Bishop ofOxford
Bishopric
anglican
Incumbent: Steven Croft
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Information
First holder	Robert King
Established	1542
Diocese	Oxford
Cathedral	Christ Church Cathedral

TheBishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of theChurch of EnglandDiocese of Oxford in theProvince of Canterbury; his seat is atChrist Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop isSteven Croft, following theconfirmation of hiselection to the See on 6 July 2016.^[1]

The Bishop of Oxford has authority throughout the diocese, but also has primary responsibility for the city and suburbs of Oxford, which form the Archdeaconry of Oxford.

From 1636 the Bishop was housed in the purpose-builtCuddesdon Palace.

The origins of Christianity in this part of England go back at least to the 7th century, whenSaint Birinus brought his mission to the West Saxons in 634. The West Saxon KingCynegils was baptised in the River Thames near the present site ofDorchester Abbey, where the original See was established.

The see was transferred in 1092 toWinchester, before being absorbed into theDiocese of Lincoln, the vast extent of which covered much of central and eastern England from theRiver Thames to theHumber.

KingHenry VIII, acting now as head of the Church in England, established by Act of Parliament in 1542 six new dioceses, mostly out of the spoils of the suppressed monasteries. These six were Bristol, Chester, Gloucester, Oxford, Peterborough and Westminster. This intervention byHenry VIII saw a new see located atOsney in Oxfordshire in 1542 before finally being moved to its present location in the City ofOxford in 1546.

While the city gained prosperity from the accession of thousands of students, it was never, apart from the university, again prominent in history until the seventeenth century, when it became the headquarters of the Royalist party, and again the meeting-place of Parliament. The city of Oxford showed its Hanoverian sympathies long before the university, and feeling between them ran high in consequence. The area and population of the city remained almost stationary until about 1830, but since then it has grown rapidly.

The modern diocese covers the counties ofOxfordshire, Berkshire, andBuckinghamshire, with parishes also inBedfordshire, Gloucestershire,Hampshire, Hertfordshire, andWarwickshire. Thesee is in theCity of Oxford where the seat is located at theCathedral Church of Christ which was elevated to cathedral status in 1546, and which (uniquely among English dioceses) is also the chapel ofChrist Church, Oxford.The Oxford diocese at the present day contains the greatest number of parishes of any diocese on England (621) and also the most church buildings (815), of which 475 are grade 1 or 2*listed buildings.

Croft is the first to reside at the new Bishop's Lodge,Kidlington; "for decades" previously, bishops had resided atLinton Road in North Oxford.^[2] Each bishop signs+ Christian name Oxon:; e.g.+ Steven Oxon:.

List of the Bishops of Oxford, and its precursor offices.

(Dates in italics indicatede factocontinuation of office)

