The Archdeaconry of Barnstaple or Barum is one of the oldest archdeaconries in England. It is an administrative division of the

Diocese of Exeter The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Provinc ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

History

The Diocese of Exeter was divided into four archdeaconries in Norman times, probably during the bishopric of

Osbern FitzOsbern __NOTOC__ Osbern FitzOsbern (d. 1103) was a Norman churchman. He was a relative of King Edward the Confessor as well as being a royal chaplain.Barlow ''Edward the Confessor'' p. 164 During Edward's reign he received the church at Bosham, near ...

(1072–1103): *

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

*Barnstaple *

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

In 1782, it was noted that the archdeaconry contained the deaneries of ''Barum'' (Barnstaple), Chumleigh, Hertland, Shirwell, South Molton and Torrington. The archdeaconry currently comprises the following deaneries: * Deanery of Barnstaple * Deanery of Hartland * Deanery of Holsworthy * Deanery of Shirwell * Deanery of South Molton * Deanery of Torrington

List of archdeacons

High Medieval

* Allured ''(first archdeacon)'' *?–1143:

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

''(I)'' *: William de Auco *bef. –aft. :

Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

*bef. 1203–?:

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

*30 September 1209–?: Ralph de Werewell *

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

*bef. –?:

''(II)'' *?–8 February 1227 (d.):

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

* Walter de Pembroke (afterwards Archdeacon of Totnes) *21 January 1263 – 1264:

Henry de Bracton Henry of Bracton (c. 1210 – c. 1268), also known as Henry de Bracton, Henricus Bracton, Henry Bratton, and Henry Bretton, was an English cleric and jurist. He is famous now for his writings on law, particularly ''De legibus et consuetudinib ...

*25 May 1264–?: Richard Blund (afterwards Archdeacon of Totnes; :possibly son of Richard Blund,

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024. From the first bishop until the sixteent ...

) *6 November 1265–May 1267:

Godfrey Giffard Godfrey Giffard ( 12351302) was Chancellor of the Exchequer of England, Lord Chancellor of England and Bishop of Worcester. Early life Giffard was a son of Hugh Giffard of Boyton in Wiltshire,Archdeacon of Wells from 1267; later

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

) *May 1267–?: John de Bradleigh *January 1271–?: Thomas de Hertford *28 August 1279–?: Philip of Exon

Late Medieval

*?–1308: Ralph Germeyn *13 October 1308 – 1309: William Melton (later

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

) *4 January 1309 – 1309: William Fitsrogo *30 March 1309 – 1312: John Wele *? ("a short time"):

Bartholomew de Sancto Laurentio Bartholomew de Sancto Laurentio was the Dean of Exeter between 1311 and 1326.Ursula Radford (1955). "An Introduction to the Deans of Exeter". Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association 87: 1–24. Notes Deans of Exeter

*26 March 1312 – 3 December 1314 (res.): Walter Giffard *7 February 1315 – 1318 (d.): Richard de Morcester (afterwards

Archdeacon of Exeter The Archdeacon of Exeter is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. The modern diocese is divided into four archdeaconries: the archdeacon of Exeter supervises clergy and buildings within the area of the ...

) *22 September 1318 – 1329: Richard de Wideslade *10/15 December 1329 – 1330: William Zouche *17 December 1330 – 1349: John de Nassington *8 April 1350 – 1351: John de Reynham *: Hugh de Monyton *23 February 1355 – 2 September 1358: John de Derby *2 September 1358–: William de Mugge *bef. 1371 ''or'' 23 February 1384–: Henry Whitefield *bef. 1395 ''or'' 8 September 1399 – 1400: Robert Rygge *17/22 August 1400 – 1400: Richard Aldtyngton *1 November 1400 – 1429 (res.): John Orum *2 August 1429 – 1442 (d.): John Waryn *3 August 1442 – 1445 (res.): Richard Helyer *16 June 1445 – 1449 (res.): Michael Tregury (afterwards

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

) *25 January 1450 – 1459: Roger Keys *12 July 1462–October 1475 (d.): William Fulford *27 October 1475 – 1476 (res.): John Stubbes *10 December 1476 – 1478 (res.): Owen Lord *18 February 1478 – 8 October 1485 (d.): Robert Barforth *bef. 1492–: William Elyot *?–1508:

John Vesey John Vesey or Veysey ( – 23 October 1554) was Bishop of Exeter from 1519 until his death in 1554, having been briefly deposed 1551–3 by King Edward VI for his opposition to the Reformation. Origins He was born (as "John Harman"), probab ...

