The Bishop of Pontefract 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 Wakefield

Diocese of Wakefield

The Diocese of Wakefield is a Church of England diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covering Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale...

, 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 town of Pontefract

Pontefract

Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

 in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

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List of the Bishops of Pontefract

No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
1	Campbell Hone DD Doctor of Divinity Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....	1931	1938	Domestic Chaplain to Bishop Eden, Wakefield, 1902-5. Vice Principal of Leeds Clergy School, 1905-9. Vicar of Mount Pellon, Halifax, 1909-16. Vicar of Brighouse, 1916-20. Rector and Rural Dean of Whitby, 1920-7. Canon and Prebendary Wistow in York Minster,1927-31. Subsequently to Bishop of Wakefield Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield in the Province of York.The diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covers Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale...  1938-46.
2	Tom Longworth Tom Longworth The Rt Rev Tom Longworth was an eminent Anglican Bishop in the middle third of the 20th century. He was born on 8 January 1891 and educated at Shrewsbury and University College, Oxford and ordained in 1916... DD	1939	1949	Canon and Archdeacon, 1938. Subsequently Bishop of Hereford Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is... , 1949-61.
3	Arthur Morris DD	1949	1954	Canon and Archdeacon, 1946. Subsequently Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, 1954–65
4	George Clarkson	1954	1961	Canon, 1936. Vicar of Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Newark-on-Trent The Church of St. Mary Magadalene, Newark-on-Trent is a parish church in the Church of England in Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire.The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or historic interest.-Building:It is notable for...  1948. Archdeacon, 1954. Subsequently Dean of Guildford, 1961–68, Assistant Bishop of Lincoln, 1968-77.
5	Eric Treacy Eric Treacy The Rt Revd Eric Treacy MBE was an English railway photographer and Anglican Bishop.Born in London, Treacy was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's School and at King's College London, though he left without taking a degree...	1961	1968	Vicar St Mary's Edge Hill, 1936-41. Chaplain to the Forces, 1940-5. Rector of Keighley, 1945-9. Rural Dean of South Craven, 1947-9. Rural Dean and Vicar of Halifax, 1950-61. Archdeacon of Halifax, 1949-61. Subsequently Bishop of Wakefield Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Wakefield in the Province of York.The diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covers Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale... , 1968-77.
6	Gordon Fallows Gordon Fallows William Gordon Fallows KCVO, known as Gordon Fallows, was a Church of England bishop from the broad church tradition. He served as the sixth suffragan Bishop of Pontefract and subsequently fourth diocesan Bishop of Sheffield... MA Master of Arts (postgraduate) A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...	1968	1971	Canon 1952. Archdeacon 1955. Subsequently Bishop of Sheffield Bishop of Sheffield The Bishop of Sheffield is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Sheffield in the Province of York.The title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of York in 1901. The only suffragan bishop of Sheffield assisted the Archbishop of York in overseeing the diocese... , 1971-79.
7	Thomas Hare Thomas Hare (bishop) The Rt Rev Thomas Richard Hare was the Suffragan Bishop of Pontefract from 1971 until 1992.-Life:He was born on 29 August 1922 and educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Oxford.After World War Two service with the RAF he was ordained in 1950 and began his ecclesiastical career with... MA	1971	1992	Canon 1959-65. Archdeacon 1965-71.
8	John Finney MA	1993	1998	Canon 1984-9. Officer for Decade of Evangelism.
9	David James David James (bishop) David Charles James is a retired Anglican bishop. He was formerly the Bishop of Bradford in the Church of England.James was educated at Nottingham High School and the University of Exeter...	1998	2002	Subsequently Bishop of Bradford Bishop of Bradford The Bishop of Bradford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Bradford, in the Province of YorkThe diocese covers the extreme west of Yorkshire, and has its see in the city of Bradford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter.The Bishop's residence is... , 1992-2002.
10	Tony Robinson	2002	present

Area Bishop of Wakefield

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

Diocese of Wakefield

The Diocese of Wakefield is a Church of England diocese based in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, covering Wakefield, Barnsley, Kirklees and Calderdale...

 and See of Wakefield would be entirely dissolved to facilitate the creation of a new Anglican Diocese of Leeds. The suffragan see of Pontefract would then be translated, by Order in Council, to Wakefield, as Bishop of Wakefield in the new diocese. The new area bishop would presumably have a "seat of honour" at Wakefield Cathedral

Wakefield Cathedral

Wakefield Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of All Saints Wakefield is the cathedral for the Church of England's Diocese of Wakefield and is the seat of the Bishop of Wakefield. The cathedral has Anglo Saxon origins and the tallest cathedral spire in Yorkshire...

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External links

• Crockford's Clerical Directory - Listings

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