Bishop of Llandaff

The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The bishop's seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (the site of a church traditionally said to have been founded in 560 by Saint Teilo), in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of Cardiff. The bishop's residence is Llys Esgob, The Cathedral Green, Llandaff, in Cardiff.

The controversial Iolo Manuscripts claim an older foundation dating to Saints Dyfan and Fagan, said elsewhere to have missionized the court of King Lucius of Britain on behalf of Pope Eleutherius around AD 166. The manuscripts—others of which are original and others now known forgeries—list Dyfan as the first bishop and, following his martyrdom, Fagan as his successor.[1] Baring-Gould refers to them as chorepiscopi.[2] The present-day St Fagans (referenced in the manuscripts as "Llanffagan Fawr") is now a village near Cardiff.[2]

Originally Celtic Christians, the bishops were in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church from 777 until the Reformation. In AD 914, the Danes ravaged Archenfield, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (AD 915, Worcester Manuscript, p. 99). The jarls leading the raids, Ohtor and Hroald, captured the bishop; he was later ransomed. The jarls were killed in a subsequent battle at "Killdane Field" (or "Kill Dane") in Weston-under-Penyard and the raiders were subdued.[3]

The first evidence that the bishops were called Bishop of Llandaff is from the early 11th century. Before this, though still ministering to Glamorgan and Gwent, the bishops described themselves as Bishop of Teilo[4] and were almost certainly based at Llandeilo Abbey. The very early bishops were probably based in Ergyng. Before 1107, the title Bishop of Gwlad Morgan (Glamorgan) had been adopted.[4] It was not until the title Bishop of Llandaff was used by Bishop Urban from c. 1119.[4] In medieval records, the bishop was sometimes referred to as the Archbishop of Llandaff. This appears to have been a simple reaction to the claim of St David's to the archiepiscopal title.

In 1534, the church in England and Wales broke allegiance with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England. After a brief restoration with the Holy See during the reign of Queen Mary I, the Welsh dioceses remained part of the Anglican Province of Canterbury from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I until the early 20th century. Following the passing of the Welsh Church Act 1914, the church in Wales and Monmouthshire was disestablished and the independent Church in Wales was created on 31 March 1920. The bishopric and diocese of Llandaff now constitute part of the Church in Wales within the wider Anglican Communion.

Joshua Pritchard Hughes had a Dahlia Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' named for him in 1924

In 1924, the Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' was named after Joshua Pritchard Hughes, who was bishop from 1905 to 1931.

A long-serving recent bishop of Llandaff was Barry Morgan; when elected as bishop in 1999 his official signature was Barry Landav, but once elected Archbishop of Wales in 2003 his archiepiscopal signature Barry Cambrensis took precedence. He was supported by David Wilbourne, assistant bishop of Llandaff from 2009 to 2017.

Following June Osborne's retirement, on 19 January 2023, it was announced that Mary Stallard, Assistant Bishop of Bangor, had been elected that day by the Electoral College of the Church in Wales at Llandaff Cathedral to become the next diocesan Bishop of Llandaff. She legally took up her See as of the Sacred Synod to confirm her election;[5] which occurred on 19 April 2023 at Holy Trinity, Llandudno.[6]

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office.)

