The Bishop of Knaresborough is an episcopal

Episcopal polity

Episcopal polity is a form of church governance that is hierarchical in structure with the chief authority over a local Christian church resting in a bishop...

 title used by a suffragan bishop

Suffragan bishop

A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...

 of the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as the south Teesdale area administered by County Durham which is traditionally part of Yorkshire...

, in the Province of York

Province of York

The Province of York is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England, and consists of 14 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to an Archbishopric in 735 AD: Ecgbert of York was the first archbishop...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The title takes its name after the historic market town

Market town

Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...

 and spa town

Spa town

A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...

 of Knaresborough

Knaresborough

Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...

 in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

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List of the Bishops of Knaresborough

No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
1	Lucius Smith Lucius Smith Lucius Smith was the inaugural Bishop of Knaresborough from 1905 to 1934. Born on 6 January 1860 into a clerical family he was educated at Harrow and Balliol College, Oxford. In 1882 he studied for ordination at Leeds Clergy School before a curacy in Toxteth...	1905	1934	(1860–1934)
2	Paul de Labilliere Paul de Labilliere Paul Fulcrand Delacour Labilliere was the second Bishop of Knaresborough from 1934 to 1938; and, subsequently, Dean of Westminster. Born on 22 January 1879 into a legal family he was educated at Harrow and Merton College, Oxford. After taking Holy Orders he became Chaplain to the Bishop of...	1934	1938	(1879–1946)
3	John Bateman-Champain John Bateman-Champain John Norman Bateman-Champain was an first-class English cricketer, making five appearances for Gloucestershire, who later in life became the third Anglican Bishop suffragan of Knaresborough. Bateman-Champain was a right-handed batsman.-Early life and education:John Bateman-Champain was born at...	1938	1948	(1880–1950)
4	Henry de Candole	1948	1965	(1895–1971)
5	John Howard Cruse John Howard Cruse John Howard Cruse was Bishop of Knaresborough from 1965 to 1972.Cruse was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge and studied for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford before curacies at Southall and Folkestone. From 1936 until 1949 he held incumbencies at Harrow and Cambridge, followed by a 16 year...	1965	1972	(1908–1979)
6	Ralph Emmerson Ralph Emmerson Ralph Emmerson was Bishop of Knaresborough from 1972 to 1979. Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire on 7 July 1913 he was educated at Leeds Grammar School and King’s College London. He worked initially in the Youth Employment Department of Leeds Educational Authority before studying for ordination at ...	1972	1979	(1914–2008)
7	John Dennis John Dennis (bishop) John Dennis was the Bishop of Knaresborough from 1979 to 1986 and the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich from 1986 to 1996. Now retired, he is an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Winchester...	1979	1986	(b.1931) . Translated Translation (ecclesiastical) Translation is the technical term when a Bishop is transferred from one diocese to another.This can be* From Suffragan Bishop status to Diocesan Bishop*From Coadjutor bishop to Diocesan Bishop*From one country's Episcopate to another...  to St Edmundsbury
8	Malcolm Menin Malcolm Menin Malcolm Menin was Bishop of Knaresborough from 1986 to 1997.Menin was educated at the Dragon School and University College, Oxford before studying for ordination at Cuddeston College, Oxford. After curacies in Portsmouth and Fareham he was appointed vicar of St James's Norwich in 1962, an area...	1986	1997	(b.1932)
9	Frank Weston	1997	2003	(1935–2003)
10	James Bell	2004	present	(b.1950)

Area Bishop of Ripon

Under the Dioceses Commission's Draft Reorganisation Scheme, the Diocese

Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as the south Teesdale area administered by County Durham which is traditionally part of Yorkshire...

 and See of Ripon and Leeds would be entirely dissolved to facilitate the creation of a new Anglican Diocese of Leeds. The intention is that the suffragan see of Knaresborough would be translated, by Order in Council, to Ripon, creating a Bishop of Ripon in the new diocese. The new area bishop would presumably have a "seat of honour" at Ripon Cathedral

Ripon Cathedral

Ripon Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds and the mother church of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, situated in the small North Yorkshire city of Ripon, England.-Background:...

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External links

• Crockford's Clerical Directory - Listings

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