The Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.
Soon after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I, the bishops of England were forced to choose between taking the Oath of Supremacy, thus denying the authority of the Pope, or losing their episcopal sees.
Most of the deposed Bishops were imprisoned in various locations and died in captivity over a period of years, though some left the country and continued their work overseas.
The first vicar apostolic of the Western District, with effect from 30 January 1688, was Bishop Philip Michael Ellis OSB, who resigned in 1705.
Despite this last subdivision and intermittent persecution, an Apostolic Vicariate of the Western District existed until 29 September 1850 when Pope Pius IX issued the Bull Universalis Ecclesiae, by which thirteen new dioceses which did not formally claim any continuity with the pre-Elizabethan English dioceses were created, commonly known as the restoration of the English hierarchy.