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The west façade of the Abbey

The Dean of Westminster is the head of the chapter at Westminster Abbey. Due to the Abbey's status as a Royal Peculiar, the dean answers directly to the British monarch (not to the Bishop of London as ordinary, nor to the Archbishop of Canterbury as metropolitan). Initially, the office was a successor to that of abbot of Westminster, and was for the first 10 years cathedral dean for the Diocese of Westminster. The current dean is David Hoyle.

List of deans

The Deanery at Westminster Abbey

Name	Term of office
William Benson (formerly last abbot of the Benedictine abbey)	1540	1549^[+]
Richard Cox	1549	1553
Hugh Weston	1553	1556
Vacancy (restored as Benedictine abbey) John Feckenham, abbot	1556	1559
William Bill	1560	1561^[+]
Gabriel Goodman	1561	1601^[+]
Lancelot Andrewes	1601	1605
Richard Neile (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1608)	1605	1610
George Montaigne	1610	1617
Robert Tounson	1617	1620
John Williams (in commendam as Bishop of Lincoln 1621-41, as Archbishop of York from 1641)	1620	1644
Richard Steward (not installed)	1644	1651^[+]
Vacancy (English Interregnum)	1651	1660
John Earle	1660	1662
John Dolben (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1666^{[R 1]})	1662	1683
Thomas Sprat (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1684^{[R 1]})	1683	1713^[+]
Francis Atterbury (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester^{[R 1]})	1713	1723
Samuel Bradford (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester^{[R 1]})	1723	1731^[+]
Joseph Wilcocks (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester^{[R 1]})	1731	1756^[+]
Zachary Pearce (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester^{[R 1]})	1756	1768
John Thomas (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester from 1774^{[R 1]})	1768	1793^[+]
Samuel Horsley (in commendam as Bishop of Rochester^{[R 1]})	1793	1802
William Vincent	1802	1815^[+]
John Ireland	1816	1842^[+]
Thomas Turton	1842	1845
Samuel Wilberforce	March-October 1845
William Buckland	1845	1856^[+]
Richard Chenevix Trench	1856	1864
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley	1864	1881^[+]
George Granville Bradley	1881	1902
Armitage Robinson	1902^[1]	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
Wesley Carr	1997	2006
John Hall	2006^[2]	2019
David Hoyle	2019	Present

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h In 1666, John Dolben was additionally appointed Bishop of Rochester, retaining the Deanery of Westminster in commendam. His successor as Dean, Thomas Sprat, was additionally appointed to Rochester in 1684. From then until 1802, it was customary for the Bishop of Rochester to hold the Deanery of Westminster in commendam. These eight deans held both offices concurrently.

⁺ Died in office

References

^ "No. 27486". The London Gazette. 21 October 1902. p. 6647.
^ "No. 58165". The London Gazette. 28 November 2006. p. 16399.

Horn, Joyce M. (ed.). "Deans of Westminster". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857. 7. pp. 69-71. Retrieved 2019.

[Roch-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h In 1666, John Dolben was additionally appointed Bishop of Rochester, retaining the Deanery of Westminster in commendam. His successor as Dean, Thomas Sprat, was additionally appointed to Rochester in 1684. From then until 1802, it was customary for the Bishop of Rochester to hold the Deanery of Westminster in commendam. These eight deans held both offices concurrently.

[2] "No. 27486". The London Gazette. 21 October 1902. p. 6647.

[3] "No. 58165". The London Gazette. 28 November 2006. p. 16399.

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