INTRODUCTION
The diocese of Sodor and Man was for much of the period 1541–1857 an
anomaly among English and Welsh dioceses. It consisted of the small island of
Man, with its own language (spoken by most of the population until the
nineteenth century), its own coinage and its own system of government. 'Sodor'
in the title was no longer a specific place: it derived from the time of the Viking
kings of Man who also ruled the Scottish Hebrides and referred to this area as
'sud[..]re øyar' (southern islands) in relation to Orkney and Shetland. The diocese
of Sodor and Man was placed under the metropolitical authority of the
archbishop of Nidaros (Trondheim) in Norway in 1153, having apparently
recognized the archbishop of York as metropolitan before this time. (fn. 1) In 1349
William Russell, abbot of Rushen on the Isle of Man, was elected as bishop and
was subsequently consecrated at Avignon by Pope Clement VI. The Chronicles
of the Kings of Man and the Isles note that he was the first bishop-elect to be
confirmed and consecrated by the apostolic see, 'for all his predecessors were
accustomed to be confirmed and consecrated by the archbishop of Nidaros as
metropolitan'. (fn. 2)
At the Great Schism two separate lines of rival bishops are found, one based on
Man (the English line), and the other linked with Scotland, and usually known as
bishop of the Isles. Certainly there is evidence in the fifteenth century at least
that the archbishops of York claimed metropolitical authority over Man. A bull of
Pope Calixtus III addressed to Archbishop William Booth of York in 1458 clearly
considers the bishop of Man to be a suffragan of York. (fn. 3) In 1440 Booth's
predecessor, Cardinal John Kemp, is found inspecting and confirming 'auctoritate
pontificali et metropolitano' a charter for Rushen abbey. He inspects a charter of
Sir John Stanley, lord of Man, dated 1410, granting a rectory to the abbey. The
archiepiscopal confirmation following the recital of the earlier charter includes
the statement that 'per partem et ex parte dictorum abbatis et conventus qui se
nobis, ut eorum metropolitano, in premissis pure, sponte et ex certa scientia
submiserunt'. (fn. 4) In 1542 the see was attached to the province of York by Act of
Parliament (33 Hen. VIII c. 31), in an Act which detached the new diocese of
Chester and that of Man (ostensibly) from the province of Canterbury. From 1545
the Manx bishop and archdeacon occur in the York Convocation records. (fn. 5)
Unlike all other dioceses, presentation to the bishopric was in lay patronage, that
of the lords of the Isle of Man. On 19 October 1405 King Henry IV granted to Sir
John Stanley the Isle of Man and all its liberties, including the patronage of the
bishopric. The Stanley family became earls of Derby from 1485. They seldom visited
the Isle of Man, and ruled it through governors sent from England. In 1541, Edward
Stanley, 3rd earl of Derby, was declared to be 'Metropolitan and Chiefe of [the]
holy Church'. (fn. 6) After 1542, the lord would present his candidate to the Crown, who
would issue a mandate for the archbishop of York to consecrate him. The bishop
had no seat in the house of lords, as he was not viewed as an English bishop. There
was no dean and chapter in this period, and the only other higher clerical office was
that of archdeacon, which was also in the gift of the lords of Man. (fn. 7)
The Stanley family held the lordship of Man until February 1736, when in the
absence of male heirs it passed to the duke of Atholl. Poverty forced the duke of
Atholl to sell the lordship of the Isle of Man to the British Crown in stages from
1765, and in 1825 he sold his remaining rights, including the presentation of the
bishop. (fn. 8) Thereafter the pattern of royal presentation conformed to that for all other
dioceses.
The report of the commissioners on ecclesiastical revenues 1828–31 revealed
the bishop's annual income to be £2,555, mid-way between Carlisle and Chester.
The archdeacon, as rector of Andreas (to which the archdeaconry was annexed),
received £955. (fn. 9) The commissioners recommended that the two small dioceses of
Sodor and Man and Carlisle should be united, with the chapter of Carlisle the chapter
of the united diocese. This proposal was incorporated in the statute 6 & 7 Will. IV
c. 77 of 1836, to come into effect on the death or resignation of the current bishop.
However, a vigorous campaign was waged by the clergy and islanders against this
and the clause was repealed 4 July 1838 by the statute 1 & 2 Vic. c. 30. The queen's
presentation of a new bishop was published within a week. (fn. 10)
John Le Neve not surprisingly experienced difficulty in compiling lists of
bishops for his 1716 Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae. He cited registers of the
archbishops of Canterbury and York and printed sources such as Anthony à Wood's
Athenae Oxonienses and Rymer's Foedera. He did not attempt lists of archdeacons.
T.D. Hardy, in his revision of 1854, added to Le Neve's lists of bishops details
from the patent rolls at the Public Record Office, of which he was an assistant
keeper, although from 1697 he gave no references for his information. He supplied
rudimentary lists of archdeacons, mainly giving dates of installation and death,
without supplying his sources.
The extant diocesan records of Sodor and Man are quite unlike their English
counterparts. There are no registers and act books for the period, which is the
core of English ecclesiastical record-keeping, and the series of subscription and
ordination books begins only in the nineteenth century. Material relating to
appointments was generally kept on file (now arranged principally by person).
There are good series of court and visitation presentment material and of course
probate records. The records of Man's civil administration also occasionally
contain material of relevance to the diocese and ecclesiastical appointments. There
are no bishop's returns to the Exchequer of institutions and collations (Public
Record Office, E 331), a source which in the case of other dioceses often provides
information when the diocesan records have failed to survive. However, the
registers and institution act books of the archbishops of York, together with the
confirmations of bishops of the province, provide adequate details of the bishops
of Sodor and Man.