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Suffragan Bishops Act 1534
Other legislation
Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Acte for nominacion and consecracyon of Suffragans wythin this Realme.
Citation	26 Hen. 8. c. 14
Relates to	Suffragan Bishops Act 1898
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk

The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 was an important law passed by the Parliament of England in 1534. This law allowed for the appointment of "suffragan bishops" in England and Wales. A suffragan bishop is like an assistant bishop. They help the main bishop of a large church area, called a diocese.

Before this act, there were not enough bishops to help with all the church duties. This law made it possible to have more bishops to support the main ones. The act also started the tradition where these assistant bishops were named after a town within the diocese, but not the main town the head bishop was named after.

The law specifically listed 26 towns that could be used as names for these new suffragan bishop roles. These towns included Thetford, Ipswich, Colchester, Dover, Guildford, Southampton, Taunton, Shaftesbury, Molton, Marlborough, Bedford, Leicester, Gloucester, Shrewsbury, Bristol, Penrydd, Bridgwater, Nottingham, Grantham, Hull, Huntingdon, Cambridge, Penrith, Berwick-upon-Tweed, St Germans and the Isle of Wight.

Even today, parts of this 1534 law are still in effect in Great Britain.

Suffragan Bishops Act 1898
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to explain the Act as to Suffragan Bishops.
Citation	61 & 62 Vict. c. 11
Dates
Royal assent	1 July 1898
Commencement	1 July 1898
Other legislation
Relates to	Suffragan Bishops Act 1898
Status: Current legislation
Text of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1898 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk

Over 300 years later, another law, the Suffragan Bishops Act 1898, was passed. This act clarified some things about appointing suffragan bishops. Before 1898, if someone was already a bishop, they might be made an "assistant bishop" instead of a suffragan bishop.

The 1898 Act made it clear that a person who was already a bishop could be appointed as a suffragan bishop. If they were already a bishop, they didn't need to go through the special ceremony of "consecration" again.

How the Law Changed Over Time
Original Suffragan Titles (1534 Act)
New Suffragan Titles (After 1888)

How the Law Changed Over Time

Laws can be updated or changed over many years. The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 has had some parts changed or removed by newer laws.

Changes to Section 2

A part of Section 2 of the 1534 Act was removed by the Dioceses Measure 1978. This change didn't stop any suffragan bishops from doing their job if they were already appointed. Their special permission to act as a bishop continued until they left their role or their permission was taken away.

Changes to Section 4

Similar to Section 2, a part of Section 4 was also removed by the Dioceses Measure 1978. Again, this didn't affect bishops who were already serving. Their permission to act as a suffragan bishop remained valid under the same conditions.

Changes to Section 6

In Section 6, some words were updated by the Dioceses Measure 1978. This change made the language clearer about the relationship between the suffragan bishop and the main bishop they assist.

Section 7 Removed

Section 7 of the 1534 Act was completely removed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977. This means that part of the original law is no longer in effect at all.

Original Suffragan Titles (1534 Act)

The 1534 Act listed specific towns that could be used for suffragan bishop titles. Many of these titles are still used today. The ones currently in use are shown in bold type in the table below.

See	Diocese	Years	See	Diocese	Years
Bishop of Bedford	Diocese of London	1537–1560, 1879–1898	Bishop of the Isle of Wight	No evidence of use (now in Portsmouth)
Bishop of Bedford	Diocese of St Albans	1935–present	Bishop of Leicester	Diocese of Peterborough	1888–1927
Bishop of Berwick	Diocese of Durham	1537–1571	Bishop of Leicester	Diocesan title	1927–present
Bishop of Berwick	Diocese of Newcastle	2016–present	Bishop of Marlborough	Diocese of Salisbury	1537–1568
Bishop of Bridgwater	No evidence of use (now in Bath & Wells)		Bishop of Marlborough	Diocese of London	1888–1918
Bishop of Bristol	Diocese of Worcester	1538–1542	Bishop of Molton	No evidence of use (now in Exeter)
Bishop of Bristol	Diocesan title	1542–present	Bishop of Nottingham	Diocese of York	1567–1570
Bishop of Cambridge	No evidence of use (now in Ely)			Diocese of Lincoln	1870–1884
Bishop of Colchester	Diocese of Ely	1536–1541, 1592–1608		Diocese of Southwell	1884–1893
	Diocese of St Albans	1882–1914		Diocesan title	2005–present
	Diocese of Chelmsford	1914–present	Bishop of Penrydd	Diocese of Llandaff	1537–1539
Bishop of Dover	Diocese of Canterbury	1536–1597, 1870–present	Bishop of Penrith	Diocese of Ripon	1888–1889
Bishop of Dover	also "Bishop in Canterbury" since c. 1999		Bishop of Penrith	Diocese of Carlisle	1939–present
Bishop of Gloucester	No evidence of use as suffragan see		Bishop of St Germans	Diocese of Truro	1905–1918, 1974–present
Bishop of Gloucester	Diocesan title	1541–present	Bishop of Shaftesbury	Diocese of Salisbury	1539
Bishop of Grantham	Diocese of Lincoln	1905–present	Bishop of Shrewsbury	Diocese of Llandaff (probably)	1537–1561
Bishop of Guildford	Diocese of Winchester	1874–1927	Bishop of Shrewsbury	Diocese of Lichfield	1888–1905, 1940–present
Bishop of Guildford	Diocesan title	1927–present	Bishop of Southampton	Diocese of Winchester	1895–present
Bishop of Hull	Diocese of York	1538–1579, 1891–present	Bishop of Taunton	Diocese of Bath and Wells	1538–1559, 1911–present
Bishop of Huntingdon	Diocese of Ely	1966–present	Bishop of Thetford	Diocese of Norwich	1536–1570, 1894–1926, 1945–present
Bishop of Ipswich	Diocese unclear	1536–1538
	Diocese of Norwich	1899–1909
	Diocesan title	1914–present

New Suffragan Titles (After 1888)

Suffragans Nomination Act 1888
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make further provision for the Nomination of Bishops Suffragans.
Citation	51 & 52 Vict. c. 56
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk

The Suffragans Nomination Act 1888 was another important law. It made it possible to create new suffragan bishop titles using towns that were not on the original 1534 list. This meant more flexibility for appointing assistant bishops where they were needed.

