The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area without area bishop and, rather, overseen by the diocesan Bishop of London. The immediate western counterpart in this area is the Archdeacon(ry) of Charing Cross.

Since 1989, the churches of this supervisory cleric are the numerous remaining churches of the City of London. Those of the Archdeacon of Charing Cross are the relatively few churches, but much more heavily populated zone that is the City of Westminster.

History

Before the 20th century, the early medieval-founded London archdeaconry included parts of the East End as well as the City of London. The extent of the archdeaconry was reduced in 1912 (with the creation of the Archdeaconry of Hampstead) and in 1951 (with the creation of the Archdeaconry of Hackney) then latest boundary changes with the creation of the Archdeaconry of Charing Cross in 1989 saw the archdeaconry become coterminous with the limits of the City of London.

Archdeacons of Charing Cross

This archdeaconry, comprising the City of Westminster, was created shortly before Klyberg's appointment in June 1989. The archdeacon serves directly under the Bishop of London, who takes direct responsibility for the Two Cities area since there is no area bishop.

On 16 June 2015, it was announced that from 1 January 2016 the Archdeacon of London would take responsibility for the whole Two Cities area; a part-time Associate Archdeacon would also work across both. Lain-Priestley was thus collated to the Charing Cross archdeaconry, and became known as the Archdeacon for the Two Cities. Lain-Priestley resigned this on 31 December 2018 to become an Adviser to the Bishop of London.

As Archdeacon of Charing Cross since 2020, Atkinson was archdeacon full-time; in June 2023 it was announced that Atkinson was to become Bishop of Bradwell (an area bishop in the Diocese of Chelmsford) from "autumn" 2023. On 8 January 2024, it was announced that Katherine Hedderly was to become Archdeacon of Charing Cross "after Easter"; she was duly collated 15 April 2024.

