This article traces the historical development of the dioceses and cathedrals of the Church of England. It is customary in England to name each diocese after the city where its cathedral is located. Occasionally, when the bishop's seat has been moved from one city to another, the diocese may retain both names, for example Bath and Wells. More recently, where a cathedral is in a small or little-known town or city, the diocesan name has been changed to include the name of a nearby larger city: thus the cathedral in Southwell now serves the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, and Ripon Cathedral was in Ripon and Leeds from 1999 until 2014. Cathedrals, like other churches, are dedicated to a particular saint or holy object, or Christ himself, but are commonly referred to by the name of the city where they stand. A cathedral is, simply, the church where the bishop has his chair or "cathedra".

The forty-two dioceses of the Church of England are administrative territorial units each governed by a bishop. Forty-one dioceses cover England, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, and a small part of Wales. One diocese, the Diocese in Europe, is also a part of the Church of England (rather than a separate Anglican church such as the Church in Wales), and covers the whole of mainland Europe, the countries of Morocco and Turkey, and the territory of the former Soviet Union.

The structure of the dioceses within the Church of England was initially inherited from the Catholic Church as part of the English Reformation. During the Reformation, a number of new dioceses were founded. No new English or Welsh dioceses were then created until the middle of the 19th century, when dioceses were founded mainly in response to the growing population, especially in the northern industrial cities.

From 1787, the Anglican church also erected 41 dioceses outside these isles (see § colonial dioceses); these were part of the Church of England until they were separated from the home Church in 1863. From 1801 until 1871, the dioceses of Ireland were also part of the United Church of England and Ireland. In 1920 (by the Welsh Church Act 1914), the Welsh dioceses were separated to form the Church in Wales.

The last dioceses were created in 1927. The 42 dioceses are divided between two Provinces: the Province of Canterbury (with 30 dioceses) and the Province of York (with 12 dioceses). The archbishops of Canterbury and York have pastoral oversight over the bishops within their province, along with certain other rights and responsibilities.

History

The history of the cathedrals in Great Britain differs somewhat from that of their European continental counterparts. British cathedrals have always been fewer in number than those of Italy, France, and other parts of Europe, while the buildings themselves have tended to be much larger. While France, at the time of the French Revolution, had 136 cathedrals, England had 27. Because of a ruling that no cathedral could be built in a village, any town in which a cathedral was located was elevated to city status, regardless of its size. To this day several large English cathedrals are located in small "cathedral cities", notably Wells and Ely Cathedrals, both of which rank among the greatest works of English Medieval architecture.

Early organisation In earlier times, populations were sparsely spread and towns were few. The population of the kingdom of England in the 11th century is estimated at between one and two million, with Lincolnshire, East Anglia, and East Kent the most densely populated areas; in other parts of the country many villages had been razed by the conquest armies.http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/life.html#6 The Domesday Book Instead of exercising jurisdiction over geographical areas, many of the bishops were linked to tribes or peoples, as the bishops of the South Saxons, the West Saxons, the Somersætas, etc. The cathedra of such a bishop was often migratory.

In 1075 a council was held in London, under the presidency of Archbishop Lanfranc, which, reciting the decrees of the council of Sardica held in 347 and that of Laodicea held in 360 on this matter, ordered the bishop of the South Saxons to remove his see from Selsey to Chichester; the Wiltshire and Dorset bishop to remove his cathedra from Sherborne to Old Sarum, and the Mercian bishop, whose cathedral was then at Lichfield, to transfer it to Chester. Traces of the tribal and migratory system may still be noted in the designations of the Irish see of Meath (where the result has been that there is now no cathedral church) and Ossory, the cathedral church of which is at Kilkenny. Some of the Scottish sees were also migratory.

Late Middle Ages

Between 1075 and the 15th century, the cathedrals of England were almost evenly divided between those ruled by secular canons headed by a dean and those ruled by monastic orders headed by a prior, all of which were Benedictine, except Carlisle, which was Augustinian. Two cathedrals, Bath and Coventry, shared their sees with Wells and Lichfield, respectively.

Reformation The entire structure of the monastic and cathedral system was overthrown and reconstituted during the Reformation. Cathedrals which were once Roman Catholic came under the governance of the Church of England.

All the English monastic cathedral chapters were dissolved by Henry VIII and, with the exceptions of Bath and Coventry, were re-founded by him as churches of secular chapters, with a dean as the head, and a certain number of canons ranging from twelve at Canterbury Cathedral and Durham Cathedral to four at Carlisle Cathedral, and with certain subordinate officers as minor canons, gospellers, epistolers, etc. The precentorship in these churches of the "New Foundation", as they are called, is not, as in the secular churches of the "Old Foundation", a dignity, but is merely an office held by one of the minor canons.

Henry VIII also created six new cathedrals from old monastic establishments, in each case governed by secular canons. Of these, Westminster did not retain its cathedral status. Four more of England's large historic churches were later to become cathedrals: Southwell, Southwark, Ripon, and St Albans Abbey.

