Archdeacon of Berkshire

The Archdeacon of Berkshire (also rendered Archdeacon of Berks) is an senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Oxford. The archdeacon is the head of the archdeaconry of Berkshire, a post historically found within the diocese of Salisbury, and then, from 7 October 1836, within Oxford diocese.

List of archdeacons

Some archdeacons without territorial titles are recorded from around the time of the Norman Conquest; see Archdeacon of Salisbury.

High Medieval

• c. 1150–aft. 1156: Roger
• bef. 1173–bef. 1205: Geoffrey de Vernun
• bef. 1206–aft. 1215: Alberic
• aft. 1204–aft. 1222: Geoffrey
• bef. 1224–aft. 1236: William of Merton
• c. 1236: Clement
• c. 1236: William de Raley
• bef. 1237–aft. 1255: Giles of Bridport
• c. 1265: William
• bef. 1266–aft. 1268: Walter Scammel
• bef. 1275–bef. May 1284: Stephen of Newbury
• aft. June 1284–bef. 1313: William de Berges

Late Medieval

• 10 March 1313–bef. December 1313: Richard de Bello
• bef. December 1313–bef. August 1331 (d.): Tydo de Varesio
• 14 September 1317: Gilbert de Stapleton (ineffective royal grant)
• 21 August 1331–aft. 1333: Robert de Ayleston (previously Archdeacon of Wiltshire)
• bef. 1334–aft. 1359: Edmund de la Beche (collated 12 September 1339)
• aft. 1359–bef. 1365 (res.): Thomas Paxton
• 10 December 1365–1366 (res.): John Harewell
• bef. 1371–aft. 1384: Guillaume Cardinal d'Aigrefeuille
  (Cardinal-priest of St Stephen al Monte Celio)
• 26 October 1389–aft. 1392: Thomas Yokflete
• papal grants:
  • ?–1390: Andrea Cardinal Bontempi Martini
    (Cardinal-priest of SS Marcellinus and Peter)
  • 1390–22 April 1395 (exch.): Christopher Cardinal Marini
    (Cardinal-priest of San Ciriaco alle Terme Diocleziane)
  • 22 April 1395–25 November 1397 (res.): Walter Cook
• royal grants:
  • 22 September 1395: John Southam
  • 28 September 1395: Walter Cook
  • 20 October 1395: Ralph Repyngton
  • c. 16 November 1395: John Wynwyk
• 9 February 1397–30 January 1404 (exch.): John Southam (afterwards Archdeacon of Oxford)
• 30 January–15 March 1404 (d.): Thomas Southam
• bef. 10 June 1404–?: John Fraunceys
• aft. 10 June–26 December 1404 (exch.): Simon Sydenham
• 26 December 1404–c. 21 July 1417 (exch.): Walter Medford
• c. 21 July 1417–bef. 31 May 1427: Peter de Alcobasso
• 25 June 1427–1431 (res.): Thomas Brunce
• 15 September 1431–bef. 1432: John Castell (possibly the Master of Univ)
• 24 September 1432–1433 (d.): Alexander Sparrow
• 18 October 1433–1462 (d.): John Norton (probably the Chancellor of Oxford)
• 15 February 1462–1464 (d.): Richard Ewen
• 9 March 1464–1465 (res.): Robert Stillington

• 28 February 1466–1476 (res.): John Russell
• 6 November 1476–1478 (res.): John Morton
• 31 December 1478–1482 (res.): Richard Martyn (also Archdeacon of London and Archdeacon of Hereford; became Bishop of St David's)
• bef. 1 December 1488–1492 (res.): Oliver King
• 15 January 1493–1507 (res.): Stephen Bereworth
• 5 February 1507–1509 (d.): Christopher Twineho
• 20 December 1509–24 December 1510 (res.): Stephen Bereworth (again)
• 24 December 1510–1522 (d.): William Grey
• 14 February 1522–1545 (d.): Robert Audley

Early modern

• 18 July 1545–1547 (d.): John Crayford (also Master of University College, Oxford, 1546-7)
• 24 September 1547–3 September 1557 (d.): William Pye (afterwards Dean of Chichester)
• 24 September 1557–12 June 1588 (d.): Thomas White
• 16 June 1588–1605 (d.): Martin Culpepper, Dean of Chichester
• 9 November 1605–bef. 1631 (d.): Leonel Sharp (imprisoned for sedition)
• 26 January 1631–1634 (res.): Edward Davenant
• 20 November 1634–19 August 1665 (d.): John Ryves
• 29 August 1665–1673 (res.): Peter Mews
• 26 April 1673–1689 (res.): John Sharp (also Dean of Norwich from 1681)
• 6 December 1689–1698 (res.): William Richards
• 12 May 1698–bef. 1710 (d.): Jonas Proast
• 25 April 1710–2 December 1716 (d.): Richard West
• 13 May 1717–9 December 1720 (d.): Edward Talbot
• 10 January 1721–1735 (res.): Martin Benson
• 8 March 1735–9 December 1746 (d.): Samuel Knight
• 2 January 1747–21 October 1763 (d.): John Spry
• 25 October 1763–23 October 1785 (d.): William Dodwell
• 12 November 1785–15 October 1817 (d.): Arthur Onslow (also Dean of Worcester from 1795)
• 5 December 1817–25 August 1832 (d.): John Fisher
• 7 September 1832–1836: Edward Berens

Archdeaconry transferred to Diocese of Oxford, 7 October 1836

• 1836–1855 (res.): Edward Berens
• 21 March 1855–3 September 1869 (res.): Leslie Randall

Late modern

• 1870–1903 (res.): Alfred Pott
• 1903–17 March 1922 (d.): William Ducat
• 1922–1942 (res.): Richard Wickham Legg
• 1942–1954 (res.): Arthur Parham, Bishop suffragan of Reading
• 1955–1967 (res.): Eric Knell, Bishop suffragan of Reading
• 1967–1973 (res.): Eric Wild (also Bishop suffragan of Reading from 1972)
• 1973–1977 (res.): Raymond Birt
• 1978–1987 (res.): John Brown
• 1987–1992 (res.): David Griffiths
• 1992–1998 (res.): Mike Hill
• 1998–31 May 2013 (ret.): Norman Russell
• 11 October 2013–present: Olivia Graham

Sources

• Account of Purley on Thames – Archdeacons (PDF) (accessed 4 December 2012)