List of archdeacons

High Medieval ?–bef. 1096 (d.): Edward bef. 1102–aft. 1114: Reinger bef. 1127–aft. 1152: William de Beaumis (son of Richard de Beaumis) bef. 1154–aft. 1157 (res.): Hugh de Mareni bef. 1162–aft. 1189: Nicholas bef. 1192–aft. 1194: Peter de Waltham bef. 1196–bef. 1199 (res.): Alard de Burnham bef. 1202–bef. 1212 (d.): Peter of Blois bef. 1213–bef. 1214: Walter bef. 1214–aft. 1215: Gilbert de Plesseto bef. 1217–aft. 1223: William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise bef. 1225–bef. 1231 (res.): Geoffrey de Lucy bef. 1229–aft. 1234: William de Rising bef. 1235–aft. 1261 (res.): Peter de Newport bef. 1263–aft. 1268 (res.): John Chishull bef. 1272–aft. 1275: William Passemer bef. 1278–aft. 1280: Geoffrey de Mortuo Mari bef. 1281–1282 (res.): Richard Swinefield bef. 1285–aft. 1290: Robert de Ros bef. 1294–aft. 1299: Richard de Gravesend Late Medieval bef. 1302–bef. 1308 (d.): John de Bedford ?–bef. 1305 (res.): John de Sancto Claro Peter de Dene (disputed with Bedford) 1308–bef. 1320 (d.): Bego de Cavomonte bef. 1309–bef. 1311 (d.): Reginald de Sancto Albano 1320–bef. 1323 (res.): Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord bef. 1321–bef. 1324: Richard de Aston bef. 1323–bef. 1332 (d.): Pontius de Podio Barzaco 1332–aft. 1337: Itherius de Concoreto 13 September 1338–?: Edmund Howard 21 March 1339 – 1347 (res.): John of Thoresby bef. 1350–1354 (res.): Richard Kilvington 1354–?: Peter Cardinal du Cros (also Cardinal-priest of Santi Silvestro e Martino) 1354–9 February 1356 (exch.): James de Beaufort 9 February 1356 – 1361 (res.): John Barnet 15 October–October 1361 (d.): Fortanerius Vassalli (also Patriarch of Grado) 26 March 1362–aft. 1372: Adam de Hertington bef. 1383–bef. 1397 (d.): Thomas Baketon 10 February 1397 – 1400 (res.): Thomas Stowe 12 November 1400 – 1422 (res.): Reginald Kentwood 16 March 1422–bef. 1431 (res.): John Snell 28 January 1431 – 23 February 1443 (exch.): Richard Moresby 23 February 1443–bef. 1466 (d.): William Fallan bef. 1469–1482 (res.): Richard Martyn (also Archdeacon of Hereford from bef. 1478 and Archdeacon of Berkshire from 1478; became Bishop of St David's) 22 June 1482–bef. 1490 (res.): John de Gigliis 16 November 1490–bef. 1502 (res.): John Forster 3 September 1502–aft. 1510: Pedro de Ayalabef. 1510–bef. 1514 (res.): William Horsey 28 March 1514–bef. 1526 (d.): John Young, suffragan bishop (also Dean of Chichester from 1521) 29 March 1526–bef. 1529 (d.): Geoffrey Wharton 30 October 1529–bef. 1533 (exch.): William Clyff 5 August 1533–bef. 1534 (res.): Thomas Bedyll 19 December 1534–July 1543 (d.): Richard Gwent Early modern 23 July–October 1543 (res.): Edward Moylle 29 October 1543 – 1554 (res.): John Wymmesley 27 April 1554 – 23 October 1559 (deprived): John Harpsfield (deprived; also Dean of Norwich from 1558) 1559–bef. 1591 (d.): John Mullins 1 June 1591–bef. 1626 (d.): Theophilus Aylmer (son of John Aylmer) 23 February 1626 – 19 September 1662 (d.): Thomas Paske 11 October 1662–bef. 1664 (res.): John Dolben 27 May 1664 – 1676 (res.): Thomas Lamplugh (also Dean of Rochester from 1673) 27 April 1677 – 1689 (res.): Edward Stillingfleet 1689–1691 (res.): Thomas Tenison 1692–9 October 1731 (d.): William Stanley 23 October 1731 – 15 June 1742 (d.): Robert Tyrwhit 12 July 1742 – 22 April 1764 (d.): Edward Cobden 24 April 1764 – 5 September 1770 (d.): John Jortin 29 September 1770 – 1775 (res.): Anthony Hamilton 22 February 1775 – 1789 (res.): Richard Beadon 1789–bef. 1813 (res.): William Bingham 31 December 1813–bef. 1842 (res.): Joseph Pott 4 November 1842 – 27 November 1870 (d.): William Hale Late modern March 1871 – 11 August 1884 (d.): Piers Claughton 1884 – 1889 (ret.): Edwin Gifford 1889 – 1911 (res.): William Sinclair 1911 – 1930 (ret.): Ernest Holmes 1930 – 1947 (ret.): Ernest Sharpe 1947 – 1961 (res.): Oswin Gibbs-Smith (afterwards Dean of Winchester, 1961) 1962 – 1963 (res.): George Appleton 1963 – 1967 (res.): Martin Sullivan 1967 – 1978 (ret.): Sam Woodhouse (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 1978 – 10 November 1986 (d.): Frank Harvey 1987 – 1999 (res.): George Cassidy 1999 – 2009 (ret.): Peter Delaney (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 26 July 2009 – 31 July 2014 (ret.): David Meara (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 11 September 2014 – 30 June 2015: Nick Mercer, Vicar General and acting archdeacon 1 July 2015 – 6 January 2016: Nick Mercer, Vicar General 1 January 2016 – present: Luke Miller (working across both archdeaconries) Archdeacons of Charing Cross 1989 – 1996 (ret.): John Klyberg, Bishop suffragan of Fulham (became a Roman Catholic priest and prelate of honour) 1996 – 31 December 2014 (ret.): Bill Jacob 1 January 2016 – 31 December 2018 (res.): Rosemary Lain-Priestley, Associate Archdeacon / Archdeacon for the Two Cities (working across both archdeaconries) 2017 – 2019: Paul Thomas, Acting Archdeacon of Charing Cross 23 March 2020 – 29 September 2023: Adam Atkinson (became Bishop of Bradwell) 15 April 2024 – present: Katherine Hedderly

Notes

Sources

  • Greenway, Diana E. (1968), , vol. 1, pp. 8–12
  • Horn, Joyce M. (1963), , vol. 5, pp. 7–9
  • Horn, Joyce M. (1969), , vol. 1, pp. 7–9