List of the Bishops of Norwich

The diocese of Norwich has only had this name since the 11th century. The forerunners of the diocese go back 500 years. With the resignation of Bifus in 673, the diocese was divided between the two episcopal seats of Elmham and Dunwich by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore of Tarsus . The dates of the bishops up to around 1000 are only very imprecise, so most of the lists contain two numbers. The first number indicates the earliest and the second number the latest time of the event.

Around 945, the two locations were merged again. Under Bishop Herfast , the bishopric was moved to Thetford in 1067 , before finally coming to Norwich in 1095 .

In 1096, the foundation stone for Norwich Cathedral was laid by Bishop Herbert de Losinga .

The following people were bishops of Norwich ( England ), until 1558 they belonged to the Roman Catholic Church , then to the Church of England :

Bishops of East Angles
Name (life data)	Term of office	annotation	image
Felix of Burgundy (St.) † March 8, 647	630 to 647
Thomas † between 652 and 654	647 to 652
Beorhtgils (Bonifatius) † around 669	652 to 668
Bifus (bisus)	669 to 673	he gave up the bishopric, after which it was divided between Elmham and Dunwich
Bishops of Elmham
Name (life data)	Term of office	annotation	image
Beaduwine (Bedwinus) † between 693 and 706	673 to 693/706
Nothbeorht † between 716 and 731	693/706 to 716/731
Heathulac † between 731 and 736	716/731 to 731/736
Æthelfrith (Eðelfrid) † between 736 and 758	736 to 736/758
Eanfrith † between 758 and 781	736/758 to 758/781
Æthelwulf † between 781 and 785	758/781 to 781/785
Ealheard † between 805 and 814	781/785 to 805/814
Sibba † between 816 and 824	805/814 to 816/824
Hunfrith † between 816 and 824	816/824 to 816/824
Hunbeorht † November 20, 870	816/824 to 870
Bishops of Dunwich
Name (life data)	Term of office	annotation	image
Æcci † between 705 and 747	according to 673 to 705/747
Æscwulf † between 705 and 747	705/747 to 705/747
Eardred † between 716 and 731	693/716 to 716/731
Ealdbeorht I † between 731 and 747	716/731 to 731/747
Eardwulf † between 747 and 775	731/747 to 747/775
Cuthwine † between 747 and 775	747/775 to 747/775
Ealdbeorht II † between 775 and 781	747/775 to 775/781
Ecglaf † between 775 and 781	747/775 to 775/781
Heardred † between 789 and 793	775/781 to 789/793
Ælfhun † between 797 and 798	789/793 and 797/798
Tidfrith † between 816 and 824	798 and 816/824
Waormund † between 824 and 825	816/824 and 824/825
Wilred † between 845 and 870	825 to 845/870
Æthelweald	845/870 to?	After this the post of bishop was not filled
Bishops of Elmham and Dunwich
Name (life data)	Term of office	annotation	image
Eadwulf † between 964 and 974	942/956 to 964/974
Ælfric I † between 964 and 974	964/974 to 964/974
Theodred I † between 979 and 982	964/974 to 979/982
Theodred II † between 995 and 997	979/982 to 995/997
Æthelstan † 1001	995/997 to 1001
Ælgar † December 1021	1001 to 1016
Ælwine † between 1023 and 1038	1001 to 1016
Ælfric II † 1038	1023/1038 to 1038
Ælfric III † between 1042 and 1043	1039 to 1042/1043
Stigand † February 1072	1042	He lost the office of bishop after the election before he was ordained
Grimcytel † 1047	1043	also Bishop of Selsey from 1039 to 1047
Stigand † February 1072	1043 to 1047	then Bishop of Winchester and Archbishop of Canterbury
Æthelmær	1047 to 1070	he was deposed
Herfast † around 1085	1070 to 1072	before that Lord Chancellor ; he moved the bishopric in 1072 to Thetford
Bishops of Thetford
Name (life data)	Term of office	annotation	image
Herfast † around 1085	1072 to 1085
William de Beaufai † around 1091	1086 to 1091
Herbert de Losinga † July 22, 1119	1091 to 1095	he moves the bishopric to Norwich
Bishops of Norwich
Name (life data)	Term of office	annotation	image
Herbert de Losinga † July 22, 1119	1095 to 1119
Everard † before September 21, 1147	1121 to 1145	resigned from office in 1145
William Turbe † January 16, 1174	1146 to 1174
John of Oxford † June 2, 1200	1175 to 1200
John de Gray † October 18, 1214	1200 to 1214
Pandulf † September 16, 1226	1215 to 1226
Thomas de Blundeville † August 16, 1236	1226 to 1236
Simon of Elmham † June 8, 1257	1236 to 1239	The election took place in 1236 and was recognized by the king, but not by the pope; the election was repealed in 1239
