The Dean of Durham is the "head" (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the Chapter, the ruling body of

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham'' in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. The cathedral is the mother church of the

Diocese of Durham The Diocese of Durham is a Church of England diocese, based in Durham, and covering the historic county of Durham (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne, and excluding southern Teesdale). It was created in ...

and seat of the

Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...

List of deans

Early modern

*1541–1551

Hugh Whitehead Hugh Whitehead (died 1551) was the last prior of the Benedictine monastery at Durham in England. The monastery was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1540. Whitehead would go on to become the cathedral's first dean. Life He was from a County D ...

(last prior) *1551–1553 Robert Horne *1553–1558 Thomas Watson *1558–1559 Thomas Robertson (deprived) *1559–1561 Robert Horne ''(again)'' *1561–1563 Ralph Skinner *1563–1579

William Whittingham William Whittingham (c. 1524–1579) was an English Puritan, a Marian exile, and a translator of the Geneva Bible. He was well connected to the circles around John Knox, Bullinger, and Calvin, and firmly resisted the continuance of the English li ...

*1580–1581 Thomas Wilson ''(Lay dean)'' *1583–1595 Tobias Matthew *1596–1606

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

*1606–1620 Adam Newton ''(Lay dean)'' *1620–1638 Richard Hunt *1639–1645 Walter Balcanquhall *1646 Christopher Potter *1646–1659 William Fuller *1660–1661 John Barwick *1661–1684

John Sudbury John Sudbury was Dean of Durham from his installation on 15 February 1661 until his death on 29 November 1684. He was born at Bury St Edmunds in 1604, educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and ordained in 1629. He was Vicar of Leigh, Kent fr ...

*1684–1690

Denis Granville Denis Granville (name altered from Grenville) (13 February 1637 – 18 April 1703) was an English non-juring cleric, Dean of Durham and then Jacobite exile. Life The youngest son of Sir Bevil Grenville, he was born 13 February 1637 and bapti ...

*1691–1699 Thomas Comber *1700–1728 John Montague *1728–1746 Henry Bland *1746–1774

The Hon ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

Spencer Cowper *1774–1777 Thomas Dampier *1777–1788 William Digby *1788–1794

John Hinchliffe Bishop John Hinchliffe DD (1731 – 11 January 1794 in the Bishop's Palace, Peterborough) was an English churchman and college fellow. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1768–88, Bishop of Peterborough, 1769–94, and Dean of Durham ...

Late modern

*1794–1824 The Hon James Cornwallis :(The Earl Cornwallis from 1823) *1824–1827 Charles Hall *1827–1840 John Jenkinson *1840–1869 George Waddington *1869–1894 William Lake (also Warden of the University) *1894–1912

George Kitchin George William Kitchin (7 December 1827 – 13 October 1912) was the first Chancellor of the University of Durham, from the institution of the role in 1908 until his death in 1912. He was also the last Dean of Durham to govern the university. ...

*1912–1918

Hensley Henson Herbert Hensley Henson (8 November 1863 – 27 September 1947) was an Anglican priest, bishop, scholar and controversialist. He was Bishop of Hereford from 1918 to 1920 and Bishop of Durham from 1920 to 1939. The son of a zealous member ...

*1918–1933

James Welldon James Edward Cowell Welldon (25 April 1854 – 17 June 1937) was an English clergyman and scholar. He was Bishop of Calcutta from 1898 to 1902, Dean of Manchester from 1906 to 1918, and Dean of Durham from 1918 to 1933. Early life Welldon was ...

*1933–1951

Cyril Alington Cyril Argentine Alington (22 October 1872 – 16 May 1955) was an English educationalist, scholar, cleric, and author. He was successively the headmaster of Shrewsbury School and Eton College. He also served as chaplain to King George V and as De ...

*1951–1974

John Wild John Wild may refer to: *Jack Wild (1952–2006), English actor * John Benton Wild (1806–1857), Australian politician * John Caspar Wild (1804–1846), American painter *John Daniel Wild (1902–1972), American philosopher *John J. Wild (1914–2 ...

*1974–1979 Eric Heaton *1980–1988

Peter Baelz Peter Richard Baelz (1923-2000) was an Anglican priest and theologian. Born on 27 July 1923, he was educated at Dulwich and Cambridge University, where he won a tennis blue. He trained for ordination at Westcott House, Cambridge, and was ord ...

*1989–2002 John Arnold *2003–2015 Michael Sadgrove *17 July 201625 September 2022

Andrew Tremlett Andrew Tremlett (born 9 March 1964) is a British Church of England priest. Since 2022, he has served as Dean of St Paul's, and is therefore the head of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral and the most senior priest in the Diocese of L ...

(became Dean of St Paul's

References

Sources

British History – ''Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae'' 1541–1857, Vol. 11 – Deans of Durham
{{Deans of Durham Deans of Durham Deans of Durham Durham, England-related lists