The Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, also known as the Speaker's Chaplain, is a

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 ...

priest who officiates at services held at the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

and its associated chapel,

St Mary Undercroft The Chapel of St Mary Undercroft is a Church of England chapel located in the Palace of Westminster, London, England. The chapel is accessed via a flight of stairs in the south east corner of Westminster Hall. It had been a crypt below St Step ...

. The Chaplain also acts as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

to the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

and

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. The first Speaker's Chaplain was appointed in 1660. The current officeholder is Patricia Hillas. From 1972 to 2010, the Speaker's Chaplain also held the position of

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

, the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the Palace of Westminster.

List of Chaplains to the Speaker of the House of Commons

;17th century * Edward Voyce (1660) *Henry Carpenter (1661) *Henry Wotton (1663) *Mr. Barker (1675) *Mr. Willet (1689) * Peter Birch (1689) *

Thomas Manningham Thomas Manningham (1651?-1722) was an English churchman, bishop of Chichester from 1709. Life He was born about 1651 in the parish of St. George, Southwark, the son of Richard Manningham (d. 1682), rector of Michelmersh, Hampshire, and grandso ...

(1690–1694) *Maurice Vaughan (1694–1695) *Samuel Barton (1695–1697) *William Hallifax (1697–1698) *William Galloway (1698–1700) ;18th century *John Herne (1701) *

Francis Gastrell Francis Gastrell (10 May 1662 – 24 November 1725) was Bishop of Chester and a writer on deism. He was a friend of Jonathan Swift, mentioned several times in '' A Journal to Stella'', and chaplain to Robert Harley, when Harley was Speaker of ...

(1701–1702) *William Stratford (1702–1705) *Thomas Goddard (1705–1708) *Laurence Brodrick (1708–1710) *

Jonathan Kimberley Jonathan Kimberley (7 June 1651 – 7 March 1720) was Dean of Lichfield from 1713 until his death. Born in Bromsgrove, Smallwood was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford. He migrated to Cambridge in 1776. He held livings at Stadhampton, C ...

(1710–1713) *John Pelling (1713–1714) * Henry Barker (1715–) *Thomas Manningham (1718–1723), son of the previous Thomas Manningham * George Ingram (1723–1728) * Scawen Kenrick (1728) * William Burchett (1736–1739) *

Richard Terrick Richard Terrick (baptised 20 July 1710 – 31 March 1777) was a Church of England clergyman who served as Bishop of Peterborough 1757–1764 and Bishop of London 1764–1777. Life Terrick was born in York, the eldest son of Samuel Terrick, rec ...

(1739–1742) * Arthur Young (1742–1746) *

John Fulham John Fulham M.A. (1699–1777) was an English cleric, Canon of Windsor from 1750 to 1777 and Archdeacon of Llandaff from 1749 to 1777 Career He was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford where he graduated B.A. in 1720. He was app ...

(1746–) * Richard Cope (1751–1754) *Reeve Ballard (1754–1758) *Charles Burdett (1758–1762) * Richard Cust (1762–1765) * Richard Palmer (1765–1769) *

William Barford William Barford (died November 1792) was an English scholar and Anglican clergyman. Life Barford was educated at Eton College, and elected to King's College, Cambridge in 1737. He proceeded B.A. in 1742, M.A. in 1746, and D.D. in 1771. He became t ...

(1769–1770) * James King (1770–1774) *

Arthur Onslow Arthur Onslow (1 October 169117 February 1768) was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity. Early life and educat ...

(1774–1779) *Cuthbert Allanson (1779–1780†) *William Welfitt (1780) * Folliott Cornewall (1780–1784) *Philip Williams (1784–1789) * Charles Moss (1789–1791) *Thomas Hay (1791–1795) *Thomas Causton (1795–1796) * William Busby (1796–1801) ;19th century *John Barton (1801–1802) * Samuel Smith (1802–1806) *Frederick Barnes (1806–1807) *Charles Proby (1807–1812) * James Webber (1812–1815) * Robert Stevens (1815–1818) *

Christopher Wordsworth Christopher Wordsworth (30 October 180720 March 1885) was an English intellectual and a bishop of the Anglican Church. Life Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity, who was the youngest b ...

(1818–1820) *William Frederick Baylay (1820–1824) *

Thomas Manners-Sutton Thomas Manners-Sutton (6 August 1795 – 27 October 1844) was an English clergyman who served as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons. Manners-Sutton was the fourth son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Manners-Sutton (1752–1826), John Mann ...

(1824–1827) *Evelyn Levett Sutton (1827–) *Frederick Vernon Lockwood (1830–1832) *Edward Repton (1832–1833) *Temple Frere (1833–1835) *John Vane (1835–) *Gerrard Thomas Andrewes (1839–1849) * Thomas Garnier (1849–1857) * Henry Drury (1857–1862) * Charles Merivale (1863–1869) * Henry White (1869–1874, 1889–1890†) * Francis Byng (1874–1889) *

Frederic Farrar Frederic William Farrar (Bombay, 7 August 1831 – Canterbury, 22 March 1903) was a cleric of the Church of England (Anglican), schoolteacher and author. He was a pallbearer at the funeral of Charles Darwin in 1882. He was a member of the Cambr ...

(1890–1895) * Basil Wilberforce (1896–1916†) ;20th century *

William Hartley Carnegie William Hartley Carnegie (27 February 1859 – 18 October 1936) was an Anglican priest and author. In addition to parish ministries and chaplaincy, he served as Archdeacon of Westminster from 1918 to 1919 and as sub-dean of Westminster Abbey from ...

(1916–1936) * Alan Don (1936–1946) *Christopher Cheshire (1946–1955) *

John McLeod Campbell John McLeod Campbell (4 May 1800 – 27 February 1872) was a Scottish minister and Reformed theologian. In the opinion of one German church historian, contemporaneous with Campbell, his theology was a highpoint of British theology during the ni ...

(1955–1961) * Michael Stancliffe (1961–1969) *

Thomas Nevill Sir Thomas Neville or Nevill (by 1484 – 29 May 1542) was a younger son of George Neville, 4th Baron Bergavenny. He was a prominent lawyer and a trusted councillor of King Henry VIII, and was elected Speaker of the House of Commons in 1515. ...

(1969–1972) * David Edwards (1972–1978) * John Baker (1978–1982) * Trevor Beeson (1982–1987) *

Donald Gray Donald Gray (born Eldred Owermann Tidbury, 3 March 1914 – 7 April 1978) was a South African actor, well known for his starring role in the British TV series ''Mark Saber'', for providing the voices of Colonel White, Captain Black and the ...

(1987–1998) * Robert Wright (1998–2010) ;21st century *Robert Wright (1998–2010) *

Rose Hudson-Wilkin Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin, (born 19 January 1961) is a British Anglican bishop, who has been suffragan Bishop of Dover in the diocese of Canterbury - deputising for the Archbishop - since 2019: she is the first black woman to become a Chur ...

(2010–2019) * Patricia Hillas (2019–present) - now the 80th Speaker's Chaplain.

References

{{reflist House of Commons of the United Kingdom Church of England lists Anglican ecclesiastical offices London religion-related lists London politics-related lists