The lavish lifestyles of Church of England bishops: spending increases by £4 million
by STEVE DOUGHTY
17th April 2007

The cost of maintaining the lavish lifestyles of the bishops of the Church of England rose by almost £4million last year - six times the rate of inflation last year. New figures revealed yesterday revealed bishops responded to appeals to curb their use of the CofE's scarce resources by adding millions to the bills for their palaces and staff, including gardeners and chauffeurs.

Last year alone the price of running the palaces and see houses occupied by the 44 senior diocesan bishops shot up by more than 50 per cent from £5.8million to £8.6 million.

The housing bill is six times the amount spent on providing bishops with mansions and palaces a decade ago. the rest