The Dean of Chelmsford is the head (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the Cathedral Chapter, the governing body of

Chelmsford Cathedral Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop o ...

, the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. Before 2000 the post was designated as a provost, which was then the equivalent of a

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 * ...

at most English cathedrals. The cathedral is the mother church of 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 ...

and seat of the

Bishop of Chelmsford The Bishop of Chelmsford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford in the Province of Canterbury.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is Guli Francis ...

. The Dean of Chelmsford is also responsible for the

Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall The Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell-on-Sea, is a Christian church dating from the years 660-662 and among the oldest largely intact churches in England. It is in regular use by the nearby Othona Community, in addition to Church of Engl ...

Bradwell-on-Sea Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about north-northeast of Southminster and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Mald ...

, founded by

St Cedd Cedd ( la, Cedda, Ceddus; 620 – 26 October 664) was an Anglo-Saxon monk and bishop from the Kingdom of Northumbria. He was an evangelist of the Middle Angles and East Saxons in England and a significant participant in the Synod of Whitby, ...

, among the oldest church buildings in regular use in England. Nicholas Henshall was Dean until 23 February 2023 and

Paul Kennington Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

took over as acting Dean then.

List of provosts and deans

Provosts

*1929–1949: William Morrow *1949-1951:

Charles Waller Charles Kempson Waller (22 September 1891 - 16 January 1951) was Provost of Chelmsford from 1949 until his death. Waller was educated at Felsted School, St John's College Oxford and Wells Theological College. He was ordained Deacon in 1914; and ...

*1951–1966:

Eric Gordon Eric Ambrose Gordon Jr. (born December 25, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior year ...

*1966–1977:

Connop Price Hilary Martin Connop Price (1912–1998) was an eminent Anglican priest in the 20th century. He was educated at Cheltenham College and Queens' College, Cambridge and ordained in 1937. After this he was Curate at St Peter's, Hersham and then ...

*1978–1981:

Dick Herrick Richard William Herrick (3 December 1913 - 5 May 1981) was an Anglican priest. He was educated at King Edward VI School Retford and Leeds University and was initially a civil servant. He was ordained after a period of study at the College ...

*1982–1996:

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), ...

*1997–''2000'': Peter Judd ''(became Dean)''

Deans

*''2000''6 October 2013: Peter Judd *6 October 20132 February 2014: Ivor Moody, Vice Dean ''(Acting)'' *2 February 201423 February 2023 (res.): Nicholas Henshall (returned to parish ministry)

References

{{Deans in the Church of England Deans of Chelmsford Deans of Chelmsford Deans of Chelmsford