Dean of Lichfield

The cathedral close at 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 St Chad in Lichfield. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Lichfield and seat of the Bishop of Lichfield. The current dean is the Very Revd Adrian Dorber.

List of deans

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Early Medieval

1222-1254 William de Manecestra^[1]
1254–? Ralph de Sempringham

Medieval

1280–1319 John de Derby
1319–1324 Stephen Seagrave
(afterwards Archbishop of Armagh)
1324–1328 Roger de Convenis
1328–1335 John Garssia
(afterwards Bishop of Marseille)
1335–1346 Richard FitzRalph
1346–1347 John of Thoresby
1347–1349 Simon de Brisele
(afterwards Dean of Lincoln)
1350–1363 John Bokyngham
1364–1369 William de Manton
1369–? Laurence de Ibstock
?–1370 Anthony Rous
1371–1378 Francis de Teobaldeschi
1381–1390 William Pakington
1390–1426 Thomas de Stretton
1426–1432 Robert Wolveden
1432–1447 John Verney
1457–1492 Thomas Heywood

Early modern

1493–1512 John Yotton
1512–1521 Ralph Colyngwood
1522–1533 James Denton
1533–1536 Richard Sampson
1536–1554 Henry Williams^[2]
1554–1559 John Ramridge (deprived)
1560–1576 Laurence Nowell
1576–1603 George Boleyn
July 1603–20 December 1604 (res.) James Montague (became Dean of Worcester)
1605–1622 William Tooker
1622–1628 Walter Curle
1628–1632 Augustine Lindsell
1633–1638 John Warner
1638–1638 Samuel Fell
1638–1659 Griffin Higgs
1661–1663 William Paul
1664–1671 Thomas Wood
1671–1683 Matthew Smallwood
1683–1703 Lancelot Addison
1703–1712 William Binckes
1713–1720 Jonathan Kimberley
1720–1730 William Walmesley
1730–1745 Nicholas Penny
1745–1776 John Addenbrooke
1776–1807 Baptist Proby

Late modern

1807–1833 John Woodhouse
1833–1868 Henry Howard^[3]
1868–1875 William Champneys
1875–1892 Edward Bickersteth
1892–1909 Herbert Luckock
1909–1939 Henry Savage
1939–1952 Frederic Iremonger
1954–1969 William MacPherson
1970–1979 George Holderness
1980–1993 John Lang
1994–1999 Tom Wright
1999–2005 Michael Yorke
2005–present Adrian Dorber
March–September 2012 Pete Wilcox, Acting Dean

Notes

Diocese of Lichfield

Lichfield Cathedral Bishop's House, Lichfield St Mary's House, Lichfield Area scheme (1992–present)

Office holders	The Bishop of Lichfield, Jonathan Gledhill The area Bishop of Wolverhampton, Clive Gregory The area Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Rylands The area Bishop of Stafford, Geoff Annas AEO: Jonathan Goodall, Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet The Dean of Lichfield, Adrian Dorber The Archdeacon of Salop, Paul Thomas The Archdeacon of Lichfield, Simon Baker The Archdeacon of Stoke, Matthew Parker The Archdeacon of Walsall, Sue Weller

Historic offices	Archdeacon of Chester (12th century – 1541; erected into Chester diocese) Archdeacon of Derby (12th century – 1884; moved to Southwell then erected into Derby diocese) Archdeacon of Stafford (13th century – 1980; renamed to Lichfield archdeaconry)

Deans in the Church of England

Province of Canterbury	Birmingham Bristol Canterbury Chelmsford Chichester Christ Church (Oxford) Coventry Derby Ely Exeter Gibraltar Gloucester Guildford Hereford Jersey Leicester Lichfield Lincoln Norwich Peterborough Portsmouth Rochester St Albans St Edmundsbury St Paul's (London) Salisbury Southwark Truro Wells Winchester Worcester

Province of York	Blackburn Bradford (Leeds diocese) Carlisle Chester Durham Liverpool Manchester Newcastle Peel Ripon (Leeds diocese) Sheffield Southwell Wakefield (Leeds diocese) York

Royal Deans	Dean of the Chapel Royal Westminster Windsor

Deans of Lichfield

Medieval	John de Derby Stephen Seagrave Roger de Convenis John Garssia Richard FitzRalph John of Thoresby Simon de Brisele John Bokyngham William de Manton Laurence de Ibstock Anthony Rous Francis de Teobaldeschi William Pakington Thomas de Stretton Robert Wolveden John Verney Thomas Heywood

Early modern	John Yotton Ralph Colyngwood James Denton Richard Sampson Henry Williams John Ramridge Laurence Nowell George Boleyn James Montague William Tooker Walter Curle Augustine Lindsell John Warner Samuel Fell Griffin Higgs William Paul Thomas Wood Matthew Smallwood Lancelot Addison William Binckes Jonathan Kimberley William Walmesley Nicholas Penny John Addenbrooke Baptist Proby

Late modern	John Woodhouse Henry Howard William Champneys Edward Bickersteth Herbert Luckock Henry Savage Frederic Iremonger William MacPherson George Holderness John Lang Tom Wright Michael Yorke Adrian Dorber Pete Wilcox (Acting)