Newcastle's First Bishop

Ernest Roland Wilberforce, Bishop of Newcastle, 1882-96

As the Industrial Revolution swept Newcastle-upon-Tyne to the top of the pecking order, population-wise, in the North-East of England, it soon became clear that the separation of the town and its vicinity from the ancient diocese of Durham was inevitable. The rapidly-growing urban population of Newcastle and its suburbs demanded the constant creation of new parishes to meet the spiritual needs of the people to such an extent that it was finally decided in 1878 to push through an Act of Parliament to facilitate the administrative and ecclesiastical change. 

Tight financial restrictions meant that it took four years for the authorities to get round to actually appointing the new diocese's first bishop. Then, during late May and early June 1882, the final boxes were ticked and the UK's newest diocese was brought into being. Newcastle was finally granted city status on 3rd June 1882*, and moves were then made to appoint it's first bishop. That man was Ernest Roland Wilberforce, who was consecrated on 25th July 1882 (in Durham Cathedral, actually). He was the country's youngest diocesan bishop at the time of his appointment.

The new diocese included Newcastle, and the whole of Northumberland, with St.Nicholas' Church upgraded to a cathedral. The Church of England, though, were, at the time fighting what seemed like a losing battle. The 1881 Census had revealed that only around 4% of England's population regularly attended Anglican services, and that nonconformist churches and chapels had largely replaced the C of E as the dominant Christian force in industrialised areas. Something had to be done to redress the balance.

Ernest was born in 1840, being the third son of another bishop, Samuel, and his wife, Emily. He was also the grandson of the uber-famous William Wilberforce (of slave trade abolishment fame). Educated at Harrow and Oxford, he showed little in the way of academic ability, preferring sporting pursuits. Riding on the shirt-tails of his father, he progressed through several ministerial posts, until he became a canon at Winchester in 1878. After a brief missionary trip to Quebec during 1881-82, he was then, somewhat out of the blue, offered the brand-spanking new see of Newcastle by prime minister William Gladstone. He was happy to accept and made the trip north - well outside of his geographical comfort zone!

Whilst he settled into his new official residence at Benwell Towers (gifted to the diocese by Quaker banker John William Pease), Wilberforce set about the renaissance of the C of E's fortunes north of the Tyne. He basically set about fundraising - to the tune of £250,000 in his first five years as bishop, all of which allowed for the building of eleven new churches and seven new vicarages, as well as the taking on of 28 new clergy, over the first few years of his tenure. He travelled widely across Northumberland, too - with many nonconformists being won over by his tactful approach.

His health suffered as a result of his efforts, and he eventually transferred to the post of Bishop of Chichester in January 1896. He was active in many other areas (most notably in the temperance movement), and died on the Isle of Wight in 1907 (which, coincidentally, was where he'd been born).

Ernest married twice: to Frances Anderson (d.1870) and Emily Connor, and had a total of six children with the latter.

* There is some uncertainty as to exact date of Newcastle's transference from a 'town' to a 'city'. The official 'royal charter' constituting Newcastle as a city was not received by the mayor until 5th July 1882, which some claim as the official termination date of 'town' status. If anyone has any observations on this point, please comment below!