Since 1888, many new suffragan titles have been created. Below is a list of some of these titles. The ones currently in use today are shown in bold type.

Bishop of Aston (Birmingham, 15 July 1954)
Bishop of Barking (Chelmsford; initially St Albans)
Bishop of Barrow-in-Furness (Carlisle, 6 April 1889)
Bishop of Basingstoke (Winchester)
Bishop of Beverley (York)
Bishop of Birkenhead (Chester)
Bishop of Bolton (Manchester, 8 February 1984)
Bishop of Bradford (Leeds, 20 April 2014)
Bishop of Bradwell (Chelmsford, 20 December 1967)
Bishop of Brixworth (Peterborough, 26 July 1988)
Bishop of Buckingham (Oxford, 22 November 1913)
Bishop of Burnley (Blackburn; initially Manchester)
Bishop of Coventry (Worcester; now a diocese)
Bishop of Crediton (Exeter)
Bishop of Croydon (Southwark; initially Canterbury)
Bishop of Derby (Southwell; now a diocese)
Bishop of Doncaster (Sheffield, 4 February 1972)
Bishop of Dorchester (Oxford, 2 February 1939)
Bishop of Dorking (Guildford; initially Winchester)
Bishop of Dudley (Worcester, 24 October 1973)
Bishop of Dunwich (St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, 14 August 1934)
Bishop of Ebbsfleet (Canterbury, 8 February 1994)
Bishop of Edmonton (London, 29 May 1970)
Suffragan Bishop in Europe (Europe)
Bishop of Fulham (London, 1 February 1926)
Bishop of Grimsby (Lincoln, 15 July 1935)
Bishop of Hertford (St Albans)
Bishop of Horsham (Chichester)
Bishop of Huddersfield (Leeds, 20 April 2014)
Bishop of Hulme (Manchester, 11 October 1923)
Bishop of Islington (London)
Bishop of Jarrow (Durham)
Bishop of Kensington (London)
Bishop of Kingston-upon-Thames (Southwark)

Bishop of Kirkstall (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Richmond, in Ripon diocese)
Bishop of Lancaster (Blackburn, 24 July 1936)
Bishop of Lewes (Chichester)
Bishop of Loughborough (Leicester, 12 April 2017)
Bishop of Ludlow (Hereford, 23 September 1981)
Bishop of Lynn (Norwich, 26 June 1963)
Bishop of Maidstone (Canterbury)
Bishop of Middleton (Manchester, 10 August 1926)
Bishop of Plymouth (Exeter, 21 November 1922)
Bishop of Ramsbury (Salisbury, 24 October 1973)
Bishop of Reading (Oxford)
Bishop of Repton (Derby, 18 May 1965)
Bishop of Richborough (Canterbury, 8 February 1994)
Bishop of Ripon (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Knaresborough, in Ripon diocese)
Bishop of Selby (York, 20 December 1938)
Bishop of Sheffield (York; now a diocese)
Bishop of Sherborne (Salisbury, 6 February 1925)
Bishop of Sherwood (Southwell, 18 May 1965)
Bishop of Southwark (Rochester; now a diocese)
Bishop of Stafford (Lichfield)
Bishop of Stepney (London)
Bishop of Stockport (Chester)
Bishop of Swindon (Bristol; formerly Bishop of Malmesbury, 25 July 1927)
Bishop of Tewkesbury (Gloucester)
Bishop of Tonbridge (Rochester, 11 September 1958)
Bishop of Wakefield (Leeds; formerly Bishop of Pontefract, in Wakefield diocese, 27 October 1930)
Bishop of Warrington (Liverpool)
Bishop of Warwick (Coventry, 19 December 1979)
Bishop of Whalley (Blackburn; initially Manchester, 28 June 1909)
Bishop of Whitby (York, 30 July 1923)
Bishop of Willesden (London, 8 August 1911)
Bishop of Wolverhampton (Lichfield, 6 February 1979)
Bishop of Woolwich (Southwark)

In 2015, church researchers found 14 "forgotten" suffragan titles that were created in 1889 but never used. These titles could still be used today if needed.

Created by official orders on April 6, 1889:

Bishop of Alnwick (Newcastle)
Bishop of Bishopwearmouth (Durham)
Bishop of Halifax (Leeds; formerly Wakefield)
Bishop of Hexham (Newcastle)
Bishop of Kendal (Carlisle)
Bishop of Rochdale (Manchester)
Bishop of Wigan (Liverpool)

Created by official orders on July 5, 1889:

Bishop of Aylesbury (Oxford)
Bishop of Boston (Lincoln)
Bishop of Chelsea (London)
Bishop of Cirencester (Gloucester)
Bishop of Leominster (Hereford)
Bishop of Northampton (Peterborough)
Bishop of Oswestry (Lichfield)

Besides the original Penrydd title from the 1534 Act, six more Welsh titles were created after the 1888 Act. These included Cardiff, Carnarvon, Holyhead, Monmouth, Wrexham, and Swansea. Some of these have since become main bishop titles for their own dioceses.

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