The archdeacons in the Diocese of Portsmouth are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They currently include: the Archdeacon of the Meon, the Archdeacon of the Isle of Wight and the Archdeacon of Portsdown. Each one has responsibility over a geographical area within the diocese, providing organisational leadership and pastoral support to clergy within their area.
History The Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth was created on 1 May 1927 from the Diocese of Winchester's archdeaconries of the Isle of Wight and of Portsmouth, which had been created in that diocese on 22 December 1871 and 6 February 1925 respectively.
In November 1999, the Portsmouth archdeaconry was split in two: Lowson remained as Archdeacon of Portsdown and a new Archdeacon of the Meon was appointed.Diocese of Lincoln – Who's Who (Accessed 14 January 2014)
List of archdeacons
Archdeacons of the Isle of Wight The archdeaconry was created in Winchester diocese, split from Winchester archdeaconry, in 1871. 1874–16 November 1886 (d.): Francis McDougall (also assistant bishop)Royal College of Surgeons Biographies – McDougall, The Rev Francis Thomas (1817–1886) (Accessed 16 January 2014) 1886–7 September 1906 (d.): Henry Haigh 1906–2 February 1922 (d.): James Macarthur (also Bishop suffragan of Southampton until 1920; afterwards assistant bishop for the island) 1922–1928 (res.): Lewen Tugwell Wight archdeaconry has been part of Portsmouth diocese since the latter's creation in 1927. 1929–1936 (ret.): Robert McKew 1937–31 August 1948 (d.): Hampton Weekes 1948–1952 (res.): Edward Roberts 1952–1961 (ret.): Alexander Cory (afterward archdeacon emeritus) 1961–1965 (res.): Geoffrey Tiarks 1965–1977 (res.): Ron Scruby 1977–1986 (res.): Freddie Carpenter (afterward archdeacon emeritus) 1986–1996 (ret.): Tony Turner (afterward archdeacon emeritus) 1996–2003 (ret.): Mervyn Banting (afterward archdeacon emeritus) 2003–2006 (res.): Trevor Reader 2006–2011 (res.): Caroline Baston 2011–2018 (res.): Peter Sutton 18 May 20192022 (res.): Peter Leonard 22 January 2023present: Steve Daughtery (also Vicar of Bembridge)
Archdeacons of Portsmouth 1925–1927 (res.): Neville Lovett 1927–1936 (res.): Harold Rodgers 1937–1945 (res.): Harold Hyde-Lees 1945–1952 (res.): Arthur Kitching (also an assistant bishop) 1952–1956 (res.): Edward Roberts 1956–1964 (res.): Michael Peck 1965–1969 (res.): Geoffrey Tiarks 1969–1977 (ret.): Christopher Prior (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 1977–1985 (ret.): Ron Scruby (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 1985–1993 (ret.): Norman Crowder (afterwards archdeacon emeritus) 1993–1999 (res.): Graeme Knowles FebruaryNovember 1999: Chris LowsonSouthern Daily Echo — Archdeacon Peter is man for new era (Accessed 21 December 2015)Diocese of Portsmouth — New Archdeacon for Portsmouth and Havant (Accessed 21 December 2015) (became Archdeacon of Portsdown) In November 1999, the archdeaconry of Portsmouth was split into Portsdown and the Meon.
Archdeacons of Portsdown November 1999–2006: Chris Lowson (previously Archdeacon of Portsmouth) 2006–2013 (ret.): Trevor Reader 14 April 20133 July 2019 (res.): Joanne Grenfell (became Bishop of Stepney) 3 July 20192020: vacant 202031 January 2024 (res.): Jenny Rowley 7 September 2025present: Bob White
Archdeacons of the Meon 1999–2010 (res.): Peter Hancock 11 September 201128 January 2021: Gavin Collins 28 January 20212 July 2023 (Acting): Will Hughes 2 July 2023present: Kathryn Percival
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