The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the abbey's status as a royal peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterbury as metropolitan). Initially, the office was a successor to that of Abbot of Westminster, and was for the first 10 years cathedral dean for the Diocese of Westminster. The current dean is David Hoyle.
List of deans
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| Name | Portrait | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Benson (formerly last abbot of the Benedictine abbey) |
|
1540 | 1549[†] |
| Richard Cox | 
|
1549 | 1553 |
| Hugh Weston |
|
1553 | 1556 |
| Vacancy (restored as Benedictine abbey) John Feckenham, abbot |
1556 | 1559 | |
| William Bill | .jpg)
|
1560 | 1561[†] |
| Gabriel Goodman | 
|
1561 | 1601[†] |
| Lancelot Andrewes | 
|
1601 | 1605 |
| Richard Neile (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1608) |
|
1605 | 1610 |
| George Montaigne | 
|
1610 | 1617 |
| Robert Tounson |
|
1617 | 1620 |
| John Williams (in commendam as Bishop of Lincoln 1621–41, as Archbishop of York from 1641) |
|
1620 | 1644 |
| Richard Steward (not installed) |
|
1644 | 1651[†] |
| Vacancy (English Interregnum) | 1651 | 1660 | |
| John Earle | 
|
1660 | 1662 |
| John Dolben (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1666[R 1]) |
|
1662 | 1683 |
| Thomas Sprat (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1684[R 1]) |
|
1683 | 1713[†] |
| Francis Atterbury (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester[R 1]) |
|
1713 | 1723 |
| Samuel Bradford (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester[R 1]) |
|
1723 | 1731[†] |
| Joseph Wilcocks (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester[R 1]) |
|
1731 | 1756[†] |
| Zachary Pearce (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester[R 1]) |
|
1756 | 1768 |
| John Thomas (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1774[R 1]) |
|
1768 | 1793[†] |
| Samuel Horsley (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester[R 1]) |
|
1793 | 1802 |
| William Vincent | 
|
1802 | 1815[†] |
| John Ireland | 
|
1816 | 1842[†] |
| Thomas Turton | 
|
1842 | 1845 |
| Samuel Wilberforce | 
|
March–October 1845 | |
| William Buckland | 
|
1845 | 1856[†] |
| Richard Chenevix Trench | 
|
1856 | 1864 |
| Arthur Penrhyn Stanley | 
|
1864 | 1881[†] |
| George Granville Bradley | 
|
1881 | 1902 |
| Armitage Robinson |
|
1902[1] | 1911 |
| Herbert Edward Ryle | 
|
1911 | 1925[†] |
| William Foxley Norris | 
|
1925 | 1937[†] |
| Paul de Labilliere |
|
1938 | 1946[†] |
| Alan Don | 
|
1946 | 1959 |
| Eric Abbott | 1959 | 1974 | |
| Edward Carpenter |
|
1974 | 1985 |
| Michael Mayne |
|
1986 | 1996 |
| Wesley Carr |
|
1997 | 2006 |
| John Hall | _(cropped).jpg)
|
2006[2] | 2019 |
| David Hoyle | _(David_Hoyle_cropped).jpg)
|
2019 | Present |
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h In 1666, John Dolben was additionally appointed Bishop of Rochester, retaining the Deanery of Westminster in commendam. His successor as Dean, Thomas Sprat, was additionally appointed to Rochester in 1684. From then until 1802, it was customary for the Bishop of Rochester to hold the Deanery of Westminster in commendam. These eight deans held both offices concurrently.
- † Died in office
References
[edit]- ^ "No. 27486". The London Gazette. 21 October 1902. p. 6647.
- ^ "No. 58165". The London Gazette. 28 November 2006. p. 16399.
Horn, Joyce M. (ed.). "Deans of Westminster". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857. Vol. 7. pp. 69–71. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
