Rhys Derrick Chamberlain Walters (1932–2000) was an Anglican priest in Britain. He served as the fourth

Dean of Liverpool The Dean of Liverpool is based in Liverpool and is head of the chapter of Liverpool Cathedral. Sue Jones was installed as Dean on 5 May 2018. A former dean, Edward Patey, said that being Dean of Liverpool was "the best job in the Church of Engl ...

from 1983 to 1999 during which time he extended the facilities of the cathedral and promoted the creation of a large public housing development next to it.

Biography

Rhys Derrick Chamberlain Walters was born in Britain on 10 March 1932, the son of a shop steward. He was educated at Gowerton Boys’ Grammar School in the county of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, and afterwards at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. In 1957 he undertook training for the Anglican priesthood at Ripon Hall, Oxford. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1958 and began his ecclesiastical career with a curacy at St Michael's church, Manselton,

. Later he became the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

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 ...

at Swansea University and

Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Mary's church,

. In 1962 he became parish priest in industrial areas - firstly at All Saints,

Totley Totley is a suburb on the extreme southwest of the Sheffield, City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Lying in the Historic counties of England, historic county boundaries of Derbyshire, Totley was amalgamated into the city of Sheffield ...

and secondly at St Mary's, Boulton by Derby. From 1974 he was

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

missioner for the

Diocese of Salisbury The Diocese of Salisbury is a Church of England diocese in the south of England, within the ecclesiastical Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of Dorset (excepting the deaneries of Bournemouth and Christchurch, which fall within t ...

, where he spent the next nine years serving the Christian mission in country parishes. During this time he developed an interest in information technology. In 1983 he was appointed to the

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of Liverpool cathedral, where David Sheppard was already bishop (1975-1997). Here, with the support of his wife, Joan (née Joan Trollope Fisher,) and in co-operation with his bishop, he improved the liturgy and music, extended the cathedral's facilities (creating a refectory and conference venue) and developed adjacent land by helping to commission public housing as well as housing for students and cathedral staff and building the Queen's Walk and the

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

media studies block. In 1994 he was appointed an OBE. In his last years he was ill with cancer and retired from his post in 1999. He died on 5 April 2000. He was survived by his wife, Joan, and his sons, David Rhys Walters and Michael Rhys Walters. A building is named after him at

. Walters was grandfather of the entertainment entrepreneur William George Walters, the owner of the WAHIE Group.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Derrick 1932 births 2000 deaths Clergy from Swansea Alumni of the London School of Economics Church of England deans Deans of Liverpool Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Gowerton Grammar School