Archbishop of York facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Coat of arms
Location
Ecclesiastical province	York
Information
Established	Bishopric in 626 Archbishopric in 735
Cathedral	York Minster

The archbishop of York is a very important leader in the Church of England. They are the second most senior bishop, right after the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is in charge of the Diocese of York, which is like a church district. They are also the main bishop for the province of York, which covers the northern parts of England and the Isle of Man.

The archbishop's special chair, called a cathedra, is in York Minster. This is a large, beautiful church in the middle of York. The archbishop's official home is Bishopthorpe Palace, a lovely building just outside York. The current archbishop is Stephen Cottrell. He started his role on 9 July 2020.

History of the Archbishops

Early Christian Times

Long, long ago, there was a bishop in Eboracum, which was the Roman name for York. We know that bishops from York attended important church meetings, like the Council of Arles and the First Council of Nicaea. However, this early Christian group was later destroyed by the pagan Anglo-Saxons. So, the bishops we have today are not directly linked to those very first ones.

The Middle Ages

The church in York was restarted in the 600s by Paulinus. He was part of a mission sent by Augustine. One famous early bishop was Wilfrid.

At first, these bishops of York were just in charge of their local area. But in 735, Ecgbert of York received a special cloth called a pallium from the Pope. This meant he became an archbishop, gaining authority over other bishops in the north.

After the Norman Conquest, the archbishops of York became fully independent from the archbishop of Canterbury.

Over time, the area that the archbishop of York was in charge of changed. At first, it included places like Worcester and Lincoln. But these areas later became independent. By 1188, York only had authority over the dioceses of Whithorn, Durham, and Carlisle. Durham was almost like its own kingdom! Later, the Isle of Man rejoined York.

Many archbishops of York also held important government jobs, like Lord Chancellor of England. They played a big part in how the country was run.

The English Reformation

During the English Reformation, the Church of England separated from the Pope in Rome. Before the 1530s, the bishops and archbishops in England were part of the Roman Catholic Church. But after this time, the archbishop of York, along with the rest of the Church of England, became part of the Anglican Communion. This is how it is today.

One famous archbishop, Walter de Grey, bought a house in London called York Place. After another powerful church leader, Thomas Wolsey, lost his power, this house was renamed the Palace of Whitehall.

What the Archbishop Does

The archbishop of York is a member of the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament. They are known as the "Primate of England." The archbishop of Canterbury is called the "Primate of All England."

When people talk about the archbishop, they often use the title "The Most Reverend." If an archbishop has retired, they are called "The Right Reverend." Archbishops are also usually part of the Privy Council, which means they can use the title "The Right Honourable" for life.

In formal documents, the archbishop's last name is sometimes left out. Instead, they might sign their name with their first name and "Ebor," which is the old Latin name for York. For example, the current archbishop signs as "+Stephen Ebor."

In the official ranking of important people in England and Wales, the archbishop of York is very high up. They are ranked above almost everyone, except the King or Queen, members of the royal family, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Chancellor.

The Archbishop Today

Today, the archbishop of York is the main bishop for the province of York. This province includes 10 Anglican church districts in Northern England:

• Blackburn
• Carlisle
• Chester
• Durham
• Liverpool
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Sheffield
• Leeds
• York

It also includes two other dioceses: Southwell and Nottingham in the Midlands and Sodor and Man on the Isle of Man.

The current archbishop is Stephen Cottrell, who started on 9 July 2020.

List of Archbishops

Bishops of York (Before the Norman Conquest)

Archbishops of York (Norman Conquest to Reformation)

Archbishops of York (Conquest to Reformation)
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1070	1100	Thomas of Bayeux	Also known as Thomas (I).
1100	1108	Gerard	Moved from Hereford.
1109	1114	Thomas (II)
1119	1140	Thurstan	Elected in 1114, but became archbishop in 1119.
1140		Waltheof of Melrose	Chosen, but King Stephen stopped it.
1140		Henry de Sully	Chosen, but the Pope stopped it.
1143	1147	William (FitzHerbert)	Removed by the Pope; later became a saint.
1147		Hilary of Chichester	Removed by the Pope; became bishop of Chichester.
1147	1153	Henry Murdac	Formerly an abbot.
1153	1154	William (FitzHerbert) (again)	Restored by the Pope; later became a saint.
1154	1181	Roger de Pont L'Évêque	Formerly an archdeacon.
1191	1212	Geoffrey (Plantagenet)	Elected in 1189, became archbishop in 1191.
1215		Simon Langton	Elected, but King John and the Pope stopped it.
1216	1255	Walter de Gray	Moved from Worcester.
1256	1258	Sewal de Bovil	Formerly Dean of York.
1258	1265	Godfrey Ludham	Formerly Dean of York.
1265		William Langton	Elected, but stopped.
1265	1266	Bonaventure	Chosen, but never became archbishop and resigned.
1266	1279	Walter Giffard	Moved from Bath and Wells.
1279	1285	William de Wickwane
1286	1296	John le Romeyn	Also known as John Romanus.
1298	1299	Henry of Newark	Formerly Dean of York.
1300	1304	Thomas of Corbridge
1306	1315	William Greenfield	Formerly Dean of Chichester.
1317	1340	William Melton
1342	1352	William Zouche	Also known as William de la Zouche.
1353	1373	Cardinal John of Thoresby	Moved from Worcester; became a Cardinal in 1361.
1374	1388	Alexander Neville	Moved to St Andrews in 1388.
1388	1396	Thomas Arundel	Moved from Ely; later moved to Canterbury.
1397	1398	Robert Waldby	Moved from Chichester.
1398		Walter Skirlaw	Bishop of Durham; chosen but King Richard II stopped it.
1398	1405	Richard le Scrope	Moved from Lichfield.
1405	1406	Thomas Langley	Elected, but stopped.
1406	1407	Robert Hallam	Chosen by the Pope, but King Henry IV stopped it.
1407	1423	Henry Bowet	Moved from Bath and Wells.
1423	1424	Philip Morgan	Elected, but stopped.
1424	1425	Richard Fleming	Chosen by the Pope, but King Henry V refused, so he resigned.
1426	1452	Cardinal John Kemp	Moved from London; became a Cardinal in 1439; later moved to Canterbury.
1452	1464	William Booth	Moved from Lichfield.
1465	1476	George Neville	Moved from Exeter.
1476	1480	Lawrence Booth	Moved from Durham.
1480	1500	Thomas Rotherham	Moved from Lincoln.
1501	1507	Thomas Savage	Moved from London.
1508	1514	Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge	Moved from Durham; became a Cardinal in 1511.
1514	1530	Cardinal Thomas Wolsey	Moved from Lincoln in 1514; became a Cardinal in 1515; held other bishop roles too.

