Richard Oldham (bishop)

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox Christian leader

| type = Bishop

| name = Richard Oldham O.S.B

| title = Bishop of Sodor and Man

| term = 1478 to 1485/86

| predecessor = Thomas Burton

| successor = Richard Oldham (bishop)

| religion = Roman Catholic

| death_date = 1485/86

| buried = Chester Cathedral

| appointed = 21 June 1458

| other_post = Abbot of Chester

}}{{Infobox bishop styles

| bishop name = Richard Oldham

| dipstyle = The Right Reverend

| offstyle = My Lord

| relstyle = Bishop

| image =

}}

Richard Oldham (died 1485/86) was a pre-Reformation cleric who served as the Bishop of Sodor and Man in the second half of the 15th century.

He was elected Abbot of Chester in 1455{{Cite book |editor1-first=C. R. |editor1-last=Elrington |editor2-first=B. E. |editor2-last=Harris |editor3-first=A. P. |editor3-last=Baggs |editor4-first=Ann J. |editor4-last=Kettle |editor5-first=S. J. |editor5-last=Lander |editor6-first=A. T. |editor6-last=Thacker |editor7-first=David |editor7-last=Wardle |year=1980 |chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=39975 |chapter=The Abbey of Chester |title=A History of the County of Chester |volume=3 |publisher=British History Online |pages=132–146}} and appointed Bishop of Sodor and Man on 11{{cite book |editor1-last=Fryde |editor1-first=E. B. |editor2-last=Greenway |editor2-first=D. E. |editor3-last=Porter |editor3-first=S. |editor4-last=Roy |editor4-first=I. |title=Handbook of British Chronology |edition=3rd, reprinted 2003 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |year=1986 |isbn=0-521-56350-X |page=273}} or 15{{cite book |last=Eubel |first=Konrad |author-link=Konrad Eubel |year=1914 |language=la |title=Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi |url=https://archive.org/details/hierarchiacathol02eubeuoft |publisher=Monasterii Sumptibus et typis librariae |volume=2 |page=240}} February 1478, holding both posts until his death. Contemporary records reveal some acrimony between Oldham and the townsfolk of Chester. In 1474 and 1478, the Exchequer of Chester guaranteed his safety and that of his monks, and in a later turnaround of events in 1480 he and twelve fellow monks were themselves bound over to keep the peace in the city.

He died in office either on 13 October 1485 or 19 September 1486{{Cite book |last=Harrison |first1=William |year=1879 |chapter-url=http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxsoc/msvol29/p053.htm |chapter=Bishops of Sodor and Man |title=An Account of the Diocese of Sodor and Man |publisher=Manx Society |location=Douglas, Isle of Man |pages=53–70}} and was buried at Chester Abbey.

{{Portal|Catholicism}}