The Bishop of Thetford 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 which takes its name after the 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...

 of Thetford

Thetford

Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...

 in Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, 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 was originally used by the Normans

Normans

The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 in the 11th century, and is presently used by a 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...

 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:...

.

Diocesan Bishops of Thetford

The Diocese of Thetford was formed when Bishop Herfast

Herfast

Herfast was a medieval Lord Chancellor of England, Bishop of Elmham and Bishop of Thetford.-Life:Born in Normandy, he joined William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England, and was appointed head of the royal writing office after the Battle of Hastings. He was Lord Chancellor of...

 moved the episcopal see

Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...

 from Elmham to Thetford in 1075. This short-lived see continued until it was moved to Norwich

Bishop of Norwich

The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...

 in 1094.

List of the Diocesan Bishops of Thetford
No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
1	Herfast Herfast Herfast was a medieval Lord Chancellor of England, Bishop of Elmham and Bishop of Thetford.-Life:Born in Normandy, he joined William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England, and was appointed head of the royal writing office after the Battle of Hastings. He was Lord Chancellor of...	1075	1084	Transferred the see from Elmham in 1075; died 1084
2	William de Beaufeu William de Beaufeu William de Beaufeu was a medieval Bishop of Thetford and a major landholder mentioned in the Domesday Book.-Life:...	1085	1091	Nominated 25 December 1085; died or resigned before 27 January 1091; also known as William de Beaufai
3	Herbert de Losinga Herbert de Losinga Herbert de Losinga was the first Bishop of Norwich. He founded Norwich Cathedral in 1096 when he was Bishop of Thetford.-Life:...	1091	1094/95	Previously Abbot Abbot The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...  of Ramsey Ramsey, Cambridgeshire Ramsey is a small Cambridgeshire market town and parish, north of Huntingdon and St Ives. For local government purposes it lies in the district of Huntingdonshire within the local government county of Cambridgeshire.... ; consecrated before 27 January 1091; became Bishop of Norwich Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...  in 1094 or 1095
In 1094 or 1095, the see of Thetford was moved to Norwich Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided... .

Suffragan Bishops of Thetford

The present Bishop of Thetford is 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 Norwich

Anglican Diocese of Norwich

The Diocese of Norwich forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of Dunwich founded in 630. In common with many Anglo-Saxon bishoprics it moved, in this case to Elmham in 673...

, in the Province of Canterbury

Province of Canterbury

The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England...

, 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 was resurrected under the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534

Suffragan Bishops Act 1534

The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 was an Act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan bishops in England and Wales...

. The Bishop of Thetford, along with the Bishop of Lynn

Bishop of Lynn

The Bishop of Lynn is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of King's Lynn in Norfolk...

, assists the Diocesan Bishop of Norwich

Bishop of Norwich

The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...

 in overseeing the diocese, and has particular oversight of the Archdeaconry of Norfolk.

List of the Suffragan Bishops of Thetford
No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
1	John Salisbury John Salisbury (bishop) John Salisbury, O.S.B. was a Welsh clergyman who held high office in the pre- and post-Reformation church in England.He was the last Abbot of Titchfield; the abbey was dissolved in December 1537. Under the provisions of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534, he was appointed and consecrated Bishop of...	1536	1570	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 Sodor and Man Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese covers the Isle of Man. The see is in the town of Peel where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of St German, elevated to cathedral status on 1...
–	in abeyance	1570	1894
2	Arthur Lloyd Arthur Lloyd (bishop) Arthur Thomas Lloyd was an Anglican bishop.Lloyd was educated at Magdalen School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Ordained in 1869, his first post was as a curate at Cholsey from where he moved to become vicar of Aylesbury...	1894	1903	Translated to Newcastle Bishop of Newcastle The Bishop of Newcastle is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Newcastle in the Province of York.The diocese at present covers the County of Northumberland and the Alston Moor area of Cumbria...
3	John Bowers John Bowers (bishop) The Rt Rev John Phillips Allcot Bowers was an Anglican bishop, Bishop of Thetford in the early part of the 20th Century....	1903	1926
–	no appointment	1926	1945
4	John Woodhouse John Woodhouse The Rt Rev John Walker Woodhouse was an Anglican Suffragan Bishop from 1945 until 1953.He was born on 28 January 1884 and educated at Charterhouse and University College, Oxford before embarking on an ecclesiastical career with a curacy at St James, Milton, Portsmouth...	1945	1953
5	Martin Leonard Martin Leonard Martin Patrick Grainge Leonard DSO was an Anglican suffragan bishop from 1953 until his death.He was born at Torpenhow, near Cockermouth, Cumberland on 5 July 1889 and educated at Rossall, Fleetwood, Lancashire and Oriel College, Oxford before embarking on an ecclesiastical career with service as...	1953	1963
6	Eric Cordingly	1963	1977
7	Hugh Blackburne Hugh Blackburne Hugh Charles Blackburne was the Bishop of Thetford from 1977 until 1981.Blackburne was born into an ecclesiastical family on 4 June 1912 and educated at Marlborough and Clare College, Cambridge before neginning his ordained ministry as a curate in Almondbury...	1977	1981
8	Timothy Dudley-Smith Timothy Dudley-Smith Timothy Dudley-Smith OBE is an English hymnwriter and a retired bishop of the Church of England.Born in Manchester, England, he was educated at Tonbridge School and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was ordained deacon in 1950 and priest in 1951. He served as Archdeacon of Norwich 1973-81 and ...	1981	1992
9	Hugo de Waal	1992	2001
10	David Atkinson	2001	2009
11	Alan Winton	2009	present

External links

• Crockford's Clerical Directory - Listings

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