The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries (and therefore including the Wirral the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport and parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford and the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside). An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government so named by analogy with a secular Province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian 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 A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight See also List of bishops of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral Chester Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Chester, and is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, A position of archdeacon is a senior position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, and in some other Christian denominations above that of most A suffragan bishop is a Bishop subordinate to a Metropolitan bishop or Diocesan bishop. The Bishop of Stockport is an Episcopal title given to a Suffragan bishop in the Church of England Diocese of Chester, which is within the The Bishop of Birkenhead is an Episcopal title given to a Suffragan bishop in the Church of England Diocese of Chester, which is within the A parish is a Local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in episcopal or presbyterian churches The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop. 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 Chester is the County town of Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77040 Cheshire (or archaically the County of Chester) is a county in North West England. Wirral or the Wirral (ˈwɪrəl is a Peninsula in the north west of England. The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a Metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in north west England, centered around the town of Stockport The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford is a Metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a Metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. ^[1] The cathedral is Chester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Chester. Chester Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Chester, and is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, See also List of bishops of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of

History

The Diocese of Chester when created in 1541 showing the extent of the two archdeaconries that went to make it up.

The diocese was created during the Reformation in 1541 from the Chester archdeaconry of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, covering Cheshire and Lancashire, and the Richmond Archdeaconry of the Diocese of York. The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th century England by which the Church of England first broke away from the authority of the Pope The Diocese of Mercia was created by Bishop Diuma in around 656 and the see was settled in Lichfield in 669 by the then bishop Ceadda (later Cheshire (or archaically the County of Chester) is a county in North West England. Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea Richmond is a Market town on the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England and is the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. ^[2] The diocese was originally formed as part of the Province of Canterbury, but was quickly transferred to the Province of York later in the same year. The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two Ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England. 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 ^[2] The boundaries remained static until the early part of the nineteenth century when, starting in 1836, a series of boundary changes saw the diocese eventually greatly diminished in size so that its extent was almost the same as that of the ceremonial county of Cheshire as it existed just prior to 1974. The ceremonial counties are areas of England that are appointed a Lord-Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as the Counties for the purposes of the Lieutenancies ^[3][4] The deaneries as shown in the accompanying map, were established by 1224 and remained largely unchanged until the nineteenth century. ^[5]

The deaneries of the Diocese of Chester in about 1835, shortly before a series of boundary changes greatly diminished its size.

Starting in 1836, a sequence of five major boundary changes to the diocese began. In 1836, the deaneries of Boroughbridge, Catterick, and Richmond, and half of the deanery of Lonsdale were taken from Chester to form part of the newly created Diocese of Ripon which also had parts taken from the Diocese of York. The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. In 1847, the deaneries of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, and Manchester, together with another large part of the deanery of Lonsdale and roughly one third of the deanery of Kendall were taken to form the then new Diocese of Manchester. The Diocese of Manchester is a Diocese of the Church of England in the Province of York. ^[6] Additionally, part of the deanery of Warrington (Leigh)^[7] was also transferred to this new Diocese of Manchester. Leigh is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England At the same time, the deanery of Bangor was transferred to the Diocese of St. Asaph. The diocese of Saint Asaph is a diocese in north-east Wales named after Saint Asaph, its second bishop This left the deaneries of Copeland, Furness, and the remaining parts of the deaneries of Kendall and Lonsdale detached from the main part of the diocese around Chester, provision was made to transfer these to the Diocese of Carlisle, but this required the assent of the then Bishop of Carlisle, or the appointment of a successor. The Diocese of Carlisle was created in 1133 by Henry I out of part of the Diocese of Durham, although many people of Celtic descent in the area actually See also List of bishops of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle In 1849, the part of the deanery of Chester that extended into Wales was transferred to the Diocese of St. Asaph. The detached deaneries in the north of Lancashire and in the Lake District were eventually transferred to the Diocese of Carlisle in 1856, on the appointment of Henry Villiers to the See. The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. Henry Montagu Villiers ( 4 January, 1813 &ndash 9 August 1861) was a British Clergyman of the Church of England ^[8] Finally, in 1880, the remaining part of the deanery of Warrington was used to create the new Diocese of Liverpool. The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England Diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey along At that point, the Diocese of Chester had been reduced to its present size. ^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

Map showing the areas of the Diocese of Chester which were transferred to other Dioceses in the 19th century, together with the dates on which they were transferred.

See also

• Bishoprics of Chester and Man Act 1541

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Dunn, F. I. (1987). The ancient parishes, townships and chapelries of Cheshire. Chester: Cheshire Record Office and Cheshire Diocesan Record Office. ISBN 0906758149.  
• Elrington, C. R. (Ed. ) (1980). The Victoria history of the county of Chester, Volume III. Oxford: The University of London Institute of Historical Research (Oxford University Press). ISBN 0197227546.