Bishop of Oxford

The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The See is currently in vacancy following the retirement of Steven Croft on 4 July 2026. The diocese is led by the Acting Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Gavin Collins.

The Bishop of Oxford has authority throughout the diocese, but also has primary responsibility for the city and suburbs of Oxford, which form the Archdeaconry of Oxford.From 1636 the Bishop was housed in the purpose-built Cuddesdon Palace.

History The origins of Christianity in this part of England go back at least to the 7th century, when Saint Birinus brought his mission to the West Saxons in 634. The West Saxon King Cynegils was baptised in the River Thames near the present site of Dorchester Abbey, where the original See was established.

The see was transferred in 1092 to Winchester, before being absorbed into the Diocese of Lincoln, the vast extent of which covered much of central and eastern England from the River Thames to the Humber.

King Henry VIII, acting now as head of the Church in England, established by Act of Parliament in 1542 six new dioceses, mostly out of the spoils of the suppressed monasteries. These six were Bristol, Chester, Gloucester, Oxford, Peterborough and Westminster. This intervention by Henry VIII saw a new see located at Osney in Oxfordshire in 1542 before finally being moved to its present location in the City of Oxford in 1546.

While the city gained prosperity from the accession of thousands of students, it was never, apart from the university, again prominent in history until the seventeenth century, when it became the headquarters of the Royalist party, and again the meeting-place of Parliament. The city of Oxford showed its Hanoverian sympathies long before the university, and feeling between them ran high in consequence. The area and population of the city remained almost stationary until about 1830, but since then it has grown rapidly.

Modern bishopric The modern diocese covers the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire, with parishes also in Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, and Warwickshire. The see is in the City of Oxford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ which was elevated to cathedral status in 1546, and which (uniquely among English dioceses) is also the chapel of Christ Church, Oxford. The Oxford diocese at the present day contains the greatest number of parishes of any diocese on England (621) and also the most church buildings (815), of which 475 are grade 1 or 2* listed buildings.

Croft is the first to reside at the new Bishop's Lodge, Kidlington; "for decades" previously, bishops had resided at Linton Road in North Oxford. Each bishop signs + Christian name Oxon:; e.g. + Steven Oxon:.

List of bishops List of the Bishops of Oxford, and its precursor offices.

