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You might think that 'Diocese of Bath and Wells' is an apt title for Somerset's bishops.

But the name has been fraught with battles over the years, as historian Dr Robert Dunning discovered while he was undertaking research for a book marking the diocese's 1,100 year anniversary.

Dr Dunning said it's complicated as it's "more than just a title" which changed over the years, mainly for political reasons.

The diocese was created in 909 AD, and after much vying between the secular canons in Wells and the monks of the monasteries in Bath and Glastonbury, it became the Diocese of Wells but not without the cannons being reduced to begging.

"They seldom met together (canons of Wells and monks of Bath) and when they did it had to be on neutral ground, halfway between the two," said Dr Dunning.

Bath Abbey is now a parish church

It wasn't until 1090 when the second bishop, John de Villula, moved from Wells to Bath, using the Abbey Church of Peter & Paul as his cathedral. The move was mainly for political reasons because at the time, bishops were more entwined with the state as it was the King who appointed them and it was felt that it would be better politically if the bishop was based in the bigger area of Bath and also near the problematic Cotswolds. 

The staff based at Wells were duly made redundant, a move which did not go down well with the rest of the county.

Robert of Lewes, bishop 1136-66, evidently liked the old church at Wells and began to create the dean and chapter to serve it, though his title was still Bishop of Bath.

This changed again when Savaric Fitz Geldewin took over in 1192. He decided to forcibly join Glastonbury Abbey with the Diocese; mainly because he wanted the extra income. With the approval of Pope Celestine III, the seat became known as the Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury.

Break from Rome

The monks of Glastonbury refused to acknowledge Savaric and so the title became the Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury until his successor Jocelin of Wells (who was a native of the small city) renounced the claim to Glastonbury in 1219, and it returned to Diocese of Bath.

He proved to be very loyal to his home city; restoring and enlarging the cathedral by adding the visual signature of the building, the west front. He also increased the number of canons from 35 to 50 and founded a grammar school. Despite all of these contributions, Wells was still omitted from the title. 

Following his death in 1242, the monks of Bath voted for one of their own, Roger, to become bishop - a move which although confirmed by King Henry III and pope Innocent IV, disregarded the chapter of Wells.

After the chapter of Wells appealed the decision, the matter was resolved by the pope who declared on 3 January 1245 that Roger could remain, but the title must become the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

The abbey at Bath was dissolved in 1539 and its church, then being rebuilt, became a parish church, but the bishop still kept Bath in the name of his diocese.