Archbishops of York (After the Reformation)

Post-Reformation Archbishops of York
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1531	1544	Edward Lee	Moved from St Davids.
1545	1554	Robert Holgate	Moved from Llandaff.
1555	1559	Nicholas Heath	Moved from Worcester.
1561	1568	Thomas Young	Moved from St Davids.
1570	1576	Edmund Grindal	Moved from London; later moved to Canterbury.
1577	1588	Edwin Sandys	Moved from London.
1589	1594	John Piers	Moved from Salisbury.
1595	1606	Matthew Hutton	Moved from Durham.
1606	1628	Tobias Matthew	Moved from Durham.
1628		George Montaigne	Moved from Durham.
1629	1631	Samuel Harsnett	Moved from Norwich.
1632	1640	Richard Neile	Moved from Winchester.
1641	1646	John Williams	Moved from Lincoln. The role was stopped by Parliament.
1646	1660	The archbishop role was stopped during the Commonwealth period.
1660	1664	Accepted Frewen	Moved from Lichfield.
1664	1683	Richard Sterne	Moved from Carlisle.
1683	1686	John Dolben	Moved from Rochester.
1688	1691	Thomas Lamplugh	Moved from Exeter.
1691	1714	John Sharp	Formerly Dean of Canterbury.
1714	1724	Sir William Dawes, Bt.	Moved from Chester.
1724	1743	Lancelot Blackburne	Moved from Exeter.
1743	1747	Thomas Herring	Moved from Bangor; later moved to Canterbury.
1747	1757	Matthew Hutton	Moved from Bangor; later moved to Canterbury.
1757	1761	John Gilbert	Moved from Salisbury.
1761	1776	Robert Hay Drummond	Moved from Salisbury.
1776	1807	William Markham	Moved from Chester.
1808	1847	Edward Venables-Vernon	Moved from Carlisle. Changed his last name in 1831.
1847	1860	Thomas Musgrave	Moved from Hereford.
1860	1862	Charles Longley	Moved from Durham; later moved to Canterbury.
1862	1890	William Thomson	Moved from Gloucester.
1891		William Connor Magee	Moved from Peterborough.
1891	1908 retired	William Maclagan	Moved from Lichfield.
1909	1928	Cosmo Gordon Lang	Moved from Stepney; later moved to Canterbury.
1929	1942	William Temple	Moved from Manchester; later moved to Canterbury.
1942	1955 retired	Cyril Garbett	Moved from Winchester.
1956	1961	Michael Ramsey	Moved from Durham; later moved to Canterbury.
1961	1974	Donald Coggan	Moved from Bradford; later moved to Canterbury.
1975	1983 retired	Stuart Blanch	Moved from Liverpool.
1983	1995 retired	John Habgood	Moved from Durham.
1995	2005 retired	David Hope	Moved from London.
2005	2020 retired	John Sentamu	Moved from Birmingham; retired on 7 June 2020.
2020	present	Stephen Cottrell	Moved from Chelmsford; became archbishop on 9 July 2020.

Archbishops Who Became Lords

From 1660 to 1900, all archbishops of York either died in office or moved to become archbishop of Canterbury.

Since then, archbishops who retire (and don't move to Canterbury) are usually offered a special title called a "peerage." This means they become a "Lord" and can sit in the House of Lords.

Assistant Bishops

Some bishops have served as assistants in the Diocese of York:

• 1929–1931: Bernard Heywood—he was a former bishop of Southwell.
• 1964–1970: Mervyn Armstrong, who advised the archbishop on industry. He was a former bishop of Jarrow.
• 1969–1996: George Cockin, who was also a Rector in Bainton. He was a missionary in Nigeria and a former bishop of Owerri.
• 1977–1994: Richard Wimbush, who was a priest in Etton. He was a former bishop of Argyll and the Isles and a leader in the Scottish Episcopal Church.

See Also

• Accord of Winchester

Images for kids

• 

  Stephen Cottrell, the current Archbishop of York.

• 

  The official coat of arms for the Diocese of York.