Bishop of London

The bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames (historically the City of London and the County of Middlesex) and a small part of the County of Surrey (the district of Spelthorne, historically part of Middlesex). The see is in the City of London, where the seat is St Paul's Cathedral, which was founded as a cathedral in 604 and was rebuilt from 1675 following the Great Fire of London (1666). Third in seniority in the Church of England after the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the bishop is one of five senior bishops who sit as of right as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords (for the remaining diocesan bishops of lesser rank, seats are attained upon vacancy, determined by chronological seniority). The other four senior bishops are the archbishop of Canterbury, the archbishop of York, the bishop of Durham and the bishop of Winchester. The bishop's residence is The Old Deanery, Dean's Court, City of London. Previously, Fulham Palace was the residence for over 1000 years, and from the 18th century, the bishop had chambers at London House next to the Bishop's Chapel in Aldersgate Street.