Bishop of Cornwall


The Bishop of Cornwall was an episcopal title which was used by Anglo-Saxons between the 9th and 11th centuries. In the mid 9th century there was a bishop at Dinuurrin, probably Bodmin, and possibly another at St Germans. At the end of the century Cornwall was part of the diocese of Sherborne, and Asser was given episcopal charge of Devon and Cornwall before his appointment to the full diocese. When he died in 909, Sherborne was divided into three dioceses, of which Devon and Cornwall were one. In Æthelstan's reign there was a further division with the establishment of a separate Cornish diocese based at St Germans. Later bishops of Cornwall were sometimes referred to as the bishops of St Germans. In 1050, the bishoprics of Crediton and of Cornwall were merged and the Episcopal see was transferred to Exeter.

List of bishops of Cornwall