The
archdeacons in the
Diocese of Liverpool
The Diocese of Liverpool is a Church of England diocese based in Liverpool, covering Merseyside north of the River Mersey, part of West Lancashire, part of Wigan in Greater Manchester, Widnes and part of Warrington and in Cheshire (it was origi ...
are senior ecclesiastical officers in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
in a highly irregular area surrounding the city of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
. They are the archdeacons of Liverpool, of St Helens and Warrington, of Knowsley and Sefton, and of Wigan and West Lancashire; each one has responsibility over a geographical area within the diocese. The archdeacons are responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within their archdeaconries.
History
The Archdeaconry of Liverpool was originally created on 10 August 1847 (from the
Archdeaconry of Chester deaneries of Wirral and Warrington) in the
Diocese of Chester
The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside.
History
Ancient diocese
Before the si ...
and transferred to the Diocese of Liverpool when the latter was created on 9 April 1880. The Archdeaconry of Warrington was created from the Archdeaconry of Liverpool on 17 July 1880.
Prior to the 2015 reorganisation, the old Liverpool archdeaconry consisted of eight area deaneries: Bootle, Huyton, Liverpool North, Liverpool South-Childwall, Sefton, Toxteth and Wavertree, Walton, and West Derby; and the old Warrington archdeaconry of seven: North Meols, Ormskirk, St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan, and Winwick.
Reorganisation
Per the diocese's mission paper, ''Fit for Mission'', prepared by
Paul Bayes, the then-new
Bishop of Liverpool
The Bishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Liverpool in the Province of York.''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 100th edition, (2007), Church House Publishing. .
The diocese stretches from Southport in the n ...
, the archdeaconries of the diocese were reorganised not long after the retirement of
Peter Bradley as Archdeacon of Warrington at the end of October 2015. On 29 May 2015, it was announced that four archdeaconries would exist after the reorganisation: Liverpool (reduced in size from its current area), Knowsley and Sefton, St Helens and Warrington, and Wigan and West Lancashire; on 9 August three archdeacons-designate were announced, and it was further indicated it was hoped the reorganisation could be completed in time to collate the new archdeacons on 14 November 2015. On 5 November 2015, it was announced that Bayes had signed the pastoral order effecting the boundary changes and erection of the new archdeaconries.
[Diocese of Liverpool — Bishop of Liverpool signs pastoral order](_blank)
(Accessed 20 November 2015)
Following the reorganisation, the (reduced) Liverpool archdeaconry consists of five deaneries: Liverpool North, Liverpool South-Childwall, Toxteth and Wavertree, Walton, and West Derby; Knowsley and Sefton archdeaconry of four: Bootle, Huyton, North Meols, and Sefton; St Helens and Warrington archdeaconry of four: St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, and Winwick; and Wigan and West Lancashire archdeaconry of two: Ormskirk, and Wigan.
List of archdeacons
Archdeacons of Liverpool
* 29 September 1848 – 28 September 1855 (d.):
Jonathan Brooks
* 30 October 1855 – 1886 (res.):
John Jones
:''Since 9 April 1880, the archdeaconry has been in Liverpool diocese.''
:''On 17 July 1880, the Archdeaconry of Warrington was split from the Liverpool archdeaconry.''
* 1886–1887 (res.):
John Bardsley
John Wareing Bardsley (29 March 1835 – 14 March 1914) was the Bishop of Carlisle.
He was the son of Canon James Bardsley, once a Bradford curate. As a boy he lived in Church Street, Burnley, attending Burnley Grammar School between 1843-48 ...
,
Vicar of St Saviour's, Liverpool
* 1887–1895:
Benjamin Clarke, Vicar of Christ Church,
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
* 1895–19 March 1906 (d.):
William Taylor,
Vicar of St Andrew,
Toxteth
Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside.
Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill.
The area ...
Park
* 1906–26 December 1915 (d.):
Thomas Madden, Vicar of St Luke's, Liverpool (until 1913) then Vicar of Christ Church, Southport
* 1916–7 February 1933 (d.):
Hardwicke Spooner, Rector of
Walton-on-the-Hill
Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, is a village in England midway between the market towns of Reigate and Epsom. The village is a dispersed cluster on the North Downs centred less than one mile inside of the M25 motorway. The village hosts the Wa ...
(until 1921)
* 1933–1934 (ret.):
George Howson
George William Saul Howson MA (8 August 1860 – 7 January 1919) was an English schoolmaster and writer, notable as the reforming headmaster of Gresham's School from 1900 to 1919.
Early life
Howson was one of the four sons of William Howson of ...
* 1934–3 September 1950 (d.):
Cyril Twitchett
Cyril Frederick Twitchett (1890 – 3 September 1950) was an Anglican archdeacon and an Honorary Chaplain to the King in the second quarter of the Twentieth century.
Twitchett was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was educated at King's College ...
* 1951–1970 (ret.):
Hubert Wilkinson
Hubert Seed Wilkinson (7 June 1897 – 5 May 1984) was an Anglican priest in the 20th Century.
