The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

) in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

, an area without

area bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the Metropolitan ...

and, rather, overseen by the diocesan

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

. 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 City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. 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

Archdeacons of Charing Cross

This archdeaconry, comprising the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in Greater London, England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It contains a large par ...

, was created shortly before Klyberg's appointment in June 1989. The archdeacon serves directly under the

, who takes direct responsibility for the Two Cities area since there is no

. 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.Diocese of London — Archdeacons in the Two Cities
(Accessed 24 June 2015) Lain-Priestley was thus collated to the Charing Cross archdeaconry, and became known as the Archdeacon for the Two Cities.Diocese of London — Directory, Rosemary Lain-Priestley
(Accessed 29 July 2017) 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

in the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. It was created on 23 January 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers Essex and part of East London. Since 1984 it is divided into three ...

) 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 Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

*bef. 1102–aft. 1114: ReingerReigner is not recorded with the title Archdeacon of London; rather the nature of his post can be deduced. *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 Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

*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 Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

*bef. 1214–aft. 1215: Gilbert de Plesseto *bef. 1217–aft. 1223:

William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

*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 Sir John Snell (1629 – 6 August 1679), founder of the Snell Exhibitions at the University of Oxford, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of a blacksmith. He attended the University of Glasgow from 1642 to 1644. He joined the royalists d ...

*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 Ayala Don Pedro de Ayala also Pedro López Ayala (died 31 January 1513) was a 16th-century Spanish diplomat employed by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile at the courts of James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England. His mission to S ...

*bef. 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 John Dolben (1625-1686) was an English priest and Church of England bishop and archbishop. Life Early life He was the son of William Dolben (died 1631), prebendary of Lincoln and bishop-designate of Gloucester, and Elizabeth Williams, n ...

*27 May 1664 – 1676 (res.): Thomas Lamplugh (also Dean of Rochester from 1673) *27 April 1677 – 1689 (res.):

Edward Stillingfleet Edward Stillingfleet (17 April 1635 – 27 March 1699) was an English Christian theologian and scholar. Considered an outstanding preacher as well as a strong polemical writer defending Anglicanism, Stillingfleet was known as "the beauty of ho ...

*1689–1691 (res.):

Thomas Tenison Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs. Life He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...

*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 187111 August 1884 (d.): Piers Claughton *18841889 (ret.): Edwin Gifford *18891911 (res.): William Sinclair *19111930 (ret.):

Ernest Holmes Ernest Shurtleff Holmes (January 21, 1887 – April 7, 1960) was an American New Thought writer, teacher, and leader. He was the founder of a spiritual movement known as Religious Science, part of the greater New Thought movement, whose spi ...

*19301947 (ret.): Ernest Sharpe *19471961 (res.): Oswin Gibbs-Smith (afterwards Dean of Winchester, 1961) *19621963 (res.): George Appleton *19631967 (res.): Martin Sullivan *19671978 (ret.): Sam Woodhouse (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *197810 November 1986 (d.): Frank Harvey *19871999 (res.): George Cassidy *19992009 (ret.): Peter Delaney (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *26 July 200931 July 2014 (ret.): David Meara (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) * 11 September 201430 June 2015:

Nick Mercer Nicholas Stanley Mercer (born 25 December 1949) is a British Anglican priest who was the Vicar general for the Diocese of London from 2007 to 2017; he was additionally Archdeacon of London from 2014 until 2016. Early life and education Mercer wa ...

, Vicar General and acting archdeacon * 1 July 20156 January 2016: Nick Mercer, Vicar General * 1 January 2016present: Luke Miller (working across both archdeaconries)

Archdeacons of Charing Cross

*19891996 (ret.): John Klyberg, Bishop suffragan of Fulham (became a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest and prelate of honour) *199631 December 2014 (ret.): Bill Jacob *1 January 201631 December 2018 (res.): Rosemary Lain-Priestley, Associate Archdeacon / Archdeacon for the Two Cities (working across both archdeaconries) *20172019: Paul Thomas, Acting Archdeacon of Charing Cross *23 March 202029 September 2023: Adam Atkinson (became Bishop of Bradwell) *15 April 2024present: Katherine Hedderly

Notes

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:London, Archdeacons of Anglican ecclesiastical offices Lists of Anglicans Lists of English people Church of England