Bishop ofWorcester
Bishopric
anglican
Arms of the Bishop of Worcester:Argent, tentorteauxgules, four, three, two and one[1]
Incumbent: vacant (acting:Martin Gorick,Bishop of Dudley bishop-designate:Hugh Nelson,Bishop of St Germans andBishop to the Forces)
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Residence	The Old Palace, Worcester
Information
First holder	Bosel
Established	680
Diocese	Worcester
Cathedral	Worcester Cathedral

TheBishop of Worcester is thehead of theChurch of EnglandDiocese of Worcester in theProvince of Canterbury,England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the year 680.^[2][3] From then until the 16th century, the bishops were infull communion with theCatholic Church. During theReformation, the church in England broke away from the authority of thePope and the Catholic Church, at first temporarily and later more permanently. Since the Reformation, the Bishop and Diocese of Worcester has been part of theChurch of England and theAnglican Communion.

Thediocese covers most of the county ofWorcestershire, including theMetropolitan Borough of Dudley and parts of theCity of Wolverhampton.^[4] TheEpiscopal see is in the city ofWorcester where thebishop's throne is located at theCathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.^[5] The bishop's official residence isthe Old Palace, Worcester.^[6] The bishops had two residences outside the city:Hartlebury Castle nearKidderminster from the 13th century to 2007 and a palace atAlvechurch until it was pulled down in the 17th century.

From the elevations ofOswald of Worcester in 961 at Worcester and 972 at York, until 1023 the see was usually held jointly with the (then rather poorer)Archbishopric of York.

On 29th July 2025, it was announced thatHugh Nelson, the currentBishop suffragan of St Germans in the Diocese of Truro — andBishop to the Forces —, would be the next Bishop of Worcester.^[7][8] It is expected that his installation service will take place in January 2026.^[9]

Bishops of Worcester
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1096	1112	Samson
1113	1123	Theulf	Nominated in 1113; consecrated in 1115
1125	1150	Simon
1151	1157	John de Pageham
1158	1160	Alured
1163	1179	Roger	Also recorded as Roger of Gloucester
1180	1185	Baldwin	Translated toCanterbury
1185	1190	William of Northall
1191	1193	Robert FitzRalph	PreviouslyArchdeacon of Nottingham
1193	1195	Henry de Sully	PreviouslyAbbot ofGlastonbury Abbey
1196	1198	John of Coutances
1199	1212	Mauger	Elected in 1199, but quashed byPope Innocent III; later postulated to the See; consecrated in 1200
1213	1214	Randulf of Evesham (bishop-elect)	Elected in December 1213, but quashed by thePapal legate,Niccolò de Romanis, in January 1214
1214	1216	Walter de Gray	Translated toYork
1216	1218	Sylvester	Also recorded as Sylvester of Evesham
1218	1236	William de Blois
1237	1266	Walter de Cantilupe
1266	1268	Nicholas of Ely	FormerlyArchdeacon of Ely;translated toWinchester
1268	1302	Godfrey Giffard
1302		John St German (bishop-elect)	Elected in March 1302, but quashed in October 1302
1302	1307	William Gainsborough
1307	1313	Walter Reynolds	Translated toCanterbury
1313	1317	Walter Maidstone
1317	1327	Thomas Cobham	PreviouslyArchbishop-elect of Canterbury in 1313
1327		Wulstan Bransford (bishop-elect)	Elected bishop but was quashed; later elected in 1339
1327	1333	Adam Orleton	Translated fromHereford; later toWinchester
1333	1337	Simon Montacute	Translated toEly
1337	1338	Thomas Hemenhale	Translated fromNorwich
1339	1349	Wulstan Bransford
1349	1353	John of Thoresby	Translated fromSt David's; later toYork
1352	1361	Reginald Brian	Translated fromSt David's
1362	1363	John Barnet	Translated toBath and Wells; and later toEly
1363	1368	William Whittlesey	Translated fromRochester; later toCanterbury
1368	1373	William Lenn	Translated fromChichester
1373	1375	Walter Lyghe (bishop-elect)	Elected in 1373, but quashed in 1375
1375	1395	Henry Wakefield
1394	1401	Robert Tideman of Winchcombe	Translated fromLlandaff
1401	1407	Richard Clifford	PreviouslyBishop-elect of Bath and Wells; later translated toLondon
1407	1419	Thomas Peverel	Translated fromLlandaff
1419	1426	Philip Morgan	Translated toEly
1425	1433	Thomas Poulton	Translated fromChichester
1433	1435	Thomas Brunce (bishop-elect)	Elected bishop, but never consecrated; later becameBishop of Rochester
1434	1443	Thomas Bourchier	Translated toEly; and later toCanterbury
1443	1476	John Carpenter	Nominated in 1443; consecrated in 1444; resigned theSee in 1476; apparently used the style"Bishop of Worcester and Westbury"[12][13]
1476	1486	John Alcock	Translated fromRochester; later toEly
1486	1497	Robert Morton	Nominated in 1486; consecrated in 1487
1497	1498	Giovanni de' Gigli
1498	1521	Silvestro de' Gigli
1521	1522	Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici	Appointedapostolic administrator of theSee of Worcester in 1521 and resigned in 1522; alsoArchbishop of Florence andNarbonne andBishop of Eger; he was elected asPope Clement VII in 1523.[14]
1522	1535	Girolamo Ghinucci	Deprived of the See byHenry VIII when the king broke with Rome; later in 1535 Ghinucci was created acardinal.[15]
Source(s):[3][10][16][17][18]

