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The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of
Lichfield Cathedral Lichfield Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, one of only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires (together with Truro Cathedral and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh), and the only medie ...
. The
dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Chad'' in
Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...
. The cathedral is the mother church of the
Diocese of Lichfield The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...
and seat of the
Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Mi ...
. The current dean is
Adrian Dorber Adrian John Dorber (born 23 September 1952) is a British retired Anglican priest. From 2005 until his retirement in March 2023, he was the Dean of Lichfield Cathedral in the Church of England. Early life and education Dorber was born on 23 Sept ...
.


List of deans


Early Medieval

*1222–1254 William de Manecestra *1254–?
Ralph de Sempringham Ralph de Sempringham (also Sempryngham, Semplyngham, or Sempyngham) was an English medieval churchman, theologist, university chancellor, and dean. Between 1252 and 1255, Ralph de Sempringham was Chancellor of Oxford University. In 1254, he was ...


Medieval

*1280–1319 John de Derby *1319–1324 Stephen Seagrave
(afterwards
Archbishop of Armagh In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
) *1324–1328 Roger de Convenis *1328–1335
John Garssia John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(afterwards Bishop of Marseille) *1335–1346
Richard FitzRalph Richard FitzRalph (also Fitz Ralph; c. 1300 – 16 December 1360) was a scholastic philosopher, theologian, and Norman Irish Archbishop of Armagh during the 14th century. His thought exerted a significant influence on John Wycliffe's. Life F ...
*1346–1347
John of Thoresby John of Thoresby (died 6 November 1373) was an English clergyman and politician, who was Bishop of St David's, then Bishop of Worcester and finally Archbishop of York. He was Lord Chancellor of England under King Edward III starting from 134 ...
*1347–1349 Simon de Brisele
(afterwards
Dean of Lincoln The Dean of Lincoln is the head of the Chapter of Lincoln Cathedral in the city of Lincoln, England in the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln. Christine Wilson was installed as Dean on 22 October 2016.
) *1350–1363
John Bokyngham John Bokyngham (or Buckingham; died 1398) was a medieval treasury official and Bishop of Lincoln. Administrative career Bokyngham entered the treasury and was appointed Chamberlain of the Exchequer from 1347 until 1350, Keeper of the Great Wardro ...
*1364–1369 William de Manton *1369–? Laurence de Ibstock *?–1370
Anthony Rous Anthony Rous (1605 – 1 May 1677) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1653 and 1660. He was an officer in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War. Rous was the son of Robert Rous and his ...
*1371–1378
Francis de Teobaldeschi Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...
*1381–1390
William Pakington William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
*1390–1426
Thomas de Stretton Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
*1426–1432
Robert Wolveden Robert Wolveden (died 1432) was a Canon of Windsor from 1407 to 1412''Fasti Wyndesorienses'', May 1950. S. L. Ollard. Published by the Dean and Canons of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and Dean of Lichfield. Career He was appointed: *Prebenda ...
*1432–1447 John Verney (probably
Archdeacon of Worcester The Archdeacon of Worcester is a senior clergy position in the Diocese of Worcester in the Church of England. Among the archdeacon's responsibilities is the care of clergy and church buildings within the area of the Archdeaconry of Worcester. Hi ...
, 1438–1452), formerly Rector of Bredon in Worcestershire, and supervisor and receiver-general to
Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (25 or 28 January 138230 April 1439) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Early life Beauchamp was born at Salwarpe CourtRichard Gough, ''Description of the Beauchamp chapel, adjoin ...
(1382-1439). He was the younger brother of Sir Richard de Verney (d.1489) of
Compton Verney Compton Verney is a parish and historic manor in the county of Warwickshire, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 119. The surviving manor house is the Georgian mansion Compton Verney House. Descent of the manor The first r ...
in Warwickshire. *1457–1492
Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece ''A Woman Killed with Kindness'', a ...