(later

Dean of Windsor The Dean of Windsor is the spiritual head of the Canon (priest), canons of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. The dean chairs meetings of the Chapter of Canons as ''primus inter pares''. The post of Dean of Wolverhampton was assimilat ...

and

) *3 August 1508–: Richard Norton *–1515 (res.): John Young *12 April 1515 – 1518 (d.): John Tyake *19 January 1518 – 26 April 1528 (d.): Richard Tollett *26 April 1528 – 29 May 1544 (d.): Thomas Brerwood

Early modern

*16 June 1544 – 1554 (deprived): John Pollard (also Archdeacon of Wilts until 1544, Archdeacon of Cornwall until 1545) *20 April 1554 – 1582 (res.): Henry Squire *7 January 1583 – 1585: Robert Lawe *24 April 1585 – 1605: William Tooker *27 November 1605 – 21 November 1645 (d.): William Helyar *1645–1660: ''Vacancy during the

English Commonwealth The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

.'' *31 August 1660 – 1662: James Smith *1662–1679 (d.): Joshua Tucker *29 August 1679 – 1703 (d.): William Read *24 September 1703 – 1709 (d.): Robert Burscough *9 September 1709 – 11 August 1724 (d.): Thomas Lynford (also Canon of Westminster) *1724–1731: Lewis Stephens (afterwards

Archdeacon of Chester The Archdeacon of Chester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the diocese of Chester. The area in which she, or he, has statutory duties is the Archdeaconry of Chester – those duties include some pastoral care and disciplinary supervision of ...

) *28 October 1731 – 1744 (d.): John Grant *16 March 1745 – 26 October 1791 (d.): William Hole *3 November 1791 – 1798 (d.): Roger Massey *14 March 1798 – 3 July 1799 (d.): John Andrew *25 July 1799 – 28 June 1805 (d.): Peregrine Ilbert *16 August 1805–? (res.): Jonathan Fisher *3 November 1807 – 1826 (d.): Thomas Johnes *1826–1830 (res.):

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

*1830–1847: George Barnes *1847–1865: John Bartholomew

Late modern

*1865–1885: Henry Woollcombe *1885–1890: Herbert Barnes *1890–24 December 1908 (d.): Albert Seymour *1908–9 July 1930 (d.): Robert Trefusis, Bishop of Crediton *1930–26 June 1935 (d.): Frank Jones *1935–1945: Edgar Hay *1946–1958: Denis James *1958–1962: Guy Sanderson *1962–1970: Arthur Ward (afterwards

) *1970–1988: Ronald Herniman *1989–2002 (ret.): Trevor Lloyd *2003–2014 (ret.): David Gunn-Johnson *1 September 2014 – 2015:

Mike Edson Michael Edson (called Mike; born 2 September 1942) is a British Church of England priest; he was Archdeacon of Leicester from 1994 to 2002. Edson was educated at the University of Birmingham and the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield. He w ...

(Acting) *23 March 20146 September 2020: Mark ButchersDiocese of Exeter �
New archdeacons for Totnes and Barnstaple announced

''ad clerum''
(Accessed 2 January 2015) *September 2021 onwards: Verena Breed

References

Sources

* *
Gribble, Joseph Besly–Memorials of Barnstaple: being an attempt to supply the want of a history of that ancient borough; 1830; pp 483–486
(Google eBook) {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnstaple, Archdeacon of Lists of Anglicans

Archdeacons of Barnstaple An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of most ...

Diocese of Exeter Lists of English people Christianity in Devon