ARCHDEACONS OF CANTERBURY
The archdeaconry which served the diocese of Canterbury was established shortly
after Lanfranc's appointment as archbishop. Vice-archdeacons occur in the twelfth
century, and there may have been an abortive attempt in 1175 to divide the archdeaconry into three (see below). In 1202 archbishop Hubert Walter gained papal
permission to add two archdeacons to his diocese to operate in the archiepiscopal
peculiars, (fn. 4) but this project seems to have had no practical sequel, as in the peculiars
the archidiaconal functions were performed by the deans. (fn. 5)
?Valerius
Said to have been appd. by abp. Lanfranc [1070 × 89] (Black Book of Archdeacons
of Canterbury (deposited at Canterbury, D. & C. Libr.) fo. 33v; cf. Ang. Sac. 1 150).
Ansketil
or
Ansketin
Occ. at council of London, 1075 (D. Wilkins, Concilia (1737) 1 364), and 1086 or
before (An Eleventh-Century Inquisition of St. Augustine's, Canterbury, ed. A. Ballard
(1920) p. 28). Also occ. as preb. of St. Paul's, London (see Fasti 1066-1300 1 (1968) 47).
William
First certain occs. [May 1099 × Aug. 1100] (Anselm, Opp. IV ep. no. 208), (fn. 6) and
perhaps earlier, [?before 1095] (ibid. V ep. no. 474). Occ. in spurious charters dated
20 Sept. 1089 (Mon. Ang. 1 175) and 1091/2 (Cheney, Eng. Bps.' Chanceries p. 151).
Last occ. 30 June 1108 (Eadmer, H.N. pp. 196-7).
John
Prob. appd. between 27 June and 16 Sept. 1115 (Eadmer, H.N. p. 231). Archdcn.
until became bp. of Rochester, el. Apr. 1125, cons. May (see below p. 76). Nephew and
clk. of Ralph d'Escures, abp. of Canterbury (1114-22) (Eadmer, H.N. p. 231; Ancient
Charters, Royal and Private prior to 1200, ed. J. II. Round (Pipe Roll Soc. x) no. 8).
Helewise
An Augustinian can., appd. archdcn. by abp. William (1123-36) (Gerv. Cant. 1 97).
First occ. [c. 1125 × 1126] (Textus Roffensis, ed. T. Hearne (Oxford, 1720) p. 203) (fn. 1) and
before 1128 (ibid. p. 156; (fn. 2) cf. Reg. Roff. p. 346, for a similar witness-list, but where the
date '1131' must be wrong). Last occ. Nov.-Dec. 1138 (Gerv. Cant. 1 106). Commem.
as 'Herewisus archid.' 10 March (Canterbury obit. I fo. 7v), and as 'Herewysus frater
noster' 10 March (obit. II fo. 19v). (fn. 3)
Walter
First occ. [1139, or a little later] (Saltman, Theobald no. 58). Archdcn. until became
bp. of Rochester, el. Jan. 1148, cons. March (see below p. 76). Brother and clk. of
Theobald, abp. of Canterbury (1139-61) (Gerv. Cant. 1 132; cf. Saltman, Theobald
p. 164 n. 3).
Roger of Pont l'Évêque
(fn. 4)
Abp.'s clk. (see Saltman, Theobald p. 164 n. 3 and cf. ibid. nos. 55, 58 etc.). Appd.
after March 1148 (Gerv. Cant. 1 133). First occ. 26 Jan. 1149 (Cart. Worc. no. 73).
Archdcn. until became abp. of York, cons. Oct. 1154.
Thomas Becket
Not appd. until after Oct. 1154, when still called abp.'s clk. (Saltman, Theobald
no. 182). Already archdcn. when appd. royal chanc., by Jan. 1155 (Diceto 1 300; cf.
L. B. Radford, Thomas of London before his Consecration (Cambridge, 1894) pp. 65-7).
Also preb. of London. Abp. of Canterbury, el. May, cons. June 1162 (see above p. 4).
Res. archdcnry. to king c. 25 Jan. 1163 (Diceto 1 308). (fn. 5)
Geoffrey Ridel
King's clk. Presum. appd. by king (Diceto 1 308), by [c. 8] March 1163 (Reg. Antiquissimum of Lincoln, 11 ed. C. W. Foster (Lincoln Record Soc. xxviii) p. 12; R. W.
Eyton, Court, Household and Itinerary of Hen. II (1878) pp. 59-60). Archdcn. until
became bp. of Ely, el. Apr. 1173, cons. Oct. 1174 (see below p. 45). (fn. 6)
[Savaric
and
Nicholas
Said to have been appd. by abp. Richard in 1175, within three months of Herbert Le
Poer's appt. (Diceto 1 403, and cf. below). But Savaric and Nicholas do not occ. again.
Perhaps Savaric, archdcn. of Northampton (Lincoln dioc.), and Nicholas, archdcn. of
Coventry, are intended. Savaric was appd. archdcn. of Northampton [1173 × 79]
(Papal Decretals relating to Lincoln, ed. W. Holtzmann and E. W. Kemp (Lincoln
Record Soc. xlvii) nos. 7, 20). Nicholas was appd. archdcn. of Coventry by Richard
Pecche, bp. of Coventry and Lichfield, before 1178/9 (Regesta Pontificum Romanorum,
ed. P. Jaffé, S. Loewenfeld et al. (Leipzig, 1885-8) no. 13254).]
