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. They currently include: the Archdeacon of West Ham, the Archdeacon of Colchester 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'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, 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

Archdeacons of Colchester

*2010–present: Ruth Patten

Archdeacons of Southend (before 2013) and of Chelmsford

;Archdeacons of Southend *1922–1937 (ret.): Percy Bayne (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *1938–1953 (ret.): Ellis Gowing (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) *1953–1972 (ret.): Neville Welch (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

Archdeacons of Harlow

*1993–1996 (res.): Michael Fox *1996–2009 (ret.): Peter Taylor *200931 March 2017 (ret.): Martin Webster *24 September 201731 March 2023 (retired): Vanessa Herrick :''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 *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 *19 March 2017November 2021 (ret.): Mike Lodge (Acting since 1 August 2016) *26 June 20225 October 2024: Mike Power (Acting since November 2021; collated Archdeacon of West Ham, 5 October 2024) *16 February 2025present: Sue Lucas

References

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