Archdeacon of Berkshire

The Archdeacon of Berkshire (also rendered Archdeacon of Berks) is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Oxford. The archdeacon is the head of the archdeaconry of Berkshire, a post historically found within the diocese of Salisbury, and then, from 7 October 1836, within Oxford diocese.[1]

List of archdeacons

Some archdeacons without territorial titles are recorded from around the time of the Norman Conquest; see Archdeacon of Salisbury.

High Medieval c. 1150–aft. 1156: Roger bef. 1173–bef. 1205: Geoffrey de Vernun bef. 1206–aft. 1215: Alberic aft. 1204–aft. 1222: Geoffrey bef. 1224–aft. 1236: William of Merton c. 1236: Clement c. 1236: William de Raley bef. 1237–aft. 1255: Giles of Bridport c. 1265: William bef. 1266–aft. 1268: Walter Scammel bef. 1275–bef. May 1284: Stephen of Newbury aft. June 1284–bef. 1313: William de Berges Late Medieval 10 March 1313–bef. December 1313: Richard de Bello bef. December 1313–bef. August 1331 (d.): Tydo de Varesio 14 September 1317: Gilbert de Stapleton (ineffective royal grant) 21 August 1331–aft. 1333: Robert de Ayleston (previously Archdeacon of Wiltshire) bef. 1334–aft. 1359: Edmund de la Beche (collated 12 September 1339) aft. 1359–bef. 1365 (res.): Thomas Paxton 10 December 1365 – 1366 (res.): John Harewell bef. 1371–aft. 1384: Guillaume Cardinal d'Aigrefeuille (Cardinal-priest of St Stephen al Monte Celio) 26 October 1389–aft. 1392: Thomas Yokflete papal grants: ?–1390: Andrea Cardinal Bontempi Martini (Cardinal-priest of SS Marcellinus and Peter) 1390–22 April 1395 (exch.): Christopher Cardinal Marini (Cardinal-priest of San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane) 22 April 1395 – 25 November 1397 (res.): Walter Cook royal grants: 22 September 1395: John Southam 28 September 1395: Walter Cook 20 October 1395: Ralph Repyngton c. 16 November 1395: John Wynwyk 9 February 1397 – 30 January 1404 (exch.): John Southam (afterwards Archdeacon of Oxford) 30 January–15 March 1404 (d.): Thomas Southam bef. 10 June 1404–?: John Fraunceys aft. 10 June–26 December 1404 (exch.): Simon Sydenham 26 December 1404–c. 21 July 1417 (exch.): Walter Medford c. 21 July 1417–bef. 31 May 1427: Peter de Alcobasso 25 June 1427 – 1431 (res.): Thomas Brunce 15 September 1431–bef. 1432: John Castell (possibly the Master of Univ) 24 September 1432 – 1433 (d.): Alexander Sparrow 18 October 1433 – 1462 (d.): John Norton (probably the Chancellor of Oxford) 15 February 1462 – 1464 (d.): Richard Ewen 9 March 1464 – 1465 (res.): Robert Stillington

28 February 1466 – 1476 (res.): John Russell 6 November 1476 – 1478 (res.): John Morton 31 December 1478 – 1482 (res.): Richard Martyn (also Archdeacon of London and Archdeacon of Hereford; became Bishop of St David's) bef. 1 December 1488 – 1492 (res.): Oliver King 15 January 1493 – 1507 (res.): Stephen Bereworth 5 February 1507 – 1509 (d.): Christopher Twineho 20 December 1509 – 24 December 1510 (res.): Stephen Bereworth (again) 24 December 1510 – 1522 (d.): William Grey 14 February 1522 – 1545 (d.): Robert Audley Early modern 18 July 1545 – 1547 (d.): John Crayford (also Master of University College, Oxford, 1546-7) 24 September 1547 – 3 September 1557 (d.): William Pye (afterwards Dean of Chichester) 24 September 1557 – 12 June 1588 (d.): Thomas White 16 June 1588 – 1605 (d.): Martin Culpepper, Dean of Chichester 9 November 1605–bef. 1631 (d.): Leonel Sharp (imprisoned for sedition) 26 January 1631 – 1634 (res.): Edward Davenant 20 November 1634 – 19 August 1665 (d.): John Ryves 29 August 1665 – 1673 (res.): Peter Mews 26 April 1673 – 1689 (res.): John Sharp (also Dean of Norwich from 1681) 6 December 1689 – 1698 (res.): William Richards 12 May 1698–bef. 1710 (d.): Jonas Proast 25 April 1710 – 2 December 1716 (d.): Richard West 13 May 1717 – 9 December 1720 (d.): Edward Talbot 10 January 1721 – 1735 (res.): Martin Benson 8 March 1735 – 9 December 1746 (d.): Samuel Knight 2 January 1747 – 21 October 1763 (d.): John Spry 25 October 1763 – 23 October 1785 (d.): William Dodwell 12 November 1785 – 15 October 1817 (d.): Arthur Onslow (also Dean of Worcester from 1795) 5 December 1817 – 25 August 1832 (d.): John Fisher 7 September 1832–1836: Edward Berens Archdeaconry transferred to Diocese of Oxford, 7 October 1836[1] 1836–1855 (res.): Edward Berens 21 March 1855 – 3 September 1869 (res.): James Randall Late modern 1870–1903 (res.): Alfred Pott[2] 1903–17 March 1922 (d.): William Ducat 1922–1942 (res.): Richard Wickham Legg 1942–1954 (res.): Arthur Parham, Bishop suffragan of Reading 1955–1967 (res.): Eric Knell, Bishop suffragan of Reading 1968–1973 (res.): Eric Wild (also Bishop suffragan of Reading from 1972) 1973–1976 (res.): Raymond Birt 1978–1986 (res.): John Brown 1987–1992 (res.): David Griffiths 1992–1998 (res.): Mike Hill 1998–31 May 2013 (ret.): Norman Russell[3] 11 October 2013 – 19 November 2019: Olivia Graham[4] (became Bishop of Reading)[5] 29 February 2020 – present: Stephen Pullin (acting since September 2019)[6]

References

1. "No. 19426". The London Gazette. 7 October 1836. pp. 1729–1731.
2. "The Missing Diaries of the Venerable Alfred Pott BD (1822–1908), First Principal of Cuddesdon College and Archdeacon of Berkshire" (PDF). Retrieved 25 June 2012.
3. "Church Times gazette". Church Times. 3 May 2013. p. 29. #7833.
4. Church of the Good Shepherd, Cox Green – Newsletter, October 2013 p. 5 – Diary (Accessed 30 October 2013)
5. Diocese of Oxford — Olivia Graham named Bishop of Reading (Accessed 15 July 2019)

Sources

• Greenway, Diana E. (1991), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300, 4, pp. 28–31
• Horn, Joyce M. (1962), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541, 3, pp. 9–11
• Horn, Joyce M. (1986), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, 6, pp. 14–16
• Horn, Joyce M. (1996), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, 8, p. 86
• Account of Purley on Thames – Archdeacons (PDF) (accessed 4 December 2012)