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

Bishops of Oxford From Until Incumbent NotesSee at Osney 1542 1546 Robert King previously suffragan bishop to the Bishop of Lincoln (as titular Bishop of Rheon, Greece)See at Oxford 1546 1558 Robert King previously Bishop of Rheon (above) 1558 1559 Thomas Goldwell Translated from St Asaph: his nomination had however been left unsigned at the death of the Queen; deprived, fled to Milan, Naples and Rome 1559 1567See vacant 1567 1568 Hugh Curwen Translated from Dublin 1568 1589See vacant 1589 1592 John Underhill Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford 1592 1604See vacant 1604 1618 John Bridges Dean of Salisbury 1619 1628 John Howson Student of Christ Church, Oxford; translated to Durham 1628 1632 Richard Corbet Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; translated to Norwich 1632 1641 John Bancroft Master of University College, Oxford 1641 1646 Robert Skinner Translated from Bristol; deprived of the see when the English episcopacy was abolished by Parliament on 9 October 1646. 1646 1660 The see was abolished during the Commonwealth and the Protectorate. 1660 1663 Robert Skinner Restored; translated to Worcester 1663 1665 William Paul Dean of Lichfield 1665 1671 Walter Blandford Warden of Wadham College, Oxford; translated to Worcester 1671 1674 Nathaniel Crew Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, and Dean of Chichester; translated to Durham 1674 1676 Henry Compton Canon of Christ Church, Oxford; translated to London 1676 1686 John Fell Dean of Christ Church, Oxford 1686 1687 Samuel Parker Archdeacon of Canterbury; died in office 1688 1690 Timothy Hall Denied installation by the Chapter of Christ Church 1690 1699 John Hough President of Magdalen College, Oxford; translated to Lichfield 1699 1715 William Talbot Dean of Worcester; translated to Salisbury 1715 1737 John Potter Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford; translated to Canterbury 1737 1758 Thomas Secker Translated from Bristol; translated to Canterbury 1758 1766 John Hume Translated from Bristol; translated to Salisbury 1766 1777 Robert Lowth Translated from St David's; translated to London 1777 1788 John Butler Prebendary of Winchester; translated to Hereford 1788 1799 Edward Smallwell Translated from St David's 1799 1807 John Randolph Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford; translated to Bangor 1807 1811 Charles Moss 1812 1815 William Jackson Regius Professor of Greek, Oxford 1816 1827 Edward Legge Dean of Windsor 1827 1829 Charles Lloyd Regius Professor of Divinity, Oxford 1829 1845 Richard Bagot Dean of Canterbury; translated to Bath & Wells 1845 1869 Samuel Wilberforce Dean of Westminster; translated to Winchester 1870 1889 John Mackarness Prebendary of Exeter 1889 1901 William Stubbs Translated from Chester 1901 1911 Francis Paget Dean of Christ Church, Oxford 1911 1919 Charles Gore Translated from Birmingham; resigned 1919 1925 Hubert Burge Translated from Southwark 1925 1937 Thomas Strong Translated from Ripon; resigned 1937 1954 Kenneth Kirk Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, Oxford 1955 1970 Harry Carpenter Warden of Keble College, Oxford; resigned 1971 1978 Kenneth Woollcombe Principal of Edinburgh Theological College; resigned 1978 1986 Patrick Rodger Translated from Manchester; resigned 1987 2006 Richard Harries Dean of King's College, London; ennobled on retirement 2006 2014 John Pritchard Translated from Jarrow 2014 2016 Colin FletcherBishop of Dorchester Acting Bishop. The unusually long vacancy was due to the Crown Nominations Commission failing to appoint in May 2015, and having to rejoin the back of the 'queue' for a second chance in March 2016.Church of England Media Centre — Vacancy in the See of Oxford (Retrieved 15 May 2015) 6 July 2016 4 July 2026 Steven Croft Translated from SheffieldDiocese of Oxford — Legal ceremony brings Bishop Steven a step closer & Diocese of Oxford — Letter from Bishop Steven (Both Retrieved 8 July 2016); resigned (on retirement)4 July 2026incumbent (acting)Gavin Collins, Bishop of DorchesterActing Bishop.

Assistant bishops Among those who have served the diocese as stipendiary (i.e. not retired) Assistant Bishops have been: 19211936 (ret.): Edward Shaw, Archdeacon of Oxford and canon residentiary of Christ Church; former Bishop suffragan of Buckingham 19361939: Gerald Allen, Archdeacon of Oxford and Canon of Christ Church, former Bishop of Sherborne (became first Bishop suffragan of Dorchester) 19471952 (ret.): Roscow Shedden, Vicar of Wantage and former Bishop of Nassau late 19511963 (d.): Vibert Jackson, Vicar of South Ascot (since 1940) and former Bishop of the Windward Islands : Geoffrey Allen, Principal of Ripon Hall and former Bishop in Egypt (became Bishop of Derby)'The Anglican Episcopate', in The Living Church Annual 1957 p.375 1986–1988: Patrick Harris, Secretary of the Partnership for World Mission and former Bishop of Northern Argentina (later Bishop of Southwell)

Those who have served in (or into) retirement have included: 1952 (ret.)1956 (d.): Roscow Shedden, former Bishop of Nassau 1952 (ret.)1956 (d.): Gerald Allen, retired Bishop suffragan of Dorchester 1954 (ret.)1961 (d.): Arthur Parham, retired Bishop suffragan of Reading

Bishop of Oxford

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