The Archdeacon of Chester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the diocese of Chester. The area in which she, or he, has statutory duties is the Archdeaconry of Chester – those duties include some pastoral care and disciplinary supervision of the clergy in that area.

The archdeaconry was created before 1135 in (what was in 1222) the Diocese of Coventry (that diocese was called Coventry and Lichfield from 1228 and then Lichfield and Coventry from 1539); it formed part of the Diocese of Chester upon her creation in 1541 and remains so today.

List of archdeacons

High Medieval[edit]

Halmar
William
Robert (I)
bef. 1135–aft. 1135: Richard Peche (later Bishop of Coventry)
Adam de Stafford
c. 1139–1149: William de Villars
1149–1152: Robert (II)
Hugh
Thomas de Sancto Nicholao
bef. 1222–aft. 1231: Ralph de Maidstone (also Dean of Hereford from 1231)^[1]

In 1228, Coventry diocese became the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield.

bef. 1245–1246 (res.): Silvester de Everdon (became Bishop of Carlisle)^[2]
bef. 1248–aft. 1248: Richard
bef. 1253–aft. 1253: John Basing
Simon de Albo Monasterio, Abbot of St Werburgh's Abbey
bef. 1271–aft. 1271: Adam de Stanford or Stafford
bef. 1279–aft. 1284: Jordan of Wimborne/de Wimburn
bef. 1289–1315 (d.): Robert de Radewell

Late Medieval[edit]

bef. 1315–bef. 1341 (d.): Richard de Havering
26 April–10 December 1330: John de Ufford (royal grant revoked)
29 January 1341–aft. August 1342 (res.): Michael Northburgh
August 1342–14 July 1348 (d.): Pedro Cardinal Gòmez de Barroso (cardinal-bishop of Sabina)
30 October 1348–bef. 1385 (res.): William de Navesby
16 October 1385 – 11 March 1387 (exch.): Nicholas Slake
11 March 1387–bef. 1390 (d.): John de Herlaston
22 February 1388–?: John Ganville (ineffective royal grant)
10 July 1390 – 15 May 1413 (exch.): William de Neuhagh
15 May 1413–bef. 1423 (d.): Henry de Halsall
7 March 1423–bef. 1425 (d.): David Price
5 July 1425–bef. 1433 (d.): Richard Stanley
6 March 1433–bef. 1449 (d.): John Burdet
26 April 1449–bef. 1454 (d.): George Radclyf
19 January 1454–bef. 1462 (d.): Sir Edward Stanley
5 November 1462–bef. 1467 (d.): Thomas St Just
10 October 1467–bef. 1474 (d.): Henry Ince
9 May 1474 – 1478 (res.): John Morton
bef. 1478–bef. 1485 (d.): James Stanley
5 June 1485–bef. 1493 (d.): Christopher Talbot
11 February 1493 – 1499 (d.): Edmund Chaderton, Archdeacon of Salisbury (also Archdeacon of Totnes)
28 August 1499 – 1519 (res.): John Vesey

17 November 1519 – 1522 (res.): Cuthbert Tunstall
11 November 1522 – 20 May 1541 (surr.): William Knight

In 1539, the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield was renamed to Lichfield and Coventry.

In 1541, the Diocese of Chester was created and Chester became part of the new diocese.

Early modern[edit]

5 August 1541 – 1554 (deprived): John Birde, Bishop of Chester
bef. 1559–1559 (deprived): Robert Perceval (deprived)^[3]
aft. 1559–aft. 1562: Robert Perceval/Percival (restored)
bef. 1566–bef. 1595 (d.): Robert Rogers
3 January 1596–bef. 1619 (res.): Cuthbert Bellott
16 January 1619 – 5 February 1656 (d.): George Snell
19 October 1660–bef. 1667 (d.): John Carter
6 November 1666 – 7 April 1686 (d.): William Finmore
12 April 1686 – 17 April 1695 (d.): John Allen
30 April 1695 – 15 September 1707 (d.): Edmund Entwisle
February 1708–30 June 1727 (d.): John Thane
12 September 1727 – 2 February 1747 (d.): Lewis Stephens
22 April 1747 – 13 April 1751 (d.): William Powell
20 April 1751 – 1 October 1785 (d.): Abel Ward
21 January–20 November 1786 (res.): George Taylor
27 November 1786 – 24 February 1797 (d.): George Travis
11 March 1797 – 29 December 1800 (d.): Thomas Breithweite
17 January 1801–bef. 1847 (d.): Unwin Clarke
23 February 1847 – 7 June 1865 (d.): Isaac Wood
July 1865 - 29 August 1866 (d.): Edward Woolnough

Late modern[edit]

September 1866 – 1867 (d.): Richard Greenall (11 May 1806 – 27 November 1867)
1867–1871 (res.): William Pollock (22 April 1812 – 11 October 1873)
1871–1876 (res.): Edward Johnson
1877–1886 (res.): John Darby^[4]
1886–23 July 1914 (d.): Edward Barber^[5]
1914–14 March 1934 (d.): Paige Cox^[6]
1934–1937 (ret.): Norman Tubbs, Assistant Bishop^[7]
1937–1965 (ret.): Richard Burne (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)^[8]
1965–1975 (ret.): Leslie Fisher (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)^[9]
1975–1988 (ret.): Leslie Williams^[10]
1988–1993 (res.): Michael Gear^[11]
1993–1994 (res.): Geoffrey Turner^[12]
1994–2002 (ret.): Christopher Hewetson (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)^[13]
2002–2010 (res.): Donald Allister^[14]
September 2010–present: Michael Gilbertson^[15]

