The diocese covers the counties of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, as well as parts of the London Borough of Barnet.

Following its purchase by the town in 1553, it was then a parish church until its elevation to cathedral status in 1877, when the diocese was created from the diocese of Rochester under Queen Victoria by the Bishopric of St. Albans Act 1875.

His nomination was announced by Downing Street on 13 January 2009,[1] following the retirement of Christopher Herbert.

[2] Smith's election as bishop by the College of Canons of the Cathedral took place on 13 February and his Confirmation of Election with the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams followed on 31 March, at which point he legally took office as bishop.

[3] The Bishop's residence is the Abbey Gate House, St Albans.