The Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven is an archdiaconal post in the Church of England. It was created in about 1088 within the See of York and was moved in 1541 to the See of Chester, in 1836 to the See of Ripon and after 2014 to the See of Leeds, in which jurisdiction it remains today. It is divided into seven rural deaneries: Ewecross, Harrogate, Richmond, Ripon, Skipton, and Wensley, all in Yorkshire and Bowland in Lancashire.Diocese of Leeds – Maps and information about deaneries and parishes (Accessed 4 August 2014)
History
The Archdeaconry of Richmond was created in about 1088 and was endowed by Thomas, Archbishop of York.Richmondshire Churches – Introduction: The Archdeaconry of Richmond (Accessed 4 August 2014) Originally it comprised the western parts of Yorkshire (Richmondshire and Boroughbridge) and Lancashire (Amounderness Hundred, Lonsdale Hundred and Furness), as well as the greater portion of the counties of Cumberland (Borough of Copeland) and Westmorland (Barony of Kendal), and was the wealthiest and most extensive archdeaconry in England. Its valuable impropriations included Easingwold, Bolton, Clapham and Thornton Steward. However in 1127 King Henry I removed Allerdale and Cumberland from the Archdeaconry in order to form the new See of Carlisle. By way of compensation for this loss, Thurstan, Archbishop of York, conferred upon the Archdeacon all the privileges and prerogatives of a bishop, with the exception that he could not ordain, consecrate, or confirm. The Archdeacon had his own consistory court at Richmond in Yorkshire, where wills were proved, licences and faculties granted, and all matters of ecclesiastical cognizance dealt with. He exercised the sole supervision of clergy within his jurisdiction, including institution to, and removal from, benefices.
In 1541 King Henry VIII established the See of Chester in Lancashire, into which the office of Archdeacon of Richmond was incorporated, although its judicial powers were transferred to the See of York. Although its revenues suffered serious diminution and its position had become that of a commissary elected by the Bishop of Chester, the Archdeacon continued to exercise the same authority, judicial and otherwise, as his predecessors and retained his stall within the choir of York Minster. However by 1805 the position was described as a mere "sinecure".
In 1836 the Archdeaconry of Richmond was transferred to the jurisdiction of the newly formed See of Ripon in Yorkshire, and in January 1838 the consistory court of Richmond was abolished, along with all its other peculiars. On the creation of the See of LeedsThe Church of England – Synod approves new Diocese of Leeds for West Yorkshire and The Dales in 2014, the Archdeaconry received the territory of the Archdeaconry of Craven and was renamed the "Archdeaconry of Richmond and Craven".The Dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield Reorganisation Scheme 2013 pp. 5–6 (Accessed 4 February 2014) It now forms the "Ripon episcopal area".Moving towards a new diocese for West Yorkshire and the Dales (Accessed 9 July 2013)
List of archdeacons Some archdeacons without territorial titles are recorded from around the time of Thomas of Bayeux; see Archdeacon of York.
High Medieval bef. 1128–1157 (dep.): Osbert de BayeuxOsbert does not occur with the title Archdeacon of Richmond; rather his territory can be deduced. –aft. 1164: Bartholomew bef. 1184–1189 (res.): Godfrey de Luci (became Bishop of Winchester) –aft. 1196: William de Chemillé (also Bishop-elect of Avranches; became Bishop of Angers) –1197 (res.): Eustace, Dean of Salisbury and Archdeacon of the East Riding bef. 1198–bef. 1199 (ej.): Honorius of Kent 1198–1202 (deprived): Roger de Sancto Edmundo 1199–aft. 1199 (exc.): Honorius (again) 1202–1208 (deprived): Honorius (third term) : Morgan (royal bastard, sometime provost of Beverley and Bishop-elect of Durham) bef. 1213–1217 (res.): Richard Marsh bef. 1218–aft. 1238: William Langton (of Rotherfield) bef. 1239–aft. 1239: Walter de Woburn bef. 1240–bef. 1241: Robert Haget bef. 1241–aft. 1252: John le Romeyn the elder bef. 1253–aft. 1260: William bef. 1262–aft. 1269: Simon of Evesham bef. 1271–aft. 1271: Richard le Brun 5 December 1272–aft. 1273: Thomas Passelew bef. 1276–aft. 1278: Geoffrey de Sancto Marco 28 April 1279 – 12 May 1290 (res.): Henry of Newark 1290–aft. 1301: Gerard de Vuippens