William Raleigh † September 1, 1250	1239 to 1243	then Bishop of Winchester
Walter of Suffield † May 19, 1257	1244 to 1257
Simon of Walton † about January 1, 1266	1257 to 1266
Roger Skerning † January 22, 1278	1266 to 1278
William Middleton † September 1, 1288	1278 to 1288
Ralph Walpole † March 20, 1302	1289 to 1299	then Bishops of Ely
John Salmon † July 6, 1325	1299 to 1325
Robert Baldock	July 1325 to September 1325	His election was not confirmed and was Lord Chancellor from 1323 to 1326
William Airmyn † March 27, 1336	1325 to 1336	was also Lord Chancellor from 1327 to 1328
Thomas Hempnall † December 21, 1338	1336 to 1337	was only chosen; but then entered the office of the Bishop of Worcester on
Antony Bek † December 18, 1343	1337 to 1343
William Bateman † January 6, 1355	1344 to 1355
Thomas Percy † August 8, 1369	1355 to 1369
Henry Despenser † August 23, 1406	1370 to 1406
Alexander Tottington † April 28, 1413	1406 to 1413
Richard Courtenay † September 15, 1415	1413 to 1415
John Wakering † April 9, 1425	1415 to 1425
William Alnwick † December 5, 1449	1426 to 1436	then Bishop of Lincoln
Thomas Brunce † December 6, 1445	1436 to 1445	before that Bishop of Chichester , Worcester and Rochester
Walter Hart † May 24, 1472	1446 to 1472
James Goldwell † February 15, 1499	1472 to 1499
Thomas Jane † September 1500	1499 to 1500
Richard Nykke † December 29, 1535	1501 to 1535
William Rugg † September 21, 1550	1535 to 1550	he resigned from office at the end of January
Thomas Thirlby † August 26, 1570	1550 to 1554	before that Bishop of Westminster ; then Bishop of Ely
John Hopton † after August 24, 1535	1554 to 1558	last Roman Catholic bishop
John Parkhurst † February 2, 1575	1560 to 1575
Edmund Freke † March 21, 1591	1575 to 1584	before that Bishop of Rochester; then Bishop of Worcester
Edmund Scambler † May 7, 1594	1584 to 1594	before that Bishop of Peterborough
William Redman † September 25, 1602	1594 to 1602
John Jegon † March 13, 1618	1603 to 1618
John Overall † May 12, 1619	1618 to 1619	before that Bishop of Lichfield
Samuel Harsnett † May 25, 1631	1619 to 1629	before that Bishop of Chichester, then Archbishop of York
Francis White † February 1638	1629 to 1631	before that Bishop of Carlisle ; then Bishop of Ely
Richard Corbet † July 28, 1635	1632 to 1635	before that Bishop of Oxford
Matthew Wren † April 24, 1667	1635 to 1638	before that Bishop of Hereford ; then Bishop of Ely
Richard Montagu † April 13, 1641	1638 to 1641	before that Bishop of Chichester
Joseph Hall † September 8, 1656	1641 to 1656	before that Bishop of Exeter
Edward Reynolds † July 28, 1676	1660 to 1676
Antony Sparrow † May 18, 1685	1676 to 1685	before that Bishop of Exeter
William Lloyd † January 1, 1710	1685 to 1690	before that bishop in Peterborough
John Moore † July 31, 1714	1691 to 1707	then bishop in Ely
Charles Trimnell † August 15, 1723	1708 to 1721	then bishop in Winchester
Thomas Green † May 18, 1738	1721 to 1723	then bishop in Ely
John Leng † October 26, 1727	1723 to 1727
William Baker † December 4, 1732	1727 to 1732	before that Bishop of Bangor
Robert Butts † January 26, 1748	1733 to 1738	then bishop in Ely
Sir Thomas Gooch † February 14, 1754	1738 to 1748	before that Bishop of Bristol ; then bishop in Ely
Samuel Lisle † October 3, 1749	1748 to 1749	before that Bishop of St. Asaph
Thomas Hayter † January 9, 1762	1749 to 1761	then Bishop of London
Philip Young † April 23, 1783	1761 to 1783	before that Bishop of Bristol
Lewis Bagot † June 4, 1802	1783 to 1790	before that Bishop of Bristol; then Bishop of St. Asaph
George Horne † January 17, 1792	1790 to 1792
Charles Manners-Sutton † July 21, 1828	1792 to 1805	then Archbishop of Canterbury
Henry Bathurst † April 5, 1837	1805 to 1837
Edward Stanley † September 6, 1849	1837 to 1849
Samuel Hinds † February 7, 1872	1849 to 1857
John Thomas Pelham † May 1, 1894	1857 to 1893
John Sheepshanks † June 3, 1912	1893 to 1910
Bertram Pollock † October 17, 1943	1910 to 1942
Percy Mark Herbert † January 22, 1968	1942 to 1959	before that Bishop of Blackburn
William Lancelot Scott Fleming † 1990	1959 to 1971
Maurice Arthur Ponsonby Wood † June 24, 2007	1971 to 1985
Peter John Nott	1985 to 1999	before that, Bishop of Taunton
Graham Richard James	1999 to	before that Bishop of St. Germans

