Bishop ofWinchester
Bishopric
anglican
Arms of the Bishop of Winchester:Gules, two keys addorsed in bend the upper or the lower argent between them overlying the uppermost key a sword in bend sinister point upright of the third hilt and pommel or[1]
Incumbent: Philip Mounstephen
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Residence	Wolvesey Palace,Winchester
Information
First holder	Wine
Established	634 (at Dorchester) 660 (translated to Winchester)
Diocese	Winchester
Cathedral	Winchester Cathedral (since 660) Dorchester (634–660)

TheBishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of theDiocese of Winchester in theChurch of England. The bishop's seat (cathedra) is atWinchester Cathedral inHampshire.

The Bishop of Winchester has always heldex officio the office ofPrelate of theMost Noble Order of the Garter since its foundation in 1348. except during the period of theCommonwealth until theRestoration of the Monarchy.^[2] Bishops of Winchester also often held the positions ofLord Treasurer andLord Chancellorex officio.

During theMiddle Ages, the Diocese of Winchester was one of the wealthiest English sees, and its bishops have included a number of politically prominent Englishmen, notably the 9th century SaintSwithun and medieval magnates includingWilliam of Wykeham andHenry of Blois.

The Bishop of Winchester is appointed by the Crown, and is one of five Church of England bishops who sitex officio among the 26Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords, regardless of their length of service.^[3]Philip Mounstephen has been the Bishop of Winchester since 10 October 2023.^[4][5]

The Diocese of Winchester is one of the oldest and most important inEngland. Originally it was theepiscopal see of the kingdom ofWessex or the West Saxons, with itscathedra atDorchester Cathedral near Oxford under SaintsBirinus andAgilbert. The cathedral at Dorchester was founded in AD 634 by Birinius, a Roman missionary. The see was transferred toWinchester in AD 660.

Winchester was divided in AD 909, with Wiltshire and Berkshire transferring to the newSee of Ramsbury. Nevertheless, the domains of the Bishop of Winchester ran from the south coast to the south bank of the RiverThames atSouthwark, where the bishop had one of his palaces, making it one of the largest as well as one of the richest sees in the land. In more modern times, the former extent of the Diocese of Winchester was reduced by the formation of a new diocese ofSouthwark in south London,^[a] a new diocese ofGuildford inSurrey and a new diocese ofPortsmouth inHampshire. The most recent loss of territory was in 2022 when theChannel Islands were removed from the diocese of Winchester after a dispute with BishopTim Dakin led to a breakdown in relations. The Channel Islands were transferred to theDiocese of Salisbury by anOrder in Council made under the Channel Islands Measure 2020.^[7]

Traditionally, in the generalorder of precedence before 1533, the Bishop of Winchester was given precedence over all otherdiocesan bishops - that is, the first English bishop in rank behind thearchbishops ofCanterbury andYork. But in 1533,Henry VIII of England raised the rank of theBishop of London and theBishop of Durham, relegating Winchester to third (but still above other remaining diocesan bishops).^{[citation needed]} The order of precedence was implicitly recognised by the Bishoprics Act 1878.^[8][b]

TheReport of the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the Ecclesiastical Revenues of England and Wales (1835) found the Winchester see was the third wealthiest in England, after Canterbury and London, with an annual net income of £11,151.^[9]

The official residence of the Bishop of Winchester isWolvesey Palace in Winchester. Historic homes of the bishops includedWolvesey Castle,Farnham Castle,Bishop's Waltham Palace andWinchester Palace inSouthwark. The bishop is thevisitor to five Oxford colleges, namelyMagdalen College,New College,St John's College,Trinity College, andCorpus Christi College.

The former bishop of Winchester,Tim Dakin, was enthroned on 21 April 2012, having been elected on 14 October 2011. He was consecrated as a bishop atSt Paul's Cathedral, London, on 25 January 2012. On 20 May 2021, it was reported that Dakin had "stepped back" as diocesan bishop for six weeks, in light of the threat of a diocesan synod motion of no confidence in his leadership.David Williams,Bishop of Basingstoke, also "stepped back" andDebbie Sellin,Bishop of Southampton, served as acting diocesan bishop.^[10] Dakin's leave was later extended to the end of August 2021.^[11] He retired on 6 February 2022.^[12]

Debbie Sellin continued as acting diocesan bishop during the vacancy, with retired bishopRichard Frith serving as the Archbishop's Episcopal Commissary in the diocese.^[13] In July 2023, it was announced thatPhilip Mounstephen would be the next Bishop of Winchester^[14] and that he was to leave his post at Truro in autumn 2023.^[15] Debbie Sellin remained acting diocesan bishop pending Mounstephen'selection (which took place on 11 September)^[16] andconfirmation on 10 October.^[17]