Bishops of Oxford
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
See atOsney
1542	1546	Robert King	previouslysuffragan bishop to theBishop of Lincoln (astitular Bishop of Rheon, Greece)
See atOxford
1546	1558	Robert King	previously Bishop of Rheon (above)
1558	1559	Thomas Goldwell	Translated fromSt Asaph: his nomination had however been left unsigned at the death of the Queen; deprived, fled to Milan, Naples and Rome
1559	1567	See vacant
1567	1568	Hugh Curwen	Translated fromDublin
1568	1589	See vacant
1589	1592	John Underhill	Rector ofLincoln College, Oxford
1592	1604	See vacant
1604	1618	John Bridges	Dean ofSalisbury
1619	1628	John Howson	Student ofChrist Church, Oxford; translated toDurham
1628	1632	Richard Corbet	Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; translated toNorwich
1632	1641	John Bancroft	Master ofUniversity College, Oxford
1641	1646	Robert Skinner	Translated fromBristol; 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.[3][4]
1660	1663	Robert Skinner	Restored; translated toWorcester
1663	1665	William Paul	Dean ofLichfield
1665	1671	Walter Blandford	Warden ofWadham College, Oxford;[5] translated toWorceser
1671	1674	Nathaniel Crew	Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, and Dean ofChichester; translated toDurham
1674	1676	Henry Compton	Canon of Christ Church, Oxford; translated toLondon
1676	1686	John Fell	Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
1686	1687	Samuel Parker	Archdeacon ofCanterbury; died in office
1688	1690	Timothy Hall	Denied installation by the Chapter of Christ Church
1690	1699	John Hough	President ofMagdalen College, Oxford; translated toLichfield
1699	1715	William Talbot	Dean of Worcester; translated toSalisbury
1715	1737	John Potter	Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford; translated toCanterbury
1737	1758	Thomas Secker	Translated fromBristol; translated toCanterbury
1758	1766	John Hume	Translated fromBristol; translated toSalisbury
1766	1777	Robert Lowth	Translated fromSt David's; translated toLondon
1777	1788	John Butler	Prebendary of Winchester; translated toHereford
1788	1799	Edward Smallwell	Translated fromSt David's
1799	1807	John Randolph	Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford; translated toBangor
1807	1811	Charles Moss
1812	1815	William Jackson	Regius Professor of Greek, Oxford
1816	1827	Edward Legge	Dean of Windsor
1827	1829	Charles Lloyd	Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford
1829	1845	Richard Bagot	Dean of Canterbury; translated toBath & Wells
1845	1869	Samuel Wilberforce	Dean of Westminster; translated toWinchester
1870	1889	John Mackarness	Prebendary of Exeter
1889	1901	William Stubbs	Translated fromChester
1901	1911	Francis Paget	Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
1911	1919	Charles Gore	Translated fromBirmingham; resigned
1919	1925	Hubert Burge	Translated fromSouthwark
1925	1937	Thomas Strong	Translated fromRipon; resigned
1937	1954	Kenneth Kirk	Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, Oxford
1955	1970	Harry Carpenter	Warden of Keble College, Oxford; resigned
1971	1978	Kenneth Woollcombe	Principal ofEdinburgh Theological College; resigned
1978	1986	Patrick Rodger	Translated fromManchester; resigned
1987	2006	Richard Harries	Dean ofKing's College, London; ennobled on retirement
2006	2014	John Pritchard	Translated fromJarrow
2014	2016	Colin Fletcher Bishop of Dorchester	Acting Bishop. The unusually long vacancy was due to theCrown Nominations Commission failing to appoint in May 2015, and having to rejoin the back of the 'queue' for a second chance in March 2016.[6]
6 July 2016	incumbent	Steven Croft	Translated fromSheffield[1]

Among those who have served the diocese as stipendiary (i.e. not retired) Assistant Bishops have been:

• 1921 – 1936 (ret.):Edward Shaw,Archdeacon of Oxford andcanon residentiary ofChrist Church; formerBishop suffragan of Buckingham^[7]
• 1936 – 1939:Gerald Allen,Archdeacon of Oxford and Canon of Christ Church, formerBishop of Sherborne (became firstBishop suffragan of Dorchester)^[8]
• 1947 – 1952 (ret.):Roscow Shedden, Vicar ofWantage and formerBishop of Nassau^[9]
• late 1951^[10] – 1963 (d.):Vibert Jackson, Vicar ofSouth Ascot (since 1940) and formerBishop of the Windward Islands^[11]
• c. 1952 – 1959:Geoffrey Allen,Principal ofRipon Hall and formerBishop in Egypt (becameBishop of Derby)^[12]
• 1986–1988:Patrick Harris, Secretary of thePartnership for World Mission and formerBishop of Northern Argentina (laterBishop of Southwell)^[13]

Those who have served in (or into) retirement have included:

• 1952 (ret.) – 1956 (d.): Roscow Shedden, formerBishop of Nassau^[9]
• 1952 (ret.) – 1956 (d.): Gerald Allen, retired Bishop suffragan of Dorchester^[8]
• 1954 (ret.) – 1961 (d.):Arthur Parham, retired Bishop suffragan of Reading^[14]

• Cuddesdon Palace

• Oxford Diocesan Year Book
• Haydn's Book of Dignities (1894) Joseph Haydn/Horace Ockerby, reprinted (1969)
• Whitaker's Almanack 1883 to 2004, Joseph Whitaker and Sons Ltd/A&C Black, London
• The above text is partly drawn from the Catholic Encyclopaedia of 1908

• Bishops of Oxford
• History of Oxford
• Lists of Church of England bishops and archbishops
• Diocese of Oxford
• Oxford-related lists

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• Use dmy dates from June 2021