literature

• Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961
• Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Third Edition, London, 1986

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} The dates given here are the probable dates of death. The sources at this early stage are very thin.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 222
3. ↑ In the Second Edition, Alric and Husa are named as Bishops of Dunwich; they no longer appear in the Third Edition of the Handbook of British Chronology
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 220
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} The numbering is only done to better distinguish eponymous bishops from one another. It is not part of the name.
6. ↑ The suspected bishops Cunda and Ælfred given in the Second Edition no longer appear in the Third Edition of the Handbook of British Chronology. There one speaks of an interruption in the episcopal succession
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 223
8. ↑ Short biography on www.british-history.ac.uk (English)
9. ↑ Unless otherwise stated, the evidence for this can be found at: Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, pp. 242 to 244
10. ↑ Short biography in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) (English)
11. ↑ Short biography on www.british-history.ac.uk (English) ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 261
13. ↑ Bateman, William . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 1 : Abbas-Cutts . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1922, pp. 106 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
14. ↑ Short biography in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
15. ↑ Alnwick, William . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 1 : Abbas-Cutts . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1922, pp. 23 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
16. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 236
17. ↑ Short biography on www.berkshirehistory.com (English)
18. ↑ Rugg, alias Repps, William . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 3 : Kaile-Ryves . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1924, pp. 497 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
19. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 224
20. ↑ Freake, Edmund . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 2 : Dabbs-Juxton . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1922, pp. 176 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
21. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 262
22. ↑ Short biography in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
23. ↑ Redman, William . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 3 : Kaile-Ryves . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1924, pp. 436 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
24. ↑ Jegon, John . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 2 : Dabbs-Juxton . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1922, pp. 466 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
25. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 265
26. ↑ Short biography in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica (English)
27. ↑ Short biography in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
28. ↑ Short biography in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
29. ↑ Short biography in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
30. ↑ Lloyd, William . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 3 : Kaile-Ryves . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1924, pp. 96 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
31. ^ ^{A b} Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 259
32. ↑ Short biography from Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
33. ↑ Short biography from Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
34. ↑ Gooch, Thomas . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 2 : Dabbs-Juxton . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1922, pp. 233 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
35. ↑ Lisle, Samuel . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 3 : Kaile-Ryves . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1924, pp. 89 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
36. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 241
37. ↑ Young, Philip . In: John Venn , John Archibald Venn (eds.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 1: From the earliest times to 1751 , volume 4 : Hall – Zuingius . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1927, pp. 493 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
38. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 279
39. ↑ Short biography in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
40. ^ Powicke & Fryde: Handbook of British Chronology. Second Edition, London, 1961, p. 212
41. ↑ Short biography in Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900 (English)
42. ↑ Stanley, Edward . In: John Archibald Venn (Ed.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 2: From 1752 to 1900 , Volume 6 : Square – Zupitza . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1954, pp. 10 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
43. ↑ Sheepshanks, John . In: John Archibald Venn (Ed.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 2: From 1752 to 1900 , Volume 5 : Pace – Spyers . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1953, pp. 486 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
44. ↑ Pollock, Bertram . In: John Archibald Venn (Ed.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 2: From 1752 to 1900 , Volume 5 : Pace – Spyers . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1953, pp. 148 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
45. ↑ Life data on www.oxforddnb.com (English) (abridged version) ( Memento of the original from October 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
46. ↑ Obituary on www.telegraph.co.uk (English)

Web links

• History of the diocese on www.newadvent.org (English)
• List of the Bishops of Norwich