John Robert Hall (born 13 March 1949) is an English retired priest of 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, ...

. He was the

Dean of Westminster The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the abbey's status as a royal peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterb ...

and a chaplain to Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Early life and education

His parents were Ronald John Hall and Katie Margaret Brock Walker. He was educated at

St Dunstan's College St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference ...

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

and

St Chad's College St Chad's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. Founded in 1904 as St Chad's Hall for the training of Church of England clergy, the college ceased theological training in ...

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

( BA). Following two years as a teacher he studied for ordination at Cuddesdon Theological College,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Ministry

Hall served as assistant

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at St John the Divine's Church in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

from 1975 to 1978 and was then priest-in-charge of All Saints'

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

from 1978 to 1984. From 1984 to 1992, Hall was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of St Peter's Streatham. He became Diocesan Director of Education in the Diocese of Blackburn in 1992 (and a

canon residentiary Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

Blackburn Cathedral Blackburn Cathedral, officially known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin with Saint Paul, is an Anglican (Church of England) cathedral situated in the heart of Blackburn town centre, in Lancashire, England. The cathedral site has ...

in 1994). From 1998 to 2006 he was general secretary of the

National Society for Promoting Religious Education The National Society (Church of England and Church in Wales) for the Promotion of Education, often just referred to as the National Society, and since 2016 also as The Church of England Education Office (CEEO), is significant in the history of ed ...

and from 1998 to 2002 the general secretary of the Church of England Board of Education, subsequently Chief Education Officer of the Church of England from 2002 to 2006. He also served as an honorary curate of St Alban's

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and ...

from 2003 to 2006. At various times Hall has been a governor of 10 schools and two universities, a member of two local authority education committees and of the

General Teaching Council for England The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) was the professional body for teaching in England between 2000 and 2012. The GTC was established by the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 which set two aims: "to contribute to improving stand ...

. He has written widely and debated publicly on educational matters and was instrumental in the production of the

Dearing Report The Dearing Report, formally known as the reports of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, is a series of major reports into the future of Higher Education in the United Kingdom, published in 1997. The report was commissioned b ...

in 2001 and its follow-up, which led to a significant expansion in the number of Church of England secondary schools. As Dean of Westminster he chaired the governors of

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Westminster Abbey Choir School Westminster Abbey Choir School is a boarding preparatory school for boys in Westminster, London and the only remaining choir school in the United Kingdom which exclusively educates choristers (i.e. only choirboys attend the school). It is loca ...

. He was installed by

Roehampton University The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The University traces its r ...

as pro-chancellor of the university in March 2011. Hall's appointment as Dean of Westminster was announced in November 2006 and he assumed office in December 2006. On 29 April 2011 he officiated at the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton. On 28 September 2018, Hall's retirement was announced for 1 November 2019.

Honours

Hall was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a registered charity. It is based at Burlington House in Pi ...

(FSA) in 2014, and was previously elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. He was appointed an

honorary fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) is a Public university, public research university located in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teacher training in 1962, it was granted university status in 2005. ...

in November 2007. In February 2009, he was appointed an honorary fellow of

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

and, in May 2009, an honorary fellow of the

College of Teachers The Chartered College of Teaching is a learned society for the teaching profession in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1846, the college was incorporated by Queen Victoria into a royal charter as the College of Preceptors in 1849. A supplemental ch ...

. In July 2007, Hall was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

(DD) degree by

. He received the honorary degree of

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

(Hon DTheol) from the

University of Chester The University of Chester is a public university located in Chester, England. The university originated as the first purpose-built teacher training college in the UK. As a university, it now occupies five campuses, campus sites in and around Ch ...

in March 2008. On 30 October 2019, Hall was appointed

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(KCVO) for service to the Monarch. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of St John on 24 August 2020.

Styles

* ''

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

'' John Hall (1975–1992; 2019–present) * ''The Reverend''

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

John Hall (1992–2006) * ''

The Very Reverend The Very Reverend (abbreviated as The Very Revd or The Very Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. The definite article "t ...

'' John Hall (2006–2019) *''

'' John Hall, KCVO (2019-)

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John Robert 1949 births Living people People educated at St Dunstan's College Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham Deans of Westminster 20th-century English Anglican priests 21st-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Ripon College Cuddesdon Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London