The Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Carlisle. As such he or she is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within its four rural deaneries: Barrow, Windermere, Kendal and Furness.
The archdeaconry of Westmorland was created in 1847 (although no appointment was made until 1856) and that of Furness in 1884. They were subsequently merged to form the current archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness. The post is vacant following the retirement of Penny Driver.
Archdeacons of Westmorland and of Westmorland and Furness
1847–1856: no appointment
1856–January 1865 (ret.): Robert Evans (first archdeacon)
1865–25 July 1896 (d.): John Cooper, Vicar of Kendal
1896–1901 (res.): John Diggle, Vicar of Mossley Hill until 1897
1901–1 March 1915 (d.): William Sherwen, Rector of Dean
1915–1923 (res.): Campbell West-Watson, Bishop suffragan of Barrow-in-Furness and, from 1921, Rector of Aldingham (became Archdeacon of Furness)
1923–1931 (ret.): Henry Lafone, Vicar of Kendal
1931–1944: John Hopkinson, Vicar of Christ Church, Cockermouth (son of Alfred Hopkinson)
1944–1 July 1946 (d.): Harold Mulliner, Vicar of Winster
1947–1951 (res.): Hubert Wilkinson, Vicar of Winster until 1948, then Vicar of Ambleside with Rydal (became Archdeacon of Liverpool)
1951–1965 (res.): Cyril Bulley, Vicar of Ambleside with Rydal until 1959, then Bishop suffragan of Penrith
In 1959, Furness archdeaconry was merged into Westmorland archdeaconry and the latter was renamed as "Westmorland and Furness".
1965–1971 (res.): Richard Hare, Vicar of St George with St Luke, Barrow until 1969, then Vicar of Winster (became Bishop suffragan of Pontefract)
1971–1977 (res.): Walter Ewbank, Vicar of Winster
1978–1983 (res.): Arthur Attwell, Vicar of St John's, Windermere until 1982 (became Bishop of Sodor and Man)
1983–1989 (res.): Peter Vaughan (became area Bishop of Ramsbury)
1989–1995 (ret.): Lawrie Peat (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
1995–1999 (ret.): David Jenkins (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
2000–2011 (res.): George Howe (afterwards archdeacon emeritus)
2012–2016 (ret.): Penny Driver
February 2017 onwards: Vernon Ross (announced)
The archdeaconry (occasionally called Barrow-in-Furness) was created by Order-in-Council on 27 May 1884.
1884–1893 (res.): Arthur Crosse, Vicar of St George's, Barrow
1893–1901 (res.): Thompson Phillips, Vicar of St George's, Barrow
1901–1905 (res.): Cecil Boutflower, Vicar of St George's, Barrow
1905–1912 (res.): Herbert Campbell, Vicar of St George's, Barrow
1912–1923 (res.): Henry Lafone, Vicar of St George's, Barrow until 1919, then Vicar of Cartmel
1923–1926 (res.): Campbell West-Watson, Bishop suffragan of Barrow and Rector of Aldingham
1926–1 August 1944 (d.): Godfrey Smith, Vicar of Haverthwaite
1944–1958 (ret.): Herbert Turner, Bishop suffragan of Penrith and, until 1955, Vicar of Hawkshead
On 7 August 1959, Furness archdeaconry was dissolved and its territory added to the Westmorland archdeaconry, which was renamed "Westmorland and Furness".
Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
