The Archdeacon of Derby is a senior ecclesiastical officer in the Church of England Diocese of Derby. The archdeacon has responsibility for church buildings and clergy discipline in her/his archdeaconry – the Archdeaconry of Derby – which roughly covers the southern half of Derbyshire.
History
The first mentions of an archdeacon in the area occurred in the twelfth century – around the time when archdeacons' posts were first being created across England. From that earliest point until the Victorian reorganisations of church structures, the archdeaconry was in the Diocese of Lichfield (which during those seven centuries was called Coventry, Coventry & Lichfield, Lichfield & Coventry and Lichfield). The archdeaconry, at that point covering the whole county of Derby, was transferred by Order in Council to the new Diocese of Southwell on 5 February 1884 and then split on 18 October 1910 – creating the Chesterfield archdeaconry – such that it now covers roughly the southern half of Derbyshire. On 7 July 1927, the Diocese of Derby was created from the two Southwell archdeaconries of Derby and of Chesterfield. The incumbent archdeacon is The Ven Dr Christopher Cunliffe.