Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness
Church of England ecclesiastical office
The Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Carlisle. They are responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within its four rural deaneries: Barrow, Windermere, Kendal and Furness.
The archdeaconry of Westmorland was erected by Order-in-Council of 10 August 1847 from the Archdeaconry of Richmond, but that Order did not come into effect until Hugh Percy (Bishop of Carlisle) died on the 5th of February 1856 (because he did not consent to the changes to his diocese). The Archdeaconry of Furness was erected by further Order-in-Council in 1884; they were subsequently merged to form the current archdeaconry of Westmorland and Furness. The incumbent is Vernon Ross.
Archdeacons of Westmorland and of Westmorland and Furness
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
25 February 2017 – present: Vernon Ross
Archdeacons of Furness
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".
The public source identifies “Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness” as church of England ecclesiastical office. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Archdeacon, Westmorland and Furness.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness”, the useful work is to connect “church of England ecclesiastical office” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4785812. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1847, 1856, 1884 and 1865.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness primary sources, Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness archive and Archdeacon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.