Late Medieval bef. 1301–16 May 1317 (d.): Francesco Cardinal Caetani (cardinal-deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin) 25 April 1309 – 1310 (dep.): John Sandale (unsuccessfully opposed Caetani) 1317–1322 (res.): Roger Northburgh (became Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) 2 November 1322 – 1328 (res.): Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord, Bishop of Limoges 1328–January 1346 (d.): Robert Wodehouse 7 January–May 1346 (res.): John Gynwell June 1346–20 November 1348 (d.): Jean-Raymond Cardinal de Comminges, Cardinal-Bishop of Porto 1349–bef. 1359 (d.): Henry de Walton 13 December 1359–bef. 1383 (d.): Humphrey de Cherleton 1383–11 January 1385 (exch.): John Bacon 11 January 1385 – 1388 (res.): John Waltham (became Bishop of Salisbury) 1388–May 1400 (d.): Thomas Dalby (er) 19 May 1400 – 4 March 1401 (dep.): Stephen Scrope 4 March 1401 – 18 March 1402 (exch.): Nicholas Bubwith 18 March 1402–bef. 1418 (d.): Stephen Scrope (again) 6 September 1418–bef. 1442 (res.): Henry Bowet 8 November 1442 – 1450 (res.): Thomas Kempe (became Bishop of London) 8 February 1450 – 1454 (res.): William Grey 17 August 1454 – 1457 (res.): Lawrence Booth 17 October 1457 – 1459 (res.): John Arundel 21 May 1459 – 1465 (res.): John Booth 5 July 1465 – 1484 (res.): John Sherwood 2 January 1485 – 1485 (d.): Edward de la Pole 28 September 1485 – 1493 (res.): John Blyth
5 March 1494 – 1500 (res.): Christopher Urswick, Dean of York until 1494, Dean of Windsor from 1496 (also Archdeacon of Wilts, and Archdeacon of Norfolk (from 1500)) 1500–1506 (res.): James Stanley 24 September 1506–bef. 1526 (d.): Thomas Dalby (yr) 1526–bef. 1529 (res.): Thomas Wynter (also Dean of Wells {until 1529}, Archdeacon of York, Archdeacon of Suffolk {1526–1529} and Archdeacon of Norfolk {from 1529}) 7 December 1529 – 1541 (res.): William Knight
Early modern On 14 August 1541, the Diocese of Chester was created from the Richmond and Chester archdeaconries. 1541–bef. 1554: John Bird, Bishop of Chester bef. 1554–bef. 1559 (dep.): John Horleston (deposed) bef. 1559–Oct 1559 (deprived): John Hansom (deprived) Oct 1559–bef. 1574: John Horleston (again) 17 March 1574–bef. 1603 (d.): Christopher Goodman 6 November 1603 – 1607 (res.): Thomas Mallory (became Dean of Chester) 21 December 1607 – 10 March 1648 (d.): Thomas Dod 20 May 1648–bef. 1664 (res.): Henry Bridgeman (also Dean from 1660) 10 June 1664 – 26 November 1678 (d.): Charles Bridgeman 3 December 1678 – 11 March 1695 (d.): Henry Dove 2 April 1695–bef. 1703 (d.): Thomas Lamplugh 10 September 1703 – 7 May 1729 (d.): William Stratford 4 June 172922 October 1781 (d.): Samuel Peploe 30 October 178115 April 1792 (d.): Thomas Townson 9 May 179211 March 1797 (res.): Thomas Breithweite (became Archdeacon of Chester) 25 April 1797bef. 1801 (d.): George Bower 14 January 18014 June 1824 (d.): John Owen 5 October 1824bef. 1826 (res.): Henry Law (became Archdeacon of Wells) 30 December 18264 May 1854 (d.): John Headlam On 5 October 1836, the Diocese of Ripon was erected from the Richmond archdeaconry and part of the York diocese (which became the Archdeaconry of Craven.) 7 June 185421 June 1868 (d.): Charles Dodgson (father of Lewis Carroll)
Late modern 18681894 (ret.): Edwards Cust 18941907 (res.): William Danks (became a canon of Canterbury Cathedral) bef. 1909The Teesdale Mercury, Wednesday 26 May 1909, page 5, column 1 (Accessed 3 November 2014)?: Armstrong Hall (died 12 May 1921) 19211937 (ret.): Arthur Watson (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 193722 September 1939 (d.): Claude Thornton 19401951 (ret.): Donald Bartlett 19511954 (res.): William MacPherson (became Dean of Lichfield) 19541961 (res.): Harry Graham 19721976 (ret.): John Turnbull (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 19761983 (res.): Paul Burbridge (became Dean of Norwich) 19831993 (ret.): Norman McDermid (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 19932006 (ret.): Ken Good (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 19 May 20072 March 2013 (res.): Janet Henderson 1 February 20132 February 2014: Nicholas Henshall (acting Archdeacon; became Dean of Chelmsford) 2 February 201420 April 2014: Paul Slater, Archdeacon of Craven (acting Archdeacon)
Archdeacons of Richmond and Craven 20 April 201419 July 2015: Paul Slater, Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven 19 July 201517 January 2016 (Acting): Simon Cowling, Acting Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven 17 January 201618 October 2018 (res.): Bev Mason, Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven (Accessed 31 January 2016) 10 March 20192025: Jonathan Gough (resigned early 2025 and made archdeacon emeritus) 6 April 2025present: James Theodosius
See also Diocese of Chester
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