Abbey people
Find out about the different people that make up Westminster Abbey. You can discover more about Dean and Chapter, who they are and the roles they undertake.
There is also a comprehensive list of other personnel who work at the Abbey.
The Dean and Chapter
The Abbey is a Royal Peculiar governed by a Dean and Chapter under the Royal Charter of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I on 21st May 1560 which created it as a Collegiate Church under the Sovereign’s personal jurisdiction.
Nearly five hundred years later, today’s Dean and the residentiary canons who make up Chapter were appointed by the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
They have ultimate legal responsibility for the Abbey and the proper governance and agree, with the help of advisors, the overall strategic direction of the organisation.
The Dean and Chapter is the Abbey’s highest decision-making body and currently comprises:
The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle MBE
Dean of Westminster
The Reverend David Stanton
Sub-Dean and Canon Treasurer
The Right Reverend Anthony Ball
Canon Rector
The Reverend Dr James Hawkey
The Canon Theologian & Almoner
The Venerable Tricia Hillas
The Canon Steward and Archdeacon
Paul Baumann CBE
Chapter Clerk and Receiver General
Minor Canons
The Minor Canons are responsible to the Dean of Westminster for the daily worshipping life of the Abbey, and for designing and planning the Ordinary services and the special services of thanksgiving or commemoration which characterise the unique life of the Abbey.
The Reverend Mark Birch
Minor Canon and Sacrist
Senior Lay Officers
High Steward
The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry KT KBE CVO DL
High Bailiff
Sir Kenneth Olisa OBE CStJ
Deputy High Steward
Lord Mayor of Westminster
Deputy High Bailiff
Sir Stephen Lamport GCVO DL