References

Sources

Le Neve, John; Hardy, Sir Thomas Duffus (1854). Archdeacons of Chester . Fasti ecclesiae Anglicanae. Vol. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 565–567 – via Wikisource.
Jones, B. (1964), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541, vol. 10, pp. 12–14
Horn, Joyce M.; Smith, David M.; Mussett, Patrick (2004), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 11, pp. 45–47

v t e Archdeacons of Chester
Early Medieval	Halmar William Robert (I) Richard Peche Adam de Stafford William de Villars Robert (II) Hugh Thomas de Sancto Nicholao Ralph de Maidstone Silvester de Everdon Richard John Basing Simon de Albo Monasterio Adam de Stanford Jordan of Wimborne/de Wimburn Robert de Radewell
Late Medieval	Richard de Havering John de Ufford Michael Northburgh Pedro Cardinal Gòmez de Barroso William de Navesby Nicholas Slake John de Herlaston John Ganville William de Neuhagh Henry de Halsall David Price Richard Stanley John Burdet George Radclyf Sir Edward Stanley Thomas St Just Henry Ince John Morton James Stanley Christopher Talbot Edmund Chaderton, Archdeacon of Salisbury
Early modern	John Vesey Cuthbert Tunstall William Knight John Birde, Bishop of Chester Robert Perceval (twice) Robert Rogers Cuthbert Bellott George Snell John Carter William Finmore John Allen Edmund Entwisle John Thane Lewis Stephens William Powell Abel Ward George Taylor George Travis Thomas Breithweite
Late modern	Unwin Clarke Isaac Wood Edward Woolnough Richard Greenall William Pollock Edward Johnson John Darby Edward Barber Paige Cox Norman Tubbs Richard Burne Leslie Fisher Leslie Williams Michael Gear Geoffrey Turner Christopher Hewetson Donald Allister Michael Gilbertson

v t e Diocese of Chester
Chester Cathedral Bishop's House, Chester Church House, Chester St John's, Chester
Office holders	Mark Tanner, Bishop of Chester Julie Conalty, Bishop suffragan of Birkenhead Sam Corley, Bishop suffragan of Stockport AEO: Stephen Race, Bishop suffragan of Beverley & Rob Munro, Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet Tim Stratford, Dean of Chester Michael Gilbertson, Archdeacon of Chester Archdeacon of Macclesfield (vacant)
Historic offices	Archdeacon of Manchester Archdeacon of Liverpool

v t e Diocese of Lichfield
Lichfield Cathedral Bishop's House, Lichfield St Mary's House, Lichfield Area scheme (1992–present)
Office holders	Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield Sarah Bullock, area Bishop of Shrewsbury Matthew Parker, area Bishop of Stafford area Bishop of Wolverhampton (vacant) Jan McFarlane, Canon and honorary assistant bishop AEO: the Bishop suffragan of Oswestry & Rob Munro, Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet Dean of Lichfield (vacant) Paul Thomas, Archdeacon of Salop Sue Weller, Archdeacon of Lichfield Julian Francis, Archdeacon of Walsall Megan Smith, Archdeacon of Stoke
Provincial episcopal visitors	Paul Thomas, Bishop suffragan of Oswestry
Historic offices	Archdeacon of Chester (12th century – 1541; erected into Chester diocese) Archdeacon of Stafford (12 C. – 1980; renamed to Lichfield archdeaconry) Archdeacon of Coventry (12 C. – 1837; moved to Worcester then erected into Coventry diocese) Archdeacon of Derby (12th C. – 1884; moved to Southwell then erected into Derby diocese)

Archdeacons in the Church of England

Current

northern province	Auckland Blackburn Bolton Bradford Carlisle Chester Cleveland Doncaster Durham East Riding (York) Halifax Lancaster Leeds Lindisfarne Liverpool Knowsley and Sefton Macclesfield Man Manchester Newark Nottingham Northumberland Pontefract Richmond and Craven Rochdale St Helens and Warrington Salford Sheffield and Rotherham Stoke Sunderland Walsall West Cumberland Westmorland and Furness Wigan and West Lancashire York (West Riding)
southern province	Ashford Aston Barnstaple Barking Bath Bedford Berkshire Birmingham Bodmin Boston Bournemouth Brighton & Lewes Bristol Bromley & Bexley Buckingham Cambridge Canterbury Chelmsford Charing Cross ("Two Cities") Cheltenham Chichester Colchester Cornwall Coventry ("Archdeacon Pastor") Croydon Derby City and South Derbyshire Derbyshire Peak and Dales Dorchester Dorking Dorset Dudley East Derbyshire Eastern Archdeaconry (Europe) Exeter France Germany and Northern Europe Gibraltar Gloucester Hackney Hampstead Harlow Hastings Hereford Hertford Horsham Huntingdon and Wisbech Ipswich Isle of Wight Italy and Malta Lambeth Leicester Lewisham & Greenwich Lichfield Lincoln London Loughborough Ludlow Lynn Maidstone Malmesbury The Meon Middlesex Norfolk North West Europe Northampton Northolt Norwich Oakham Oxford Plymouth Portsdown Reigate Rochester St Albans Salop/Shropshire (Lichfield diocese) Sarum Sherborne Southend Southwark Stansted Stow and Lindsey Sudbury Suffolk Surrey Switzerland Taunton Tonbridge Totnes Wandsworth Warwick ("Archdeacon Missioner") Wells West Ham Westminster Wilts Winchester Worcester
non-territorial	Military archdeacons: Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force Prison Service "Archdeacon Missioner" (see Warwick) & "Archdeacon Pastor" (see Coventry) Rural Mission (Eds & Ips diocese)

Former

England

Archdeacons in the Diocese in Europe: The Aegean
Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
Europe
Italy
Malta
Northern France
the Riviera
Scandinavia
Scandinavia and Germany
South-Eastern Europe
Spain (or the Peninsula) and North Africa