Roles within the Cathedral

Details of cathedrals and their foundation

Ancient cathedrals The medieval Church of England was organised into 16 dioceses. About half of the diocesan cathedrals were also monasteries, with the prior serving double duty as dean of the cathedral. The rest were served by a college of "secular" canons – non-monastic priests living under no fixed rule of life. Both types often had Saxon foundations. Dioceses which exist in the Church of England today are indicated in bold type.

Pre-Conquest Diocese Founded Monastic or secular? Notes Canterbury 597 Monastic Also called archbishop of Kent in Anglo-Saxon times.Bede; Giles, J. A. (ed.). Ecclesiastical History of England, also the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (p. 316) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Rochester 604 Monastic Also called bishop of the West Kentish in Anglo-Saxon times.Thackeray, William Makepeace. The Cornhill Magazine, Vol. 45 (p. 426) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) London 604 Secular Archbishops of London had existed previously; also called bishop of the East SaxonsCedd, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of the East Saxons (Exciting Holiness; accessed 29 November 2013) or of EssexCaine, A. Nuclear Ransom (p. 10) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) in Anglo-Saxon times. York 626 Secular In Anglo-Saxon times also called bishop of NorthumbriaHawkins, John. History of the Science and Practice of Music, Vol. 1 (p. 372) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) or of the Northumbrians,de Rapin, Paul & Tindal, Nicholas. The History of England: As Well Ecclesiastical as Civil, Vol. 15 (p. 29) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) or of Deira.Godfrey, C. J. The Church in Anglo-Saxon England (p. 133) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) East Anglia/Dunwich 631 (Dunwich or possibly Soham) Monastic Lapsed to Elmham in 950; also called bishop of the East Angles.Tyrrell, James. The General History of England, Both Ecclesiastical and Civil..., Vol. 1 (p. 265) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Dorchester/Winchester 634 (Dorchester, Oxon)660 (Winchester) Monastic Also called bishop of Wessex in Anglo-Saxon times.Gurney, A. (trans.) A Literal Translation of the Saxon Chronicle (p. 76) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Lindisfarne/Durham 635 (Lindisfarne)995 (Durham) Monastic Transferred to Durham in 995 from Chester-le-Street, itself a transfer from Lindisfarne; earlier called bishop of BerniciaYoung, George. A history of Whitby, and Streoneshalh abbey... (p. 193) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) or of the Bernicians.Fell, Charles & Challoner, Richard. The Lives of Saints: Collected from Authentick Records of Church History. (p. 59) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Mercia/Lichfield 656 (Repton)669 (Lichfield) Monastic/Secular After 1075, the see was occasionally Coventry or Chester; in Anglo-Saxon times called bishop of Mercia or of the Mercians.Butler, Alban. The Lives of the Primitive Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints (p. 11) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Elmham/Thetford/Norwich 672 (Elmham)1072 (Thetford)1091 (Norwich) Secular?/Monastic Hereford 676 Secular Also called bishop of the Magonsæte in Anglo-Saxon times.Lapidge, Michael; Blair, John; Keynes, Simon; Scragg, Donald. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England (p. 428) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Lindsey (Sidnacester) 678 Secular Merged with Dorchester, ; also called bishop of the Lindisfaras. Perry, George Gresley. A History of the English Church: First Period... (p. 49) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Ripon 678 Secular One bishop only; merged to York before 700. Worcester 680 Monastic In Anglo-Saxon times also called bishop of the Hwicce.Douglas, David C. English Historical Documents, Vol. 1 (pp. 290, 464 (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Leicester/Dorchester/Lincoln 681 (Leicester)878 (Dorchester)1072 (Lincoln) Unknown Selsey/Chichester 681 & 706 (Selsey)1075 (Chichester) Originally Monastic,

from 1075 Secular Selsey Abbey was founded in 681 and was the cathedra for the Kingdom of Sussex. That see lasted until 685, and from 686 to 705 was merged in the Diocese of Winchester, but was reasserted in 706. The bishopric was moved to Chichester by order of the Council of London in 1075; the bishops had previously also been known as bishop of SussexHay, Alexander. The History of Chichester (p. 51) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) or of the South Saxons.Tyrrell. General History, Vol. 1 (p. 65) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) Hexham 685 Monastic Absorbed into Lindisfarne by 854. Sherborne/Salisbury 705 (Sherborne)1078 (Salisbury) Originally Monastic, from 1078 Secular Cornish see (St Germans) Mid-9th century Monastic United into Exeter, 1050. Tawton/Crediton/Exeter 905 (Tawton)909 (Crediton)1050 (Exeter) Secular Bath and Wells 909 Monastic/Secular Bath was monastical and Wells a college of secular canons; from 909 to 1090 the seat was Wells, then from 1090 to 1245 Bath was usually the seat, and from 1245 the two places became joint seats albeit with Wells gaining pre-eminence; also called bishop of SomersetDearmer, Percy. Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Wells (p. 205) (Google Books; accessed 29 November 2013) or bishop of the SomersaetasWade, G. W. & Wade, J. H. Somerset, VI. History (Project Gutenberg; accessed 29 November 2013) in Anglo-Saxon times. Ramsbury 909 ? Reabsorbed into Sherborne, 1058. (St) Teilo/Llandaff Under English jurisdiction from (Teilo)1115 (Llandaff) Monastic Now a Church in Wales diocese.

Post-conquest