History
Abbots & Deans
List of Abbots of the monastery and Deans of the Collegiate Church.
Abbots
- Edwin 1049-1071
- 1071?-1075?
- Vitalis of Bernay 1076?-1085
- Gilbert Crispin 1085-1117
- Herbert 1121-1136?
- Gervase de Blois 1138-1157?
- Laurence of Durham 1158?-1173
- Walter of Winchester 1175-1190
- William Postard 1191-1200
- Ralph de Arundel alias Papillon 1200-1214
- William de Humez 1214-1222
- Richard de Berkying 1222-1246
- Richard de Crokesley 1246-1258
- Philip de Lewisham 1258
- Richard de Ware 1258-1283
- Walter de Wenlok 1283-1307
- Richard de Kedyngton alias Sudbury 1308-1315
- William de Curtlyngton 1315-1333
- Thomas de Henley 1333-1344
- Simon de Bircheston 1344-1349
- Simon de Langham 1349-1362
- Nicholas de Litlyngton 1362-1386
- William de Colchester 1386-1420
- Richard Harweden 1420-1440
- Edmund Kyrton 1440-1462
- George Norwich 1463-1469
- Thomas Millyng 1469-1474
- John Esteney 1474-1498
- George Fascet 1498-1500
- John Islip 1500-1532
- William Boston 1533-1540 (later Dean Benson)
The monastery was dissolved in January 1540, then was restored by Mary I.
- John Feckenham 1556-1559
Bishop of Westminster
- Thomas Thirlby 1540-1550
Deans
- William Benson (formerly Abbot Boston) 1540-1549
- Richard Cox 1549-1553
- Hugh Weston 1553-1556
- William Bill 1560-1561
- Gabriel Goodman 1561-1601
- Lancelot Andrewes 1601-1605
- Richard Neile 1605-1610
- George Montaigne 1610-1617
- Robert Tounson 1617-1620
- John Williams 1620-1644
- Richard Steward (never installed) 1644-1651
- (Commonwealth period)
- John Earle 1660-1662
- John Dolben 1662-1683
- Thomas Sprat 1683-1713
- Francis Atterbury 1713-1723
- Samuel Bradford 1723-1731
- Joseph Wilcocks 1731-1756
- Zachary Pearce 1756-1768
- John Thomas 1768-1793
- Samuel Horsley 1793-1802
- William Vincent 1802-1815
- John Ireland 1816-1842
- Thomas Turton 1842-1845
- Samuel Wilberforce 1845
- William Buckland 1845-1856
- Richard Chenevix Trench 1856-1864
- Arthur Penrhyn Stanley 1864-1881
- George Granville Bradley 1881-1902
- Joseph Armitage Robinson 1902-1911
- Herbert Edward Ryle 1911-1925
- William Foxley Norris 1925-1937
- Paul de Labilliere 1938-1946
- Alan Don 1946-1959
- Eric Abbott 1959-1974
- Edward Carpenter 1974-1985
- Michael Mayne 1986-1996
- Arthur Wesley Carr 1997-2006
- John Hall 2006-2019
Notes
Neile, Dolben, Sprat, Atterbury, Bradford, Wilcocks, Pearce, Thomas and Horsley were also Bishops of Rochester at the same time as they were Dean. As Rochester was an impoverished diocese holding it alongside the Deanery of Westminster enabled it to have an income and a London residence.
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The biggest challenge we face is maintaining such a large physical collection of material within a historic building – believe it or not, there’s just not enough space for it all.
