The Dean of Norwich is the head of the Chapter of

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedral ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The role is vacant since

Jane Hedges Jane Barbara Hedges (born 6 April 1956) is a British Anglican priest. Considered a "trailblazer for women in the priesthood",

' retirement on 1 May 2022.

List of deans

Early modern

*1538–1539

William Castleton The Castleton Baronetcy, of St Edmundsbury in the County of Suffolk, was a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 9 August 1641 for William Castleton, High Sheriff of Suffolk from 1641 to 1642. The second Baronet was High Sheriff of ...

(last prior) *1539–1554 John Salisbury ''(deprived)'' *1554–1557

John Christopherson John Christopherson (died December 1558) was Chaplain and confessor to Queen Mary I of England, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (1553–1558), Dean of Norwich (1554–1557) and Bishop of Chichester (1557–1558) - all during the reign of ...

(afterwards

Bishop of Chichester The Bishop of Chichester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers the counties of East and West Sussex. The see is based in the City of Chichester where the bishop's seat ...

, 1557) *1557–1558

John Boxall John Boxall (died 1571) was an English churchman and secretary of state to Mary I of England. Catholic statesman He was a native of Bramshott in Hampshire. After studying at Winchester School he was admitted a perpetual fellow of New College, ...

(also

Dean of Windsor The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilated to the deane ...

, 1557–59 and

Dean of Peterborough The Dean of Peterborough is the head of the chapter at Peterborough Cathedral. On the Dissolution of Peterborough Abbey in 1539 and the abbey-church's refoundation as a cathedral for the new bishop and diocese of Peterborough, care for the abbey ...

, 1557–1559) ''(deprived)'' *1558–1559 John Harpsfield (also

Archdeacon of London The Archdeacon of London is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England. They are responsible for the eastern Archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of London) of the Two Cities (London and Westminster) in the Diocese of London, an area with ...

, 1554–1559) ''(deprived)'' *1560–1573 John Salisbury ''(restored)'' *1573–1589 George Gardiner *1589–1601

Thomas Dove Thomas Dove (1555 – 30 August 1630) was Bishop of Peterborough from 1601 to 1630. Dove was born in London, England, and educated at Merchant Taylors' School from 1564 to 1571. He was named as one of the first scholars of Jesus College, Oxfo ...

(afterwards Bishop of Peterborough, 1601) *1601–1603

John Jegon John Jegon (1550 – 13 March 1618) was an English academic and Bishop of Norwich. He supported uniformity of Anglican doctrine and worship, and strong government. This led him into conflict with John Robinson, later pastor to the ''Mayflower'' ...

(afterwards

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher. The see is in the ...

, 1603) *1603–1614 George Montgomery (afterwards

Bishop of Raphoe The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bis ...

, 1605) *1614–1628 Edmund Suckling *1628–1654

John Hassal 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 ...

''(deprived –

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

)'' *1660–1670

John Crofts John Crofts was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1653 and in 1656. He fought in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War. Crofts was of Nether Swell, near Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire. His origins are obsc ...

*1670–1681 Herbert Astley *1681–1689 John Sharp (afterwards

Dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate precur ...

, 1689) *1689–1702 Henry Fairfax *1702–1714

Humphrey Prideaux Humphrey Prideaux (3 May 1648 – 1 November 1724) was a Cornish churchman and orientalist, Dean of Norwich from 1702. His sympathies inclined to Low Churchism in religion and to Whiggism in politics. Life The third son of Edmond Prideaux, he was ...

*1724–1730

Thomas Cole Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist and the founder of the Hudson River School art movement. Cole is widely regarded as the first significant American landscape painter. He was known for his romantic landscape and history paintin ...

*1731–1733 Robert Butts (afterwards

, 1733) *1733–1739 John Baron *1739–1761 Thomas Bullock *1761–1765 Hon. Edward Townshend *1765–1790

Philip Lloyd Philip Lloyd (died 1735), of Grosvenor Street, Westminster, and Bardwin, Northumberland, was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1723 and 1735. Lloyd was a Captain in Colonel Lucas's Foot in 1715. He wa ...

Late modern

Edward Meyrick Goulburn by George Richmond - 7565

*1790–1828 Joseph Turner *1828–1866

George Pellew George Pellew (1793–1866) was an English churchman and theologian, Dean of Norwich from 1828 to 1866. Life He was third son of Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth and his wife Susan Pellew (''nee'' Frowde) and was born at Flushing, Cornwall, i ...

*1866–1889

Meyrick Goulburn Edward Meyrick Goulburn (11 February 18182 or 3 May 1897) was an English churchman. Son of Mr Serjeant Edward Goulburn, M.P., recorder of Leicester, and nephew of the Right Hon. Henry Goulburn, chancellor of the exchequer in the ministries of ...

*1889–1909

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 ...

*1909–1911 Henry Wakefield (afterwards

Bishop of Birmingham A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, 1911) *1911–1919

Henry Beeching Henry Charles Beeching (15 May 1859 – 25 February 1919) was a British clergyman, author and poet, who was Dean of Norwich from 1911 to 1919. Biography Beeching was born on 15 May 1859 in Sussex, the son of J. P. G. Beeching of Bexhill. He was ...

*1919–1927

John Willink John Wakefield Willink (24 October 1858 – 22 September 1927) was an Anglican Dean (religion), dean in the first half of the 20th century. Willink was educated at Clifton College and Pembroke College, Cambridge. Ordained in 1881, he held a Cura ...

*1927–1946 David Cranage *1946–1952 St Barbe Holland *1953–1969 Norman Hook *1970–1978 Alan Webster (afterwards

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire. The current dean is Andrew Tremlett, ...

, 1978) *1978–1983 David Edwards (afterwards Provost of Southwark, 1983) *1983–1995 Paul Burbridge *1995–2003

Stephen Platten Stephen George PlattenFSA(born 17 May 1947, in Southgate) is a retired Anglican bishop. He was the last diocesan Bishop of Wakefield in the Church of England. He was consecrated in this role on 19 July 2003 and immediately prior to that was Dea ...

(afterwards

Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a Diocese, diocesan Anglican minist ...

, 2003) *2004–29 September 2013 (ret.) Graham Smith *21 June 20141 May 2022 (ret.):

Jane Hedges Jane Barbara Hedges (born 6 April 1956) is a British Anglican priest. Considered a "trailblazer for women in the priesthood",

*28 January 2023 onwards (announced): Andrew Braddock

Sources

British History Online – An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 3: The History of the City and County of Norwich, Part I – Deans of NorwichBritish History Online – Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857 – Deans of Norwich

References

{{Deans of Norwich in the modern era Norwich

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 ...