current bishop is the Rt Revd Richard Inwood, formerly Archdeacon of Halifax

Archdeacon of Halifax

The archdeacon of Halifax is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of Halifax, an administrative division of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield.-History:...

, who was consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

, the Most Revd Dr Rowan Williams

Rowan Williams

Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...

 at Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral

Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge....

 on 7 March 2003.

List of the Bishops of Bedford

Bishops of Bedford
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1537	1560	John Hodgkins John Hodgkins John Hodgkins DD was an English suffragan bishop.Educated at Cambridge, Hodgkins was appointed Bishop of Bedford under the provisions of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 in 1537 and held the post until 1560 . From 1527 he was the Provincial of the English Dominicans and Prior of Sudbury.-References:...	Deprived by Queen Mary Mary I of England Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...  1554–1559; died in office.
1560	1879	in abeyance
1879	1888	William How	Translated Translation (ecclesiastical) Translation is the technical term when a Bishop is transferred from one diocese to another.This can be* From Suffragan Bishop status to Diocesan Bishop*From Coadjutor bishop to Diocesan Bishop*From one country's Episcopate to another...  to Wakefield Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield in the Province of York.The diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covers Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale... .
1888	1898	Robert Billing	Died in office.
1898	1935	in abeyance
1935	1939	Lumsden Barkway	Translated to St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane.
1939	1948	Alymer Skelton Alymer Skelton The Rt Rev Alymer Skelton, DD was an eminent Bishop in the mid part of the Twentieth century. He was born in 1884 and educated at Felsted and Keble College, Oxford. After a curacy at Chertsey he moved to be Vicar of Epsom. After a spell in the Antipodes he became Rector of Toddington then Sub Dean...	Previously Archdeacon of St Albans; translated to Lincoln Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral... .
1948	1953	Thomas Wood	Previously Archdeacon of St Albans.
1953	1957	Campbell MacInnes	Translated to Jerusalem.
1957	1962	Basil Guy	Translated to Gloucester Bishop of Gloucester The Bishop of Gloucester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire and has its see in the City of Gloucester where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church... .
1963	1968	John Trillo	Translated to Hertford Bishop of Hertford The Bishop of Hertford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of St Albans, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire...  then Chelmsford Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest, and is co-terminous with the boundaries of the Catholic Diocese of... .
1968	1977	John Hare	Previously Archdeacon of Bedford; died in office.
1977	1981	Andrew Graham Andrew Graham (Bishop of Newcastle) Andrew Alexander Kenny Graham is a retired Anglican bishop.Graham was educated at Tonbridge School and St John's College, Oxford. After a period of study at Ely Theological College he was ordained in 1956. His first post was as a Curate at Hove from where he moved to be a Lecturer at Worcester...	Translated to Newcastle Bishop of Newcastle The Bishop of Newcastle is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Newcastle in the Province of York.The diocese at present covers the County of Northumberland and the Alston Moor area of Cumbria... ; living.
1981	1993	David Farmbrough	Previously Archdeacon of St Albans; living.
1994	2002	John Richardson	Living.
2003	present	Richard Inwood	Previously Archdeacon of Halifax Archdeacon of Halifax The archdeacon of Halifax is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of Halifax, an administrative division of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield.-History:... .

External links

• Crockford's Clerical Directory - Listings

----