Dean of Christ Church, Oxford

Last updated January 08, 2024

The Dean of Christ Church is the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford and head of the governing body of Christ Church, a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford and seat of the Bishop of Oxford. The chapter of canons of the cathedral formed the governing body of the college from its foundation until the Christ Church (Oxford) Act of 1867, by which the Governing Body was expanded to include the Students (academics) in addition to the Dean and Chapter.^[1] The dean was ex officio head of the chapter and ipso facto head of the college. From 26 April 2022 until July 2023, the position was vacant.^[2] As of 8 July 2023,^[3] Sarah Foot is the first female dean of Christ Church. ^[4]

List of deans

From the diocese's foundation in 1542 until 1545, the cathedral was at Osney. There, the cathedral deans were:

John London (1542–1543)
Richard Cox (1543–1545, reappointed dean at Christ Church)

The academic deans of Christ Church's predecessor Oxford colleges were:

John Hygdon (Dean of Cardinal College, 1525–1531; Dean of King Henry VIII's College, 1532–1533)
John Oliver (Dean of King Henry VIII's College, 1533–1545)

Both the college and the see at Osney surrendered to the Crown on 20 May 1545. Christ Church, the double establishment of cathedral and college, was founded by letters patent on 4 November 1546.^[5]

Name	Term of office
Richard Cox	1546	1553
Richard Marshall	1553	1559
George Carew	1559	1561
Thomas Sampson	1561	1565
Thomas Godwin	1565	1567
Thomas Cooper	1567	1571
John Piers	1571	1576
Tobias Matthew	1577	1583
William James	1584	1596
Thomas Ravis (in commendam as Bishop of Gloucester from 1604)	1596	1605
John King	1605	1611
William Goodwin	1611	1620
Richard Corbet	1620	1628
Brian Duppa	1628	1638
Samuel Fell	1638	1648
Edward Reynolds	1648	1651
John Owen	1651	1660
Edward Reynolds	March–July 1660
George Morley	July–October 1660
John Fell (in commendam as Bishop of Oxford from 1676)	1660	1686^[†]
John Massey	1686	1688
Henry Aldrich	1689	1710^[†]
Francis Atterbury	1711	1713
George Smalridge (in commendam as Bishop of Bristol from 1714)	1713	1719^[†]
Hugh Boulter (in commendam as Bishop of Bristol)	1719	1724
William Bradshaw (in commendam as Bishop of Bristol)	1724	1732^[†]
John Conybeare (in commendam as Bishop of Bristol from 1750)	1733	1755^[†]
David Gregory	1756	1767^[†]
William Markham (in commendam as Bishop of Chester from 1771)	1767	1777
Lewis Bagot (in commendam as Bishop of Bristol from 1782)	1777	1783
Cyril Jackson	1783	1809
Charles Henry Hall	1809	1824
Samuel Smith	1824	1831
Thomas Gaisford	1831	1855^[†]
Henry Liddell	1855	1891
Francis Paget	1892	1901
Thomas Strong ^[6]	1901	1920
Henry Julian White	1920	1934
Alwyn Williams	1934	1939
John Lowe	1939	1959
Cuthbert Simpson	1959	1969
Henry Chadwick	1969	1979
Eric Heaton	1979	1991
John Drury	1991	2003
Christopher Lewis ^[7]	2003	2014^[8]
Martyn Percy ^[9]^[10]	2014	2022
Sarah Foot ^[4]	2023

