The Archdeacons in the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers Essex and the five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest (most of which wer ...

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 Britain ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. They currently include: the

Archdeacon of West Ham The Archdeacon of West Ham is a senior ecclesiastical officer – in charge of the Archdeaconry of West Ham – in the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford. The current archdeacon is Elwin Cockett. Brief history Historically, the Archdeaconr ...

, the

Archdeacon of Colchester The Archdeacon of Colchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Chelmsford – she or he has responsibilities within her archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of Colchester) including oversight of church buildings and some supervision, d ...

and the archdeacons of Chelmsford, of Harlow, of Barking, of Stansted and of Southend. Each one has responsibility over a geographical area within the diocese. Chelmsford archdeaconry seals

History

When the diocese was created, it consisted of the ancient archdeaconries of Essex and

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

. The first changes to the diocese's archdeaconries occurred on 17 March 1922 when the Archdeaconry of Southend was created from the old Essex archdeaconry and that old archdeaconry renamed to West Ham: at its erection, the 1922 Southend archdeaconry consisted of the Deaneries of Barstable/Brentwood, of Canewdon and Southend, of Chelmsford, of Chigwell, of Dengie, of Harlow, of Maldon, of Ongar, of Roding, and of Wickford. West Ham archdeaconry was further split in 1993 to create the Archdeaconry of Harlow following a 1989 decision of the Diocesan Synod. As part of Stephen Cottrell's vision for the diocese's long-term future, consultations occurred on proposals to create three new archdeaconries. On 1 February 2013, by Pastoral Order of the Bishop of Chelmsford, the three archdeaconries were created: the new ''Archdeaconry of Stansted'' from Colchester archdeaconry, a new ''Archdeaconry of Barking'' from West Ham archdeaconry and a new ''Archdeaconry of Southend'' created from Southend archdeaconry after it had been renamed the ''Archdeaconry of Chelmsford''. Initially, the Archdeacons of Colchester, of West Ham, and of Chelmsford were also Acting Archdeacons of Stansted, of Barking, and of Southend respectively.

List of archdeacons

Archdeacons of Essex and of West Ham

*2007–present: Elwin Cockett

Archdeacons of Colchester The Archdeacon of Colchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Chelmsford – she or he has responsibilities within her archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of Colchester) including oversight of church buildings and some supervision, d ...

*2010–present:

Ruth Patten Ruth Janet Patten (b 1972) has been Archdeacon of Colchester since 2019. Patten was educated at the University of Roehampton, Roehampton Institute. She was ordained after a period of study at Westcott House Cambridge. Her first post was a Curat ...

Archdeacons of Southend (before 2013) and of Chelmsford

;Archdeacons of Southend *1922–1937 (ret.): Percy Bayne (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *1938–1953 (ret.): Ellis Gowing (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *1953–1972 (ret.):

Neville Welch William Neville Welch (30 April 1906 – 3 February 1999) was the first Bishop of Bradwell in Essex from 1968 to 1973. Born on 30 April 1906, he was educated at Dean Close School, Dean Close School, Cheltenham and Keble College, Oxford and stu ...

(also Bishop suffragan of Bradwell from 1968) *1972–1977 (res.): Peter Bridges *1977–1982 (res.):

John Moses John Moses may refer to: * John Moses (Norwegian politician) (1781–1849), member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly * John Moses (Illinois politician) (1825–1898), Illinois judge and politician * John Moses (American politician) (1885–1945) ...

*1982–1992 (res.):

Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor. Known for his comedic, dramatic, and musical roles on stage and screen, he is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award and a nomination for a Evening Standard Theatre Award. Ba ...

*1992–2000 (res.): David Jennings *20011 February 2013 (renamed): David Lowman ;Archdeacons of Chelmsford *1 February 201331 January 2016 (ret.): David Lowman *13 March 2016October 2022 (ret): Elizabeth Snowden (retired on or after 2 October 2022)

Archdeacons of Harlow

*1993–1996 (res.): Michael Fox *1996–2009 (ret.):

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politi ...

*200931 March 2017 (ret.):

Martin Webster Martin Guy Alan Webster (born 14 May 1943) is a British neo-nazi, a former leading figure on the far-right in the United Kingdom. An early member of the National Labour Party, he was John Tyndall's closest ally, and followed him in joining ...

*24 September 2017present:

Vanessa Herrick Vanessa Anne Herrick (born 27 March 1958) is a retired Anglican priest who served as the Archdeacon of Harlow. She was educated at the University of York; St John's College, Nottingham; Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge; and Ridley Hall, Cambridge. H ...

Archdeacons of Barking

*1 February15 September 2013: Elwin Cockett, Archdeacon of West Ham ''(Acting)'' *15 September 20133 July 2018:

John Perumbalath John Perumbalath (born 1966) is a bishop in the Church of England who has served as Bishop of Liverpool since 2023. He had previously served as area Bishop of Bradwell (2018–2023) and Archdeacon of Barking (2013–2018), both in the Di ...

Diocese of Chelmsford – Three new Archdeacons appointed
(Accessed 12 May 2013) (became area Bishop of Bradwell) *12 May 2019present: Chris Burke

Archdeacons of Stansted

*1 February15 September 2013: Annette Cooper, Archdeacon of Colchester ''(Acting)'' *15 September 2013present:

Robin King Robin Andrew King, (born 7 July 1966) is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who, despite having been born into a Catholic family, served as the commander of the Ulster Protestant Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). A close friend of the o ...

Archdeacons of Southend (since 2013)

*1 February15 September 2013: David Lowman, Archdeacon of Chelmsford ''(Acting)'' *15 September 201331 December 2016 (ret.):

Mina Smallman Wilhelmina Tokcumboh "Mina" Smallman (born 29 October 1956) is a British retired Anglican priest and former school teacher. She served as the Archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford from September 2013 until her retirement in December ...

*19 March 2017November 2021 (ret.):

Mike Lodge Michael John Lodge (born 1 August 1953) is a retired British Anglican priest who served as Archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford, 2017– 2021. Lodge trained for ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall Oxford. He was ordained deacon in 1 ...

(Acting since 1 August 2016) *26 June 2022present: Mike Power (Acting since November 2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelmsford, Archdeacons in the Diocese of Lists of Anglicans Archdeacons in the Diocese of Chelmsford Lists of English people