Bishops of Worcester
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1535	1539	Hugh Latimer	Resigned theSee
1539	1543	John Bell
1543	1551	Nicholas Heath (1st term)	Translated fromRochester; deprived of the See
1552	1554	John Hooper	Translated fromGloucester, 20 May 1552 when Gloucester was reunited to Worcester; called "Bishop of Worcester and Gloucester" and "of Gloucester and Worcester"; deprived of the See.[19][20][21][22]
1554	1555	Nicholas Heath (2nd term)	Restored to the See; later translated toYork
1555	1559	Richard Pate	Deprived of the See.
Source(s):[3][10][18][23][24]

Bishops of Worcester
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1559	1570	Edwin Sandys	Translated toLondon; and later toYork
1570 (designate)		James Calfhill	Archdeacon of Colchester (1565–1570). Allegedly nominated byQueen Elizabeth I, but died before election.
1571	1576	Nicholas Bullingham	Translated fromLincoln
1577	1583	John Whitgift	Translated toCanterbury
1584	1591	Edmund Freke	Translated fromNorwich
1593	1595	Richard Fletcher	Translated fromBristol; later toLondon
1596	1597	Thomas Bilson	Translated toWinchester
1597	1610	Gervase Babington	Translated fromExeter
1610	1616	Henry Parry	Translated fromGloucester
1617	1641	John Thornborough	Translated fromBristol
1641	1646	John Prideaux	Deprived of the see when the English episcopacy was abolished by Parliament on 9 October 1646.
1646	1660	The see was abolished during theCommonwealth and theProtectorate.[25][26]
1660	1662	George Morley	Translated toWinchester
1662		John Gauden	Translated fromExeter
1662	1663	John Earle	Translated toSalisbury
1663	1670	Robert Skinner	Translated fromBristol
1671	1675	Walter Blandford	Translated fromOxford
1675	1683	James Fleetwood
1683	1689	William Thomas	Translated fromSt David's
1689	1699	Edward Stillingfleet
1699	1717	William Lloyd	Translated fromLichfield and Coventry
1717	1743	John Hough	Translated fromLichfield and Coventry
1743	1759	Isaac Maddox	Translated fromSt Asaph
1759	1774	James Johnson	Translated fromGloucester
1774	1781	Brownlow North	Translated fromLichfield and Coventry; later toWinchester
1781	1808	Richard Hurd	Translated fromLichfield and Coventry
1808	1831	Folliott Cornewall	Translated fromHereford
1831	1841	Robert Carr	Translated fromChichester
1841	1860	Henry Pepys	Translated fromSodor and Man
1861	1890	Henry Philpott
1890	1901	John Perowne	Resigned
1902	1905	Charles Gore[27]	Translated toBirmingham; and later toOxford
1905	1918	Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs	Translated fromSouthwark; later toCoventry
1919	1931	Ernest Pearce
1931	1941	Arthur Perowne	Translated fromBradford
1941	1955	William Wilson Cash
1956	1971	Mervyn Charles-Edwards
1971	1981	Robin Woods
1982	1996	Philip Goodrich[28]	Previously Bishop ofTonbridge (1973–1982)
1997	2007	Peter Selby	PreviouslyBishop of Kingston-upon-Thames (1984–1992). AlsoBishop to HM Prisons (2001–2007)
2007 (acting)		David Walker	Bishop of Dudley. Episcopal commissary (acting diocesan bishop) during interregnum.[29]
2007	2024	John Inge	Retired 9 October 2024.[30]
2024	acting	Martin Gorick,Bishop of Dudley	Acting diocesan bishop during vacancy in See, since 9 October 2024.[31]
2026	bishop-designate	Hugh Nelson	AlsoBishop to the Forces; currentlyBishop of St Germans
Source(s):[10][24][32]

Among those who have served asassistant bishops of the diocese are:

• 1936 – 1944 (d.):Ridley Duppuy,Canon Residentiary ofWorcester Cathedral,Archdeacon of Worcester (from 1938), Vice-Dean of Worcester (from 1940) and formerBishop of Victoria^[33]
• 1946 – January 1953 (ret.):Bertram Lasbrey, Rector of St Andrew's &c.Worcester and formerBishop on the Niger^[34]
• 1953 – 1965 (ret.):Cyril Stuart, Rector of St Andrew's &c. Worcester (until 1965), Canon of Worcester thereafter, and formerBishop of Uganda^[35]
• 1968 – 1991 (ret.):Nicholas Allenby, formerBishop of Kuching^[36]
• 1989 – 2008 (d.):Kenneth Woollcombe, assistant priest inUpton Snodsbury (1989–?), formerBishop of Oxford andAssistant Bishop of London for Westminster^[37]

• Diocese of Worcester

• Bishops of Worcester
• Lists of Church of England bishops and archbishops
• Worcestershire-related lists
• Christianity in Worcester, England
• Christianity in Worcestershire
• Anglican Diocese of Worcester
• 680 establishments

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