^† Died in office

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References

↑ Christ Church website [in the Christ Church (Oxford) Act 1867, by which the Governing Body was expanded to include the Students in addition to the Dean and Chapter. in the Christ Church (Oxford) Act 1867, by which the Governing Body was expanded to include the Students in addition to the Dean and Chapter.] Retrieved 7 February 2023.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ "Dean of Oxford University college steps down after 'protracted disputes'". BBC News. 5 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
↑ "Choral Evensong with the Installation of Dean Foot". Christ Church. 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
1 2 "Appointment of first female Dean of Christ Church the Rev Canon Professor Sarah Foot | Christ Church, Oxford University". www.chch.ox.ac.uk. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
↑ Horn, Joyce M. (ed.). "Oxford: Introduction". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857. Vol. 8. pp. 69–72. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
↑ "No. 27329". The London Gazette . 2 July 1901. p. 4399.
↑ "Christ Church, Oxford – Dean, Cathedral Chapter and Staff". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
↑ Oxford Mail – Dean of Christ Church preparing to retire and start new life in Suffolk (Accessed 7 May 2014)
↑ Christ Church, Oxford – The Dean of Christ Church (Accessed 7 May 2014)
↑ "Oxford college dean at centre of lengthy dispute to step down". Times Higher Education Supplement. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.

Horn, Joyce M. (ed.). "Deans of Christ Church, Oxford". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857. Vol. 8. pp. 80–83. Retrieved 12 September 2019.

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[1] Christ Church website [in the Christ Church (Oxford) Act 1867, by which the Governing Body was expanded to include the Students in addition to the Dean and Chapter. in the Christ Church (Oxford) Act 1867, by which the Governing Body was expanded to include the Students in addition to the Dean and Chapter.] Retrieved 7 February 2023.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)

[2] "Dean of Oxford University college steps down after 'protracted disputes'". BBC News. 5 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

[3] "Choral Evensong with the Installation of Dean Foot". Christ Church. 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.

[:0-4] 1 2 "Appointment of first female Dean of Christ Church the Rev Canon Professor Sarah Foot | Christ Church, Oxford University". www.chch.ox.ac.uk. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

[5] Horn, Joyce M. (ed.). "Oxford: Introduction". Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541-1857. Vol. 8. pp. 69–72. Retrieved 22 September 2019.

[6] "No. 27329". The London Gazette . 2 July 1901. p. 4399.

[7] "Christ Church, Oxford – Dean, Cathedral Chapter and Staff". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.

[oxmail-8] Oxford Mail – Dean of Christ Church preparing to retire and start new life in Suffolk (Accessed 7 May 2014)

[percy-9] Christ Church, Oxford – The Dean of Christ Church (Accessed 7 May 2014)

[10] "Oxford college dean at centre of lengthy dispute to step down". Times Higher Education Supplement. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.

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v t e Deans in the Church of England
Province of Canterbury	Birmingham Bristol Canterbury Chelmsford Chichester Dean of Christ Church, Oxford Coventry Derby Ely Exeter Gibraltar Gloucester Guildford Hereford Jersey Leicester Lichfield Lincoln Norwich Peterborough Portsmouth Rochester St Albans St Edmundsbury St Paul's (London) Salisbury Southwark Truro Wells Winchester Worcester
Province of York	Blackburn Bradford (Leeds diocese) Carlisle Chester Durham Liverpool Manchester Newcastle Peel Ripon (Leeds diocese) Sheffield Southwell Wakefield (Leeds diocese) York
Royal Deans	Dean of the Chapel Royal Westminster Windsor

v t e Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
Predecessors	John Hygdon* John Oliver* John London Richard Cox
Early modern	Richard Cox Richard Marshall George Carew Thomas Sampson Thomas Godwin Thomas Cooper John Piers Tobias Matthew William James Thomas Ravis John King William Goodwin Richard Corbet Brian Duppa Samuel Fell Edward Reynolds John Owen Edward Reynolds George Morley John Fell John Massey Henry Aldrich Francis Atterbury George Smalridge Hugh Boulter William Bradshaw John Conybeare David Gregory William Markham Lewis Bagot Cyril Jackson
Late modern	Charles Henry Hall Samuel Smith Thomas Gaisford Henry Liddell Francis Paget Thomas Strong Henry Julian White Alwyn Williams John Lowe Cuthbert Simpson Henry Chadwick Eric Heaton John Drury Christopher Lewis Martyn Percy Sarah Foot
* – Academic deans only; prior to the establishment of Christ Church Cathedral; ** – Cathedral deans at Osney.