Archdeacon of Westminster

The Archdeacon of Westminster is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Chapter of the Royal Peculiar of Westminster Abbey in London. The holder of the post oversees relationships with the twenty-four parishes of which the Dean and Chapter are patrons, and is responsible for the pastoral care of the staff and volunteers of the Abbey.^[1]

The post is currently held by Tricia Hillas, Canon Steward and Speaker's Chaplain, who took up the position in 2021. The role of archdeacon has previously been held together with other chapter roles, including Sub-Dean, Canon Treasurer and Canon Theologian.

List of archdeacons

Richard Widmore lists the following as Archdeacons of Westminster, acknowledging the incompleteness of the list:^[2]

• Richard Crokesley (elected abbot 1246)
• Thomas (1258)
• A. de Wycomb (1277–1288)
• Roger Bures (before 1293)
• William de Huntyngdon (1292)
• Alexander de Pershore (1312)
• Robert (1324–1327)
• William de Ipswich (1360–1370)
• Thomas Pyk (1372–1373)
• William de Colchester (1382, elected abbot 1386)
• John Stowe (1388)
• John Burwell (1391–1394)
• William Agmondesham (1414)
• William Wycombe (1467)
• William Borogh (1498–1500)
• Andrew Perne (1554)
• John Hardyman (1560, deprived)
• William Latymer (1561–1572)
• Richard Reve (1573–1580)
• Richard Hakluyt (1603–1604)
• Christopher Sutton^[3] (1609–1617)
• Gabriel Grante (1617–1630)
• Thomas Mountford (1631)

At Widmore's time of writing (1751), the present archdeacon was Scawen Kenrick.^[2]

 

Charles Wellington Furse

• 1854–1864 (res.): William Bentinck (Rector of Sigglesthorne 1808; canon 1809–1864)^[4]
• 1864–1868 (res.): Christopher Wordsworth (canon 1844–1869; later Bishop of Lincoln)^[5]
• 1868–1883: John Jennings (canon 1837–1883)^[6]
• 1883–1894 (res.): Frederick Farrar (canon 1876–1895; Speaker's Chaplain from 1890; later Dean of Canterbury)^[7]
• 1894–1900: Charles Furse (father of artist Charles Wellington Furse)
• 1900–13 May 1916 (d.): Basil Wilberforce, Speaker's Chaplain (canon since 1894)^[8]
• 1916–1918: Ernest Pearce^[9] (canon 1911–1919; became Sub-Dean)
• 1918–1919: William Hartley Carnegie, Speaker's Chaplain (canon 1913–1936; became Sub-Dean)
• 1919–30 January 1931 (d.): Robert Charles (canon since 1913)^[10]
• 1931–December 1936 (res.): Vernon Storr (canon since 1921)
• 1937–?: Frederic Donaldson (canon 1921–1951)
• 1946–1951 (res.): Stephen Marriott (canon since 1937; became Sub-Dean)
• Adam Fox (canon 1941–1964)
• 1959–1964 (ret.): Stephen Marriott (again; canon since 1937)
• 1963–1974 (res.): Edward Carpenter (canon since 1951; became Dean of Westminster)^[11]
• 1974–1 September 1975 (res.): Ronald Jasper (canon since 1968)
• 1975–1987 (ret.): Edward Knapp-Fisher (Sub-Dean from 1982)^[12]
• 1987-1999 (ret.): Anthony Harvey,^[13] Sub-Dean
• 1999–2005 (ret.): David Hutt,^[14] Sub-Dean (canon since 1995)
• 2006–2010 (res.): Jane Hedges,^[1] Canon Steward (canon until 2014)
• 2009–2010 (ret.): Robert Wright,^[15] Sub-Dean, Rector of St Margaret's & Speaker's Chaplain (canon since 1998)
• 2010–21 June 2014 (res.): Jane Hedges,^[1] Canon Steward (again; canon since 2006; Sub-Dean since 2013)
• 2014–17 July 2016 (res.): Andrew Tremlett^{[N 1]}, Sub-Dean and Rector of St Margaret's (canon since 2010)
• 2016–2018 (ret.): Vernon White, Sub-Dean^[18] (canon and Canon Theologian since 2011; resigned archdeaconry before 17 June 2018)^[19]
• before 17 June 2018^[20] – before 31 May 2021:^[21] David Stanton (canon and Treasurer since 2013; Sub-Dean since before 21 October 2018)
• 2021–present: Tricia Hillas (canon since 9 May 2021;^[22] Steward and Archdeacon since before 31 May 2021;^[21] also Speaker's Chaplain since 4 March 2020)^[23]

Notes

1. Tremlett was appointed Sub-Dean and Archdeacon between 6 July^[16] and 3 August 2014.^[17]

References

1. "ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE CONFERENCE" (PDF). Retrieved 21 June 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. Widmore, Richard (1751). An History of the Church of St. Peter, commonly called Westminster Abbey. pp. 229–230. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
3. "Christopher Sutton". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
4. Crockford's Clerical Directory, 1860 (p. 45)
5. . Christian Quotes. Archived from the original on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
6. "Kelly's Directory South Wales 1895". GENUKI. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
7. "St Winifreds:Frederick William Farrar". 1862. Retrieved 21 June 2012. Google Books
8. "Archdeacon Wilberforce, his ideals and teaching". Retrieved 21 June 2012. Google Books
9. Pearce, E. C. (2004). "Pearce, Ernest Harold (1865–1930), bishop of Worcester". In Brodie, Marc (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). ODNB. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35432. Retrieved 21 June 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
10. Baird, William (November 2002). History of New Testament Research: From Jonathan Edwards to Rudolf Bultmann. ISBN 9781451420180. Retrieved 21 June 2012. Google Books
11. Webster, Alan (28 August 1998). "Obituary: The Rev Edward Carpenter". The Independent. London. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
12. "The Rt Rev Edward Knapp-Fisher". London: The Telegraph. 10 February 2003. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
13. "Canon Anthony Ernest HARVEY". www.crockford.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
14. "The Ven David Hutt". Debretts. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
15. "Canon Wright to leave Abbey". Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
16. Services at St Margaret's Church – 6 July 2014 (Accessed 18 August 2014)
17. Sermons given – 3 August 2014 (Accessed 18 August 2014)
18. Westminster Abbey — Annual Review 2016 (Accessed 1 September 2017)
19. "Canon Theologian to retire".
20. "Sermon at the Sung Eucharist on the Third Sunday after Trinity 2018".
21. (PDF). Westminster Abbey. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
22. . Westminster Abbey. 10 May 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
23. . Westminster Abbey. 4 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2022.