Early modern

*1493–1512 John Yotton *1512–1521
Ralph Colyngwood Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...
*1522–1533
James Denton James Thomas Denton Jr. (born January 20, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for playing Mike Delfino on ABC's comedy-drama series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2004–2012) and Dr. Sam Radford on Hallmark Channel's comedy ...
*1533–1536
Richard Sampson Richard Sampson (died 25 September 1554) was an English clergyman and composer of sacred music, who was Anglican bishop of Chichester and subsequently of Coventry and Lichfield. Biography He was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, the Paris S ...
*1536–1554
Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to: Politicians * Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign * Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), Member of Parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...
*1554–1559 John Ramridge (deprived) *1560–1576
Laurence Nowell Laurence (or Lawrence) Nowell (1530 – c.1570) was an English antiquarian, cartographer and pioneering scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and literature. Life Laurence Nowell was born around 1530 in Whalley, Lancashire, the second son of Alexand ...
*1576–1603
George Boleyn George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford (c. 1504 – 17 May 1536) was an English courtier and nobleman who played a prominent role in the politics of the early 1530s. He was the brother of Anne Boleyn, from 1533 the second wife of King He ...
*July 1603–20 December 1604 (res.) James Montague (became
Dean of Worcester The Dean of Worcester is the head of the Chapter of Worcester Cathedral in Worcester, England. The current dean is Peter Atkinson, who lives at The Deanery, College Green, Worcester. Crockford's on-line accessed by subscription Tuesday 11 June ...
) *1605–1622
William Tooker William Tooker (or Tucker) ( Exeter, 1557 or 1558 – 19 March 1621) was an English churchman and theological writer, who was archdeacon of Barnstaple and later dean of Lichfield. Life Born at Exeter in 1557 or 1558, he was the third son ...
*1622–1628 Walter Curle *1628–1632
Augustine Lindsell Augustine Lindsell (died 6 November 1634) was an English classical scholar and Bishop of Hereford. In church matters he was advanced by Richard Neile, and was a firm supporter of William Laud. As a scholar he influenced Thomas Farnaby. Life He wa ...
*1633–1638
John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 200 ...
*1638–1638
Samuel Fell Samuel Fell D.D. (1584 – 1 February 1649) was an English academic and clergyman, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford during the First English Civil War. Life Samuel Fell was born in the parish of St Cl ...
*1638–1659 Griffin Higgs *1661–1663 William Paul *1664–1671 Thomas Wood *1671–1683 Matthew Smallwood *1683–1703
Lancelot Addison The Reverend Lancelot Addison (1632 – 20 April 1703) was an English writer and Church of England clergyman. He was born at Crosby RavensworthJohn Julian: ''Dictionary of Hymnology'', 2nd edition, p. 19. London: John Murray, 1907. in Westmorlan ...
*1703–1712
William Binckes William Binckes (bapt. 25 May 1653''London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812'' – 19 June 1712) was an English preacher and sermon writer, noted for his term as Dean of Lichfield. Biography Binckes was born ...
*1713–1720
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 ...
*1720–1730
William Walmesley William Walmsley, (5 April 1687, in Lichfield – 18 September 1730, in Packington) was Dean of Lichfield from 1720 until his death. Walmesley was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known S ...
*1730–1745
Nicholas Penny Sir Nicholas Beaver Penny (born 21 December 1949) is a British art historian. From 2008 to 2015 he was director of the National Gallery in London. Early life Penny was educated at Shrewsbury School before he studied English at St Catharine ...
*1745–1776 John Addenbrooke *1776–1807
Baptist Proby Baptist Proby (bapt. 14 June 1726 – 18 January 1807) was Dean of Lichfield from 1776 until 1807. Life Proby was the fifth son of John Proby of Elton Hall in Elton, Huntingdonshire, MP for Huntingdonshire (1722–27) and Stamford (1743–47 ...


Late modern

*1807–1833
John Woodhouse John Walker Woodhouse (28 January 188413 March 1955) was an Anglican suffragan bishop from 1945 until 1953. He was born on 28 January 1884 and educated at Charterhouse and University College, Oxford before embarking on an ecclesiastical career ...
*1833–1868 Henry HowardBritish History Online – Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857 – Deans of Lichfield
/ref> *1868–1875 William Champneys *1875–1892 Edward Bickersteth *1892–1909
Herbert Luckock Herbert Mortimer Luckock (11 July 1833''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975'' – 24 March 1909 ) was a British Anglican priest in the Church of England. Life Luckock was born in 1833 at Great Barr, Staffordshire, the son of t ...
*1909–1939 Henry Savage *1939–1952
Frederic Iremonger Frederic Athelwold Iremonger (8 July 1878''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 15 September 1952) was an Anglican priest. Iremonger was born in Longparish, Hampshire,''1911 England Census'' the third son of William Henry (1845–1911) and Mary ...
*1954–1969 William MacPherson *1970–1979
George Holderness George Edward Holderness (5 March 1913 – 21 October 1987) was an Anglican bishop. He was born in 1913 and educated at Leeds Grammar School and Keble College, Oxford. Ordained in 1936, he began his career with a curacy at Bedale and was then ...
*1980–1993 John Lang *1994–1999 Tom Wright *1999–2005 Michael Yorke *2005–present
Adrian Dorber Adrian John Dorber (born 23 September 1952) is a British retired Anglican priest. From 2005 until his retirement in March 2023, he was the Dean of Lichfield Cathedral in the Church of England. Early life and education Dorber was born on 23 Sept ...
*March–September 2012
Pete Wilcox Peter Jonathan Wilcox (born 1961) is a British Anglican bishop. Since June 2017, he has been the bishop of Sheffield in the Church of England. He was previously the dean of Liverpool from 2012 to 2017. Early life and education Wilcox was born ...
, ''Acting Dean''


Notes

{{Deans of Lichfield
Deans of Lichfield The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Lichfield Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S ...
Dean of Lichfield The Dean of Lichfield is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the chapter of canons, the ruling body of Lichfield Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and S ...