Bishop of Leicester

This article is about the modern diocesan bishops. For the ancient Bishops of Leicester, see Bishop of Lincoln. For the modern suffragan bishops, see Bishop of Leicester (suffragan).

The Bishop of Leicester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Leicester in the Province of Canterbury.^[1]

Bishop of Leicester
Bishopric
anglican
Incumbent: Martyn Snow
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Residence	Bishop's Lodge, Knighton
Information
First holder	Cyril Bardsley
Established	1927
Diocese	Leicester
Cathedral	Leicester Cathedral

Through reorganisation within the Church of England, the Diocese of Leicester was refounded in 1927, and St Martin's Church became Leicester Cathedral.^[2][1] The present bishop's residence is Bishop's Lodge, Knighton,^[3] south Leicester. Martyn Snow became Bishop of Leicester with the confirmation of his election on 22 February 2016.^[4]

Bishops of Leicester

Bishops of Leicester
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1927	1940	Cyril Bardsley	Translated from Peterborough
1940	1953	Guy Smith	Translated from Willesden
1953	1979	Ronald Williams
1979	1991	Richard Rutt	Translated from St Germans. Converted to Roman Catholicism in 1995.
1991	1999	Tom Butler	Translated from Willesden; later moved to Southwark
1999	11 July 2015	Tim Stevens	Translated from Dunwich[5]
1 September 2015	22 February 2016	John Holbrook	Bishop of Brixworth, acting bishop[6]
22 February 2016	present	Martyn Snow	[4] Previously Bishop of Tewkesbury.[7]
Source(s):[1][2][8]

Assistant bishops

For those full-time Assistant Bishops of Leicester who preceded the Bishop suffragan of Loughborough, see Bishop of Loughborough.

Other assistant (or coadjutor) bishops of the diocese include:

• 1935 – 1949 (ret.): John Willis, former Bishop of Uganda^[9]
• 1949 – 1955 (d.): Francis Hollis, Vicar of Stanford with Swinford, Leicestershire and Senior Canon of Leicester; former Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak^[10]
• 1950 – 1965 (ret.): Alexander Maxwell, Vicar of Copt Oak (until 1952), of Ab Kettleby with Wartnaby and Holwell (1952–1959), Rector of Swithland (from 1959); former Assistant Bishop of West/ern Szechwan. Harold Alexander Maxwell (17 December 1897 – 30 December 1975), CMS missionary in China.^[11] Made deacon on St Thomas' Day (21 December) 1923^[12] and ordained priest the following St Thomas' Day, 21 December 1924; both times by, Albert David, Bishop of Liverpool, at Liverpool Cathedral.^[13]
• 1972 – 1997 (d.): John Mort, former Bishop of Northern Nigeria (1952–1969), Canon Treasurer of Leicester Cathedral (1970–1988)^[14]
• 1966 – 1973 (ret.): Geoffrey Stuart Smith, Rector of Swithland, former Bishop of North Kerala and Assistant Bishop of Chelmsford

Cecil de Carteret, former Bishop of Jamaica, was appointed to serve as assistant-bishop from 1932, but he died in ill-health on 3 January, unable to take up the appointment.

Honorary assistant bishops — retired bishops taking on occasional duties voluntarily — have included:

• 1999–2011 (res.): Colin Scott, retired Bishop of Hulme

Sources

Notes

1. "Historical successions: Leicester". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
2. Leicester Cathedral: History Archived 25 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 22 November 2008.
3. "Martyn James Snow". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
4. Diocese of Leicester — Martyn confirmed for Leicester Archived 17 March 2016 at archive.today & photo on Twitter (Accessed 26 February 2016)
5. Diocese of Leicester – Bishop Tim announces retirement Archived 19 November 2014 at archive.today (Accessed 18 November 2014)
6. Diocese of Leicester — Interim Bishop of Leicester (Accessed 30 June 2015)
7. Diocese of Leicester — Welcome to the New Bishop of Leicester (Accessed 15 December 2015)
8. Fryde et al. 1986, Handbook of British Chronology, p. 252.
9. "Willis, John Jamieson". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
10. "Hollis, Francis Septimus". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
11. "Maxwell, Harold Alexander". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
12. "Advent Ordinations". Church Times. No. 3179. 28 December 1923. p. 740. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
13. "Advent Ordinations". Church Times. No. 3231. 24 December 1924. p. 743. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 13 February 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
14. "Mort, John Ernest Llewelyn". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Bibliography

• Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (1986). Handbook of British Chronology (3rd, reprinted 2003 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.