List of Deans of St Paul's

The Dean of St Paul's is the head of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London, England in the Church of England. The most recent Dean, Graeme Knowles, formerly Bishop of Sodor and Man, was installed on 1 October 2007 and resigned on 31 October 2011. The previous Dean, John Moses, was appointed in 1996 and retired in 2006.

The Dean of St Paul's is, ex officio, the Dean of the Order of the British Empire.

List of Deans

High Medieval

• 1090–1107: Wulman
• 1107–1111: Ranulf Flambard (disputed)
• 1111–1138: William de Mareni
• 1138–1157: Ralph de Langford
• 1158–1180: Hugh de Mareni
• 1180–1199: Ralph de Diceto
• 1200–1216: Alard de Burnham
• 1216–1218: Gervase de Howbridge
• 1218–1227: Robert de Watford
• 1228–1231: Martin de Pattishall
• 1231–1241: Geoffrey de Lucy
• 1241–1243: William of Sainte-Mère-Eglise
• 1243–1253: Henry de Cornhill
• 1253–1257: Walter de Salerne (became Archbishop of Tuam)
• 1257–1260: Robert de Barton
• 1260–1261: Peter de Newport
• January 1262–July 1262: Richard Talbot (became Bishop of London)
• July 1262–1263: John de Ebulo
• 1263–1267: Geoffrey de Fering
• 1268–1273: John Chishull (became Bishop of London, Lord Chancellor and Lord Treasurer)
• 1273–1276: Hervey de Boreham
• 1276–1283: Thomas Ingoldsthorpe (became Bishop of Rochester)
• 1283–1285: Roger de La Legh
• 1285–1294: William de Montfort
• 1294–1306: Ralph Baldock (became Bishop of London)

Late Medieval

• 1294–1304: Ralph Baldock (became Bishop of London 1304)
• 1306–1313: Arnald Frangerius de Cantilupo
• 1314–1316: John Sandale
• 1316–1317: Richard Newport (became Bishop of London)
• 1317: Roger de Northburgh
• 1317–1322: Vitalis de Testa
• 1322–1335: John de Everdon
• 1335–1354: Gilbert de Bruera
• 1354–1361: Richard de Kilvington
• 1361–1362: Walter de Alderbury
• 1362–1364: Thomas Trilleck (afterwards Bishop of Rochester 1364)
• 1364–1389: John de Appleby
• 1389–1400: Thomas de Eure
• 1400–1405: Thomas Stowe
• 1406–1421: Thomas More
• 1422–1441: Reginald Kentwood
• 1441–1456: Thomas Lisieux
• 1456–1457: Laurence Booth (afterwards Bishop of Durham 1457)
• 1457–1468: William Say
• 1468–1471: Roger Radclyffe
• 1471–1478: Thomas Wynterbourne
• 1479–1499: William Worsley

Early modern

• 1499–1505: Robert Sherborne (became Bishop of St David's)
• 1505–1519: John Colet
• 1519–1536: Richard Pace (d. 1536)
• 1536–1540: Richard Sampson (also Bishop of Chichester)
• 1540–1545: John Incent
• 1545–1554: William May
• 1554–1556: John Feckenham
• 1556–1559: Henry Cole
• 1559–1560: William May (again)
• 1560–1602: Alexander Nowell
• 1602–1614: John Overall (became Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry)
• 1614–1621: Valentine Cary (became Bishop of Exeter)
• 1621–1631: John Donne
• 1631–1642: Thomas Winniffe (became Bishop of Lincoln)
• 1642–1651: Richard Steward (not installed but called dean)

1651–1660: Vacancy (English Interregnum)

• 1660–1661: Matthew Nicholas
• 1661–1664: John Barwick
• 1664–1678: William Sancroft (became Archbishop of Canterbury)
• 1678–1689: Edward Stillingfleet (became Bishop of Worcester)
• 1689–1691: John Tillotson (became Archbishop of Canterbury)
• 1691–1707: William Sherlock
• 1707–1726: Henry Godolphin
• 1726–1740: Francis Hare (became Bishop of Chichester in 1731, holding deanery in commendam)
• 1740–1750: Joseph Butler (became Bishop of Durham)
• 1750–1758: Thomas Secker (also Bishop of Oxford; became Archbishop of Canterbury)
• 1758–1766: John Hume (became Bishop of Salisbury)
• 1766–1768: Frederick Cornwallis (also Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry)
• 1768–1782: Thomas Newton (also Bishop of Bristol)
• 1782–1787: Thomas Thurlow (also Bishop of Lincoln; became Bishop of Durham)
• 1787–1820: George Pretyman

Late modern

• 1787–1820: George Pretyman Tomline (took the name Tomline in 1803; became Bishop of Winchester)
• 1820–1826: William Van Mildert (also Bishop of Llandaff; became Bishop of Durham)
• 1826–1827: Charles Sumner (also Bishop of Llandaff; became Bishop of Winchester)
• 1827–1849: Edward Copleston (also Bishop of Llandaff)
• 1849–1868: Henry Hart Milman
• 1868–1871: Henry Longueville Mansel
• 1871–1890: Richard William Church
• 1891–1911: Robert Gregory
• 1911–1934: William Inge
• 1934–1967: Walter Matthews (1881–1973; Dean of Exeter 1931-1934)
• 1967–1978: Martin Sullivan (1910–1980; former Archdeacon of London)
• 1978–1988: Alan Webster (former Dean of Norwich)
• 1988–1996: Thomas Evans (former Canon Residentiary of Gloucester)
• 1996–2006: John Moses (former Provost of Chelmsford)
• 2007–2011: Graeme Knowles (former Bishop of Sodor and Man) (resigned)
• 2011–: vacant

Sources

• Deans of St Paul's. Greenway, D. E. (1968). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Volume 1: St. Paul's, London. British History Online. pp. 4–8.
• Deans of St Paul's. Horn, J. M. (1963). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541. Volume 5: St Paul's, London. British History Online. pp. 4–7.
• Deans of St Paul's. Horn, J. M. (1969). Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857. Volume 1: St. Paul's, London. British History Online. pp. 5–7.
• WR Matthews: [1] Date accessed: 15 February 2006.
• St Paul's Cathedral press release 23 Jan 2006: [2] Date accessed: 15 February 2006.