John Carpenter (bishop of Worcester)
John Carpenter (1399–1476) was an English bishop and scholar. He was born in Westbury on Trym, near Bristol, and baptised on 4 May 1399. Before becoming a bishop, he held several church and university posts, including Warden of St Anthony’s Hospital in London, Rector of St Mary Magdalen, Provost of Oriel College, Oxford (1428–1444), and Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 1437.
He was appointed Bishop of Worcester on 20 December 1443 and consecrated on 22 March 1444. He served as bishop until July 1476, when he resigned. His predecessor was Thomas Bourchier and his successor was John Alcock.
As bishop, he tried to raise St Peter’s Church in Westbury on Trym to cathedral status and called himself “Bishop of Worcester and Westbury.” He rebuilt parts of the church, adding a chancel and a chapel, and he refounded and rebuilt Westbury College.
He died after July 1476 in Northwick, Worcestershire, and was buried at Westbury on Trym in Holy Trinity Church. His tomb was originally a cadaver tomb, damaged during the Civil War in 1646. A new Purbeck marble memorial was added in 1853, and a statue of him stands above the porch.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:56 (CET).