The Bishop of Dover 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 Canterbury

Diocese of Canterbury

The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent, founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. It is centred on Canterbury Cathedral, and is the oldest see of 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 takes its name after the town of Dover

Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

 in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop in Canterbury" and is empowered to act almost as if he were the diocesan bishop

Diocesan bishop

A diocesan bishop — in general — is a bishop in charge of a diocese. These are to be distinguished from suffragan bishops, assistant bishops, coadjutor bishops, auxiliary bishops, metropolitans, and primates....

 of Canterbury, since the actual diocesan bishop (the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

) is based at Lambeth Palace in London, and thus is so frequently away from his diocese fulfilling national and international duties. Among other things, this gives the Bishop of Dover an ex officio seat in the Church's General Synod

General Synod

-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...

. Until recently, there was another proper suffragan, the Bishop of Maidstone

Bishop of Maidstone

The Bishop of Maidstone was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent and had a similar though subordinate role to that of the Bishop of...

, who did not have the same extra powers.

The current Bishop of Dover, since February 2010, is the Rt Revd Trevor Willmott

Trevor Willmott

Trevor Willmott is the Bishop of Dover in the Diocese of Canterbury since 2010. Willmott was previously the Bishop of Basingstoke in the Diocese of Winchester from 2002 to 2009.-Life:...

.

List of the Bishops of Dover

No.	Incumbent	From	Until	Notes
1	Richard Yngworth Richard Yngworth Richard Ingworth or Richard Yngworth, prior of Langley, was appointed Bishop of Dover under the provisions of the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 in 1537, a post he held until his death eight years later.-References:...	1536	1545	Consecrated 9 December 1536; died in 1545.
2	Richard Thornden Richard Thornden Richard Thornden was an eminent 16th Century Priest. In 1524 he was appointed Warden of Canterbury College, Oxford and after that was a Prebendary at Canterbury Cathedral . Appointed the second Bishop of Dover in 1545, he held the post until his death in 1557....	1545	1557	Consecrated in 1545; died in 1557.
–	no appointment	1557	1569
3	Richard Rogers Richard Rogers (Bishop) Richard Rogers was an eminent 16th Century Priest.Richard Rogers was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1559, Rogers was made archdeacon of St Asaph, and on 15 May 1569 he was consecrated Suffragan Bishop of Dover. After his death no more Suffragan Bishops were appointed until 1870.He was...	1569	1597	Consecrated 15 May 1569; died 19 May 1597.
–	in abeyance	1597	1870
4	Edward Parry Edward Parry (Bishop) Edward Parry was a Bishop of Dover A member of a most distinguished family, he was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and began his ecclesiastical career as a Curate in Norham . After a period as Chaplain to the Bishop of London...	1870	1890
5	George Eden	1890	1897	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 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...
6	William Walsh	1898	1916
7	Harold Bilbrough	1916	1927	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...
8	John Macmillan John MacMillan John Stewart MacMillan is a retired a Canadian ice hockey forward.MacMillan began his National Hockey League career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1960. He would also play with the Detroit Red Wings. Macmillan left the NHL following the 1965 season and retired from hockey altogether in 1971...	1927	1934	Translated to Guildford Bishop of Guildford The Bishop of Guildford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford in the Province of Canterbury.The title was first created as a suffragan see in the Diocese of Winchester in 1874. The suffragan bishop of Guildford assisted the Bishop of Winchester in overseeing the diocese...
9	Alfred Rose	1935	1957
10	Lewis Meredith	1957	1964
11	Anthony Tremlett	1964	1980
12	Richard Third	1980	1992	Formerly Bishop of Maidstone Bishop of Maidstone The Bishop of Maidstone was an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent and had a similar though subordinate role to that of the Bishop of...
13	Richard Llewellin	1992	1999	Formerly Bishop of St Germans Bishop of St Germans The Bishop of St Germans is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Truro, in the Province of Canterbury, England....
14	Stephen Venner Stephen Venner Stephen Venner DL is the present Bishop to the Forces and Bishop for the Falkland Islands in the Church of England.-Education and career:Venner studied English at the University of Birmingham and is a qualified teacher...	1999	2009	(b.1944). Formerly Bishop of Middleton Bishop of Middleton The Bishop of Middleton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester, in the Province of York, England. The title takes its name after the town of Middleton in Greater Manchester....
15	Trevor Willmott Trevor Willmott Trevor Willmott is the Bishop of Dover in the Diocese of Canterbury since 2010. Willmott was previously the Bishop of Basingstoke in the Diocese of Winchester from 2002 to 2009.-Life:...	2010	present	(b.1951). Formerly Bishop of Basingstoke Bishop of Basingstoke The Bishop of Basingstoke is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Winchester, in the province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Basingstoke in Hampshire. The incumbent is The Rt Revd Peter Hancock MA since 2010.-List of...

External links

• Crockford's Clerical Directory - Listings

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