He served in the Royal Artillery from 1916 to 1919 when he entered Durham University. After a curacy in Colne he held incumbencies in Harpurhey, Ches ...
, Vicar of
St Mary's, Grassendale, (until 1968; afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
* 1971–1979 (res.):
Eric Corbett
* 1979–1991 (ret.):
Graeme Spiers, Vicar of
Aigburth (until 1980; afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
* 1991–1993 (res.):
Stanton Durant, Vicar of All Saints,
Stoneycroft
* 1994–2002 (ret.):
Robert Metcalf (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
* 20026 May 2017 (ret.):
Ricky Panter
Richard John Graham "Ricky" Panter (born 18 September 1948) is a British Anglican priest. He was Archdeacon of Liverpool from 2002 until 2017.
Panter was educated at Monkton Combe School, University of Worcester, Worcester College of Education and ...
:''Much of the territory of the archdeaconry was given to the new Knowsley and Sefton archdeaconry.''
* 10 September 2017January 2023 (res.):
Mike McGurk
*2023 onwards:
Miranda Threlfall-Holmes (announced; Acting since 1 February 2023)
Archdeacons of Warrington and of St Helens and Warrington
:''The archdeaconry was erected from the Liverpool archdeaconry on 17 July 1880.''
*1880–1886 (res.): John Bardsley,
Vicar of St Saviour's, Liverpool (became
Archdeacon of Liverpool
The archdeacons in the Diocese of Liverpool are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in a highly irregular area surrounding the city of Liverpool. They are the archdeacons of Liverpool, of St Helens and Warrington, of Knows ...
)
*1887–1889 (res.):
William Lefroy
William Lefroy (1836–1909) was an Anglican Dean, mountaineer and author.
Biography
Born in Dublin in 1836, he was eldest of the four children of Isaac and Isabella Lefroy. William Lefroy was educated at its Trinity College and ordained in 18 ...
, perpetual curate of St Andrew's, Liverpool (became
Dean of Norwich
The Dean of Norwich is the head of the Chapter of Norwich Cathedral in Norwich, England. The role is vacant since Jane Hedges' retirement on 1 May 2022.
List of deans
Early modern
*1538–1539 William Castleton (last prior)
*1539–1554 J ...
)
*1889–1895 (res.): William Taylor,
Vicar of St Chrysostom,
Everton (until 1890), then Vicar of St Andrew, Toxteth Park (became Archdeacon of Liverpool)
*1895–1906 (res.): Thomas Madden, Vicar of St Luke's, Liverpool (became Archdeacon of Liverpool)
*1906–1916 (res.): Hardwicke Spooner, Rector of Walton-on-the-Hill (became Archdeacon of Liverpool)
*1916–1933 (res.): George Howson, Rector of
Woolton
Woolton (; ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located southeast of the city and is bordered by Allerton, Gateacre, Halewood, and Hunt's Cross. At the 2011 Census, the population was 12,921.
Overview
Originally a standalone ...
(until 1923; became Archdeacon of Liverpool)
*1933–1934 (res.): Cyril Twitchett (became Archdeacon of Liverpool)
*1934–1947 (ret.):
Percy Baker, Vicar of
Mossley Hill
Mossley Hill is a suburb of Liverpool and a Liverpool City Council ward. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, Childwall, and Wavertree. At the 2001 Census, the population was 12,650, increasing to 13,816 a ...
(until 1935), then Rector of
Winwick (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
*1947–1958 (ret.):
Arthur White, Vicar of
Billinge (until 1950; afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
*1959–1970 (ret.):
Eric Evans, Rector of
North Meols
North Meols is a civil parish and electoral ward in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The parish covers the village of Banks and the hamlet of Hundred End. The population of the parish/ward at the 2011 census was 4,146. His ...
(until 1968; afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
*1970–1981 (res.):
John Lawton, Rector of Winwick (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
*1981–2001 (ret.):
David Woodhouse, Vicar of
St Peter's, Hindley (until 1992; afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
*200131 October 2015 (ret.):
Peter Bradley
:''The archdeaconry was renamed on 5 November 2015.''
*14 November 201530 September 2019 (res.):
Roger Preece
*25 January 2020present:
Simon Fisher
Simon E. Fisher (born 1970) is a British geneticist and neuroscientist who has pioneered research into the genetic basis of human speech and language. He is a director of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and Professor of language a ...
Archdeacons of Knowsley and Sefton
:''The archdeaconry was erected on 5 November 2015.''
*14 November 2015–present:
Pete Spiers[Diocese of Liverpool — Bishop Paul collates new Archdeacons at Liverpool Cathedral](_blank)
(Accessed 20 November 2015)
Archdeacons of Wigan and West Lancashire
:''The archdeaconry was erected on 5 November 2015.''
*14 November 201531 July 2021 (res.):
Jennifer McKenzie
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liverpool, Archdeacons in the Diocese of
Anglican ecclesiastical offices
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Lancashire-related lists
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Cheshire-related lists