Herbert Le Poer
(fn. 1)
Said to have been appd. by abp. Richard in 1175, presum. very shortly after Savaric
and Nicholas (Diceto 1 403, and see above). First occ. 1176/7 (Cartulaire de l' Abbaye de
Saint-Bertin, ed. B. E. C. Guérard (Paris, 1840) pp. 370-1), and perhaps before May
1176 (Cart. of St. Mary, Clerkenwell, ed. W. O. Hassall (Camden 3rd ser., lxxi) no. 111,
for date cf. ibid. no. 10). Archdcn. until became bp. of Salisbury, el. before May 1194,
cons. June. (fn. 2)
M. Philip of Poitou
Appd. by king, whose clk. he was, before March 1194 (Howden 111 221). First occ.
28 July 1194 (L. Landon, Itinerary of Ric. I (Pipe Roll Soc., new ser. xiii) no. 432).
Last occ. 23 June 1195 (ibid. no. 453). Bp. of Durham, el. Nov. 1195, cons. Apr. 1197
(see below p. 30).
Henry de Castilion
Occ. without title 31 Oct. 1195 (cart. of Walsingham: B.M., Cotton MS. Nero E. vii
fo. 57r). First occ. as archdcn. 3 June 1196 (Charters and Documents of Salisbury, ed.
W. H. Rich Jones and W. D. Macray (Rolls ser. xcvii) p. 57; cf. cart. of see of Canterbury: Lambeth Palace Libr., MS. 1212 p. 35). Last certain occ., as H. archdcn. of
Canterbury and can. of Rouen, 2 Apr. 1206 (Rot. Litt. Claus. 1 68; for his identity see
obit. below). Prob. still alive 11 June 1206 (Pleas before the King or his Justices, ed.
D. M. Stenton 111 (Selden Soc. lxxxiii) no. 2049; cf. Rot. Litt. Pat. p. 62b). Commem.
12 Feb. (Rouen obit.: Rec. Hist. France XXIII 359j). (fn. 3)
H- (?Henry de Castilion
or
M. Henry de Sandford)
Occ. 13 Jan. and 10 March 1207 and 20 Dec. 1208 (Rot. Litt. Pat. pp. 58, 69b, 78;
cf. Henry who occ. Sept. 1209 in Pipe Roll 11 John (Pipe Roll Soc., new ser. xxiv) p. 12,
and equivalent entries in preceding Rolls from 2 John).
M. Henry de Sandford
Occ. in royal service, without title, 20 Feb. 1208 (Rot. Litt. Claus. 1 102b), but presum. in office by 31 May 1213 (ibid. p. 134). (fn. 4) Also can. of Salisbury. Archdcn. until
became bp. of Rochester, el. Dec. 1226, cons. May 1227 (see below p. 77).
M. Simon of Langton
(fn. 5)
Appd. 14 May 1227 (ann. Dover fo. 27r; cf. Acta S. Langton nos. 111-13). D. 1248
(Chron. Maj. v 41). Brother of Stephen Langton, abp. of Canterbury (1207-28), and
can. of Paris (see F. M. Powicke, Stephen Langton (Oxford, 1928) pp. 4-6, 135). (fn. 6)
[Richard de Sancto Johanne
Clk. of Hubert de Burgh; king's chapl. from 1232. Royal coll., sede vacante, 28 Jan.
1232 (Pat. R. 1225-32 p. 461), but evidently ineffective because occ. without title, as
chapl., 18 July (C.Ch.R. 1 167), and as clk. 25 Oct. 1232 (Pat. R. 1225-32 p. 507).]
M. Stephen de Monte Luelli
(fn. 1)
alias
of Vienne
First occ. 20 Oct. 1248 (Cal. of Kent Fines, ed. I. J. Churchill (Kent Archaeol. Soc.
Records xv) p. 217). Last occ. 1 June 1268 (C.P.R. 1266-72 p. 234) and later (ibid.
pp. 352, 408). Also papal chapl. and archdcn. of Vienne (Isère, France) (Reg. Innoc. IV
nos. 4409, 5687). D. as archdcn. July 1269 (Gerv. Cant. (cont.) 11 249).
Hugh de Mortuo Mari
Vicar-general in dioc. and province of Canterbury (I. J. Churchill, Canterbury
Administration (1933) II 1-2; cf. ibid. p. 237). Appd. archdcn. 1269, after July (Gerv.
Cant. (cont.) 11 249). Also preb. of London. D. as archdcn. 9 Oct. 1275 (ibid. p. 281).
M. William de Middleton
Official of court of Canterbury (cf. Cart. of St. Mary, Clerkenwell, ed. W. O.
Hassall (Camden 3rd ser., lxxi) p. 253). Appd. archdcn. by abp. Oct. 1275 (Gerv. Cant.
(cont.) 11 282). Prob. also preb. of London. Archdcn. until became bp. of Norwich, el.
Feb. 1278, cons. May (see below p. 58).
M. Robert of Gernemue
(fn. 2)
Appd. 1278 (ann. Dover fo. 55r). Presum. still alive Dec. 1279 (Reg. Nic. III no. 617,
of 23 Jan. 1280). D. 1279/80 (ann. Dover fo. 56r).
M. Richard de Feringes
(fn. 3)
Appd. 1279/80 (ann. Dover fo. 56r), but presum. not until after 26 Feb. 1280, when
still called official of abp.'s court (I. J. Churchill, Canterbury Administration (1933) II
81). First occ. as archdcn. 8 June 1280 (C.C.R. 1279-88 p. 21). Also can. of Lincoln.
Archdcn. until became abp. of Dublin, prov. c. June 1299, cons. before 1 July (Reg.
Bon. VIII no. 3151).
John de Langeton
Royal chanc. Bp.-el. of Ely 1298-99 (below p. 47). Prov. 29 June 1299, and allowed
to retain treasurership of Wells and other benefices (Reg. Bon. VIII no. 3156). Abp.'s
mandate enforcing prov. 23 Sept. 1299 (Reg. Winchelsey 1 360). Archdcn. until became
bp. of Chichester, el. Apr. 1305, cons. Sept.