Bishops of the Church of England

Bishops of Llandaff
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1563	1567	See vacant
1567	1574	Hugh Jones	Consecrated on 5 May 1567. Died in office circa 12 November 1574.
1575	1590	William Blethyn	Formerly a Prebendary of York. Consecrated on 17 April 1575. Died in office on 15 October 1590.
1591	1595	Gervase Babington	Formerly a Prebendary of Hereford. Consecrated on 29 August 1591. Translated to Exeter on 11 March 1595.
1595	1601	William Morgan	Consecrated on 20 July 1595. Translated to St Asaph on 17 September 1601.
1601	1617	Francis Godwin	Formerly a Canon of Wells. Consecrated on 22 November 1601. Translated to Hereford on 28 November 1617.
1618	1619	George Carleton	Also known as George Charlton. Consecrated on 12 July 1618. Translated to Chichester on 20 September 1619.
1619	1627	Theophilus Feild	Formerly Rector of Cotton, Suffolk. Consecrated on 10 October 1619. Translated to St David's on 12 July 1627.
1627	1640	William Murray	Translated from Kilfenora, Ireland on 24 December 1627. Died in office in February 1640.
1640	1645	Morgan Owen	Consecrated on 29 March 1640. Died in office on 4 March 1645.
1645	1646	See vacant
1646	1660	The see was abolished during the Commonwealth and the Protectorate.[16][17]
1660	1667	Hugh Lloyd	Consecrated on 2 December 1660. Also Archdeacon of St David's (1644–1667). Held both posts until his death on 7 June 1667.
1667	1675	Francis Davies	Formerly Archdeacon of Llandaff (1660–1667). Consecrated on 24 August 1667. Died in office on 14 March 1675.
1675	1679	William Lloyd	Formerly a Prebendary of St Paul's, London. Consecrated on 18 April 1675. Translated to Peterborough on 16 May 1679.
1679	1706	William Beaw	Formerly Vicar of Adderbury, Oxfordshire. Consecrated on 22 June 1679. Died in office on 10 February 1706.
1706	1724	John Tyler	Formerly Dean of Hereford (1692–1706). Consecrated on 30 June 1706. Died in office on 6 July 1724.
1725	1729	Robert Clavering	Formerly a Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. Nominated on 14 September 1724 and consecrated on 2 January 1725. Translated to Peterborough on 17 February 1729.
1729	1738	John Harris	Formerly a Prebendary of Canterbury. Nominated on 19 September 1729 and consecrated on 19 October 1729. Died in office on 28 August 1738.
1739	1740	Matthias Mawson	Formerly Rector of Hadstock, Essex. Nominated on 17 January 1739 and consecrated on 18 February 1739. Translated to Chichester on 21 October 1740.
1740	1748	John Gilbert	Formerly Dean of Exeter (1726–1740). Nominated on 31 October 1740 and consecrated on 28 December 1740. Translated to Salisbury on 29 December 1748 then to York on 24 May 1757.
1749	1755	Edward Cresset	Formerly Dean of Hereford (1736–1748). Nominated on 7 January 1749 and consecrated on 12 February 1749. Died in office on 13 February 1755.
1755	1761	Richard Newcome	Formerly Canon of the Fourth Stall, Windsor (1749-1755). Nominated on 20 March 1755 and consecrated on 13 April 1755. Translated to St Asaph on 9 July 1761.
1761	1769	John Ewer	Nominated on 6 August 1761 and consecrated on 28 December 1761. Also Canon of the Sixth Stall, Windsor (1738–1774). Translated to Bangor on 10 January 1769.
1769		Jonathan Shipley	Formerly Dean of Winchester (1760–1769). Nominated on 19 January 1769 and consecrated on 12 February 1769. Translated to St Asaph on 8 September 1769.
1769	1782	Shute Barrington	Formerly a Canon of St Paul's, London. Nominated on 13 September 1769 and consecrated on 1 October 1769. Translated to Salisbury on 27 August 1782 and then to Durham on 7 July 1791.
1782	1816	Richard Watson	Nominated on 30 August 1782 and consecrated on 20 October 1782. Also Archdeacon of Ely (1779–1816) and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University (1771). Died in office on 4 July 1816.
1816	1819	Herbert Marsh	Nominated on 5 August 1816 and consecrated on 25 August 1816. Translated to Peterborough on 28 April 1819.
1819	1826	William Van Mildert	Nominated on 5 May 1819 and consecrated on 31 May 1819. Translated to Durham on 24 April 1826.
1826	1827	Charles Sumner	Nominated on 25 April 1826 and consecrated on 21 May 1826. Translated to Winchester on 12 December 1827.
1828	1849	Edward Copleston	Nominated on 18 December 1827 and consecrated on 13 January 1828. Died in office on 14 October 1849.
1849	1882	Alfred Ollivant	Formerly Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University (1843) and a Canon of St David's. Nominated on 9 November 1849 and consecrated on 2 December 1849. Died in office on 16 December 1882.
1883	1905	Richard Lewis	Consecrated on 25 April 1883. Died in office on 24 January 1905.
1905	1920	Joshua Pritchard Hughes	Consecrated on 1 June 1905.

Bishops of the disestablished Church in Wales

Bishops of Llandaff
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1920	1931	Joshua Pritchard Hughes	The Church in Wales was disestabished in 1920. Retired on 24 February 1931 and died on 9 April 1938.
1931	1939	Timothy Rees MC CR	Consecrated on 25 April 1931. Died in office on 29 April 1939.
1939	1957	John Morgan	Translated from Swansea & Brecon. Elected on 22 June 1939 and confirmed on 27 September 1939. Also elected and confirmed Archbishop of Wales in 1949. Held both posts until his death on 26 June 1957.
1957	1970	Glyn Simon	Translated from Swansea & Brecon. Elected on 30 July 1957 and confirmed on 25 September 1957. Also elected Archbishop of Wales on 22 May 1968 and confirmed on 13 June 1968. Retired from both posts on 30 June 1970 and died on 14 June 1972.
1970	1975	Eryl Thomas	Translated from Monmouth. Elected on 4 October 1971 and confirmed on 7 December 1971. Retired on 9 November 1975 and died in 2001.
1975	1985	John Poole-Hughes	Formerly Bishop of South-West Tanganyika (1962-1974) and an Assistant Bishop of Llandaff. Elected on 9 December 1975 and confirmed on 23 January 1976. Retired in 1985 and died on 25 October 1988.
1985	1999	Roy Davies	Elected and confirmed in 1985. Retired in 1999 and died on 7 August 2013.
1999	2017	Barry Morgan	Translated from Bangor. Elected and confirmed in 1999. Also was elected Archbishop of Wales in 2002. Retired 31 January 2017.[18]
2017	2022	June Osborne	Elected and confirmed in 2017.[19][20] Retired 31 December 2022.[21]
2023	present	Mary Stallard	Confirmed 19 April 2023.[6]
Source(s):[22]

Among those non-retired bishops who have assisted the bishops of Llandaff have been:

• 2 June 1917 – 30 April 1921 (ret.): Lloyd Crossley, Rector of St Andrew's Major and former bishop of Auckland[23]
• 1961 – 1970 (ret.): Thomas Hughes, Archdeacon of Margam (until 1965), then Archdeacon of Llandaff (until 1969)[24]
• 1975 – 1976 (res.): John Poole Hughes, Curate at Llantwit Major and previously Bishop of South-West Tanganyika; became diocesan bishop of Llandaff[25]
• 1977 – 1983 (ret.): David Reece, Archdeacon of Margam (until 1981)[26][27]
• 2004 – 2009 (ret.): David Yeoman, Archdeacon of Morgannwg (until 2006)[28]
• 2009 – 2017 (ret.): David Wilbourne[29]