From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1070	1098	Walkelin
1100	1129	William Giffard
1129	1171	Henry of Blois
1173	1188	Richard of Ilchester
1189	1204	Godfrey de Luci
1205		(Richard Poore)	Election quashed
1205	1238	Peter des Roches
1238	1239	(Ralph Neville)	Election quashed
1240	1250	William de Raley	Translated fromNorwich
1250	1260	Aymer de Valence
1261	1262	(Andrew of London)	Election quashed
1261	1262	(William de Taunton)	Election quashed
1262	1268	John Gervais
1268	1280	Nicholas of Ely
1280		(Robert Burnell)	Election quashed June 1280.
1280	1282	(Richard de la More)	Never consecrated, resigned June 1282.
1282	1304	John of Pontoise
1305	1316	Henry Woodlock
1316	1319	John Sandale
1319	1323	Rigaud of Assier
1323	1333	John de Stratford	Translated toCanterbury
1333	1345	Adam Orleton	Translated fromWorcester
1345	1366	William Edington
1366	1404	William of Wykeham	Chancellor of England; founder ofWinchester College and ofNew College, Oxford[21]
1404	1447	CardinalHenry Beaufort	Translated fromLincoln; AppointedCardinal byPope Martin V; TheBishop of Winchester inShakespeare'sFirst Part of Henry the Sixth
1447	1486	William Waynflete
1487	1492	Peter Courtenay	Translated fromExeter
1493	1501	Thomas Langton	Translated fromSalisbury
1501	1528	Richard Foxe	Translated fromDurham
1529	1530	CardinalThomas Wolsey	Archbishop of York. Heldin commendam the see of Winchester.
Source(s):[20][22][23][24]

From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1531	1551	Stephen Gardiner (1st tenure)
1551	1553	John Ponet	Translated fromRochester
1553	1555	Stephen Gardiner (2nd tenure)
1556	1559	John White	Translated fromLincoln
Source(s):[20][23][24][25]

From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1560	1580	Robert Horne
1580	1584	John Watson
1584	1594	Thomas Cooper	Translated fromLincoln
1594	1595	William Wickham	Translated fromLincoln
1595	1596	William Day
1597	1616	Thomas Bilson	Translated fromWorcester
1616	1618	James Montague	Translated fromBath and Wells
1618	1626	Lancelot Andrewes	Translated fromEly
1627	1632	Richard Neile	Translated fromDurham, later translated toYork
1632	1646	Walter Curle	Translated fromBath and Wells. Deprived 1646, and died 1647.
1646	1660	The see was abolished during theCommonwealth and theProtectorate.[26][27]
1660	1662	Brian Duppa	Translated fromSalisbury
1662	1684	George Morley	Translated fromWorcester
1684	1706	Peter Mews	Translated fromBath and Wells
1707	1721	SirJonathan Trelawny	Translated fromExeter
1721	1723	Charles Trimnell	Translated fromNorwich
1723	1734	Richard Willis	Translated fromSalisbury
1734	1761	Benjamin Hoadly	Translated fromSalisbury
1761	1781	John Thomas	Translated fromSalisbury
1781	1820	Brownlow North	Translated fromWorcester
1820	1827	SirGeorge Pretyman Tomline, Bt.	Translated fromLincoln
1827	1869	Charles Sumner	Translated fromLlandaff
1869	1873	Samuel Wilberforce	Translated fromOxford
1873	1891	Harold Browne	Translated fromEly
1891	1895	Anthony Thorold	Translated fromRochester
1895	1903	Randall Davidson	Translated fromRochester, later translated toCanterbury
1903	1911	Herbert Edward Ryle	Translated fromExeter
1911	1923	Edward Talbot	Translated fromSouthwark
1923	1932	Theodore Woods	Translated fromPeterborough
1932	1942	Cyril Garbett	Translated fromSouthwark, later translated toYork
1942	1952	Mervyn Haigh	Translated fromCoventry
1952	1961	Alwyn Williams	Translated fromDurham
1961	1975	Falkner Allison	Translated fromChelmsford
1975	1985	John Taylor
1985	1995	Colin James	Translated fromWakefield
1995	2011	Michael Scott-Joynt	Translated fromStafford
2012	2022	Tim Dakin
2022	2023	Debbie Sellin, Bishop of Southampton and acting diocesan bishop
2022	2023	Richard Frith, Archbishop's Episcopal Commissary[13]	formerBishop of Hereford
2023	present	Philip Mounstephen[14]	Translated fromTruro; confirmed 10 October 2023.[4][5]
Source(s):[20][28][29]

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

• 1457–1486 (d.): William Westkarre, Prior ofMottisfont Abbey (1451–d.), titular Bishop ofSidon/Zeitun andAssistant Bishop of Canterbury (1480);^[30][31] sometime head ofSt Mary's College, Oxford (c. 1443); elected Prior ofHoly Trinity Priory, Aldgate, 1445, but put aside; later a canon ofBurscough Priory.^[32]
• 1885 – 1887 (res.):Francis Cramer-Roberts, Vicar ofMilford-on-Sea and formerBishop of Nassau^[33]
• 1921–1922 (d.):James Macarthur,Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight (since 1906) and Assistant Bishop for the island; formerBishop of Southampton^[34]
• 1947 – 1962 (ret.):Leslie Lang,Archdeacon of Winchester andCanon Residentiary ofWinchester Cathedral, and formerBishop of Woolwich^[35]
• 1963 – 1973 (ret.):Nigel Cornwall, Canon Residentiary of Winchester Cathedral and formerBishop of Borneo^[36]
• 1982 – 1990 (ret.):Hassan Dehqani-Tafti, formerBishop in Iran andPresident Bishop,Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East^[37]
• 1996 – 2020 (d.)John Dennis (bishop) Honorary Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Winchester and formerlyBishop of Knaresborough andBishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich

• Deans of Winchester
• The Bishop of Winchester Academy

• Bishops of Winchester
• Lists of Church of England bishops and archbishops
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• Bishops of Dorchester (Wessex)

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