The Archdeacons in the

Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. It was created on 23 January 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers Essex and part of East London. Since 1984 it is divided into three ...

are senior ecclesiastical officers 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, ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. They currently include: the

Archdeacon of West Ham The Archdeacon of West Ham is a senior ecclesiastical officer – in charge of the Archdeaconry of West Ham – in the Church of England Diocese of Chelmsford. The current archdeacon is Mike Power. Brief history Historically, the Archdeaconry o ...

, the

Archdeacon of Colchester The Archdeacon of Colchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Chelmsford – she or he has responsibilities within her archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of Colchester) including oversight of church buildings and some supervision, ...

and the archdeacons of Chelmsford, of Barking, of Stansted and of Southend. Each one has responsibility over a geographical area within the diocese. Chelmsford archdeaconry seals

History

When the diocese was created, it consisted of the ancient archdeaconries of Essex and

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

. The first changes to the diocese's archdeaconries occurred on 17 March 1922 when the Archdeaconry of Southend was created from the old Essex archdeaconry and that old archdeaconry renamed to West Ham: at its erection, the 1922 Southend archdeaconry consisted of the Deaneries of Barstable/Brentwood, of Canewdon and Southend, of Chelmsford, of Chigwell, of Dengie, of Harlow, of Maldon, of Ongar, of Roding, and of Wickford. West Ham archdeaconry was further split in 1993 to create the Archdeaconry of Harlow following a 1989 decision of the Diocesan Synod. As part of

Stephen Cottrell Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell (; born 31 August 1958) is a Church of England bishop. Since 9 July 2020, he has been the Archbishop of York and Primate of England; the second-most senior bishop of the church and the most senior in northern England ...

's vision for the diocese's long-term future, consultations occurred on proposals to create three new archdeaconries. On 1 February 2013, by Pastoral Order of the Bishop of Chelmsford, the three archdeaconries were created: the new ''Archdeaconry of Stansted'' from Colchester archdeaconry, a new ''Archdeaconry of Barking'' from West Ham archdeaconry and a new ''Archdeaconry of Southend'' created from Southend archdeaconry after it had been renamed the ''Archdeaconry of Chelmsford''. Initially, the Archdeacons of Colchester, of West Ham, and of Chelmsford were also Acting Archdeacons of Stansted, of Barking, and of Southend respectively. In April 2024, it was announced that

Guli Francis-Dehqani Gulnar Eleanor "Guli" Francis-Dehqani (born 18 June 1966) is an Iranian-born British Anglican bishop who has been Bishop of Chelmsford since 2021. She served as the first Bishop of Loughborough, the suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Leicester ...

, Bishop of Chelmsford, would dissolve the vacant Harlow archdeaconry, dividing its territory: Harlow deanery joining Stansted archdeaconry and the Deanery of Epping Forest and Ongar joining Chelmsford archdeaconry. The Bishop's Pastoral Order effecting the changes was sealed on 15 April 2024 and took effect immediately.

List of archdeacons

Archdeacons of Essex and of West Ham

*2007–present:

Elwin Cockett Elwin Wesley Cockett (born 24 May 1959) is a British Anglican priest and chaplain. From October 2007 to September 2024 he was the Archdeacon of West Ham in the Diocese of Chelmsford. Cockett grew up in India, Ghana and England. He was educated ...

Archdeacons of Colchester The Archdeacon of Colchester is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Diocese of Chelmsford – she or he has responsibilities within her archdeaconry (the Archdeaconry of Colchester) including oversight of church buildings and some supervision, ...

*2010–present: Ruth Patten

Archdeacons of Southend (before 2013) and of Chelmsford

;Archdeacons of Southend *1922–1937 (ret.):

Percy Bayne Percy Matheson Bayne, (11 June 1865 – 11 October 1942) was the first Archdeacon of Southend, serving from 1922 until 1938. Bayne was born into an ecclesiastical family in South Weald, educated at Highgate School and Hertford College, Oxford ...

(afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *1938–1953 (ret.):

Ellis Gowing Ellis Norman Gowing (24 April 1883 – 2 March 1960) was Archdeacon of Southend from 1938 until 1953. Gowing was educated at Fort Street High School and the University of Sydney; and ordained in 1907. He began his career as a Curate at The Oaks, ...

(afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *1953–1972 (ret.):

Neville Welch William Neville Welch (30 April 1906 – 3 February 1999) was the first Bishop of Bradwell in Essex from 1968 to 1973. Born on 30 April 1906, he was educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham and Keble College, Oxford and studied for ordinati ...

(also Bishop suffragan of Bradwell from 1968) *1972–1977 (res.): Peter Bridges *1977–1982 (res.): John Moses *1982–1992 (res.):

Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor known for his dramatic, comedic, and musical roles on List of Jonathan Bailey performances, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations received by Jonathan Bailey, His accola ...

*1992–2000 (res.): David Jennings *20011 February 2013 (renamed): David Lowman ;Archdeacons of Chelmsford *1 February 201331 January 2016 (ret.): David Lowman *13 March 2016October 2022 (ret): Elizabeth Snowden (retired on or after 2 October 2022) *4 November 2023present:

Jonathan Croucher Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

Archdeacons of Harlow

*1993–1996 (res.): Michael Fox *1996–2009 (ret.):

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politic ...

*200931 March 2017 (ret.):

Martin Webster Martin Guy Alan Webster (born 14 May 1943) is a British neo-Nazi, a former leading figure on the far-right in the United Kingdom. An early member of the National Labour Party (NLP), he was John Tyndall's closest ally, and followed him in joi ...

*24 September 201731 March 2023 (retired):

Vanessa Herrick Vanessa Anne Herrick (born 27 March 1958) is a retired Anglican priest who served as the Archdeacon of Harlow. She was educated at the University of York; St John's College, Nottingham; Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge; and Ridley Hall, Cambridge. ...

:''The Archdeaconry of Harlow was dissolved on 15 April 2024.''

Archdeacons of Barking

*1 February15 September 2013: Elwin Cockett, Archdeacon of West Ham ''(Acting)'' *15 September 20133 July 2018:

John Perumbalath John Perumbalath (born 23 May 1966) is a British retired Anglican bishop. He became Bishop of Liverpool in the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, Diocese of Liverpool in January 2023. He had previously been Archdeacon of Barking (2 ...

Diocese of Chelmsford – Three new Archdeacons appointed
(Accessed 12 May 2013) (became area Bishop of Bradwell) *12 May 2019present: Chris Burke

Archdeacons of Stansted

*1 February15 September 2013: Annette Cooper, Archdeacon of Colchester ''(Acting)'' *15 September 201330 September 2023:

Robin King Robin Andrew King, (born 7 July 1966) is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary leader who served as the commander of the Ulster Protestant Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). A close friend of the organisation's founder Billy Wright, King took ove ...

*4 November 2023present: Kate Peacock

Archdeacons of Southend (since 2013)

*1 February15 September 2013: David Lowman, Archdeacon of Chelmsford ''(Acting)'' *15 September 201331 December 2016 (ret.):

Mina Smallman Wilhelmina Tokcumboh "Mina" Smallman (born 29 October 1956) is a British retired Anglican priest and former school teacher. She served as the Archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford from September 2013 until her retirement in Decemb ...

*19 March 2017November 2021 (ret.):

Mike Lodge Michael John Lodge (born 1 August 1953) is a retired British Anglican priest who served as Archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford, 2017– 2021. Lodge trained for Christian ministry, ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall Oxford. He was ...

(Acting since 1 August 2016) *26 June 20225 October 2024: Mike Power (Acting since November 2021; collated

, 5 October 2024) *16 February 2025present:

Sue Lucas Sue or SUE may refer to: Music * Sue Records, an American record label * ''Sue'' (album), an album by Frazier Chorus * "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", a song by David Bowie Places * Sue Islet (Queensland), one of the Torres Straits islan ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelmsford, Archdeacons in the Diocese of Lists of Anglicans

Archdeacons in the Diocese of Chelmsford The Archdeacons in the Diocese of Chelmsford are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in Essex and East London. They currently include: the Archdeacon of West Ham, the Archdeacon of Colchester and the archdeacons of Chelmsford, ...

Lists of English people