Archdeacons in the Diocese of Liverpool
The archdeacons in the Diocese of Liverpool are senior ecclesiastical officers in the Church of England in a highly irregular area surrounding the city of Liverpool. This includes the archdeacons of Liverpool, St Helens and Warrington, Knowsley and Sefton, and Wigan and West Lancashire, each responsible for a specific geographical region within the diocese. They are tasked with the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within their respective archdeaconries.
History
The Archdeaconry of Liverpool was originally created on 10 August 1847 in the Diocese of Chester and transferred to the Diocese of Liverpool when the latter was created on 9 April 1880. The Archdeaconry of Warrington was created from the Archdeaconry of Liverpool on 17 July 1880. Prior to the 2015 reorganisation, the old Liverpool archdeaconry consisted of eight area deaneries: Bootle, Huyton, Liverpool North, Liverpool South-Childwall, Sefton, Toxteth and Wavertree, Walton, and West Derby; and the old Warrington archdeaconry of seven: North Meols, Ormskirk, St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, Wigan, and Winwick.Reorganisation
Per the diocese's mission paper, Fit for Mission, prepared by Paul Bayes, the then-new Bishop of Liverpool, the archdeaconries of the diocese were reorganised not long after the retirement of Peter Bradley as Archdeacon of Warrington at the end of October 2015. On 29 May 2015, it was announced that four archdeaconries would exist after the reorganisation: Liverpool, Knowsley and Sefton, St Helens and Warrington, and Wigan and West Lancashire; on 9 August three archdeacons-designate were announced, and it was further indicated it was hoped the reorganisation could be completed in time to collate the new archdeacons on 14 November 2015. On 5 November 2015, it was announced that Bayes had signed the pastoral order effecting the boundary changes and erection of the new archdeaconries.Following the reorganisation, the Liverpool archdeaconry consists of five deaneries: Liverpool North, Liverpool South-Childwall, Toxteth and Wavertree, Walton, and West Derby; Knowsley and Sefton archdeaconry of four: Bootle, Huyton, North Meols, and Sefton; St Helens and Warrington archdeaconry of four: St Helens, Warrington, Widnes, and Winwick; and Wigan and West Lancashire archdeaconry of two: Ormskirk, and Wigan.
At Bishop's Council in May 2023, it was agreed that the Archdeaconry of Wigan and West Lancashire would be dissolved, the deanery of Wigan moved to St Helens archdeaconry, and the deanery of Ormskirk to Knowsley archdeaconry. On 1 November 2024, a Bishop's Pastoral Order gave effect to the council's decision.
List of archdeacons
Archdeacons of Liverpool
- 29 September 1848 – 28 September 1855 : Jonathan Brooks
- 30 October 1855 – 1886 : John Jones
- 1886–1887 : John Bardsley, Vicar of St Saviour's, Liverpool
- 1887–1895: Benjamin Clarke, Vicar of Christ Church, Southport
- 1895–19 March 1906 : William Taylor, Vicar of St Andrew, Toxteth Park
- 1906–26 December 1915 : Thomas Madden, Vicar of St Luke's, Liverpool then Vicar of Christ Church, Southport
- 1916–7 February 1933 : Hardwicke Spooner, Rector of Walton-on-the-Hill
- 1933–1934 : George Howson
- 1934–3 September 1950 : Cyril Twitchett
- 1951–1970 : Hubert Wilkinson, Vicar of St Mary's, Grassendale,
- 1971–1979 : Eric Corbett
- 1979–1991 : Graeme Spiers, Vicar of Aigburth
- 1991–1993 : Stanton Durant, Vicar of All Saints, Stoneycroft
- 1994–2002 : Robert Metcalf
- 2002 – 6 May 2017 : Ricky Panter
- 10 September 2017 – January 2023 : Mike McGurk
- 9 September 2023 – present: Miranda Threlfall-Holmes
Archdeacons of Warrington and of St Helens and Warrington
- 1880–1886 : John Bardsley, Vicar of St Saviour's, Liverpool
- 1887–1889 : William Lefroy, perpetual curate of St Andrew's, Liverpool
- 1889–1895 : William Taylor, Vicar of St Chrysostom, Everton, then Vicar of St Andrew, Toxteth Park
- 1895–1906 : Thomas Madden, Vicar of St Luke's, Liverpool
- 1906–1916 : Hardwicke Spooner, Rector of Walton-on-the-Hill
- 1916–1933 : George Howson, Rector of Woolton
- 1933–1934 : Cyril Twitchett
- 1934–1947 : Percy Baker, Vicar of Mossley Hill, then Rector of Winwick
- 1947–1958 : Arthur White, Vicar of Billinge
- 1959–1970 : Eric Evans, Rector of North Meols
- 1970–1981 : John Lawton, Rector of Winwick
- 1981–2001 : David Woodhouse, Vicar of St Peter's, Hindley
- 2001 – 31 October 2015 : Peter Bradley
- 14 November 2015 – 30 September 2019 : Roger Preece
- 25 January 2020 – present: Simon Fisher
Archdeacons of Knowsley and Sefton
- 14 November 2015–present: Pete Spiers
Archdeacons of Wigan and West Lancashire
- 14 November 2015 – 31 July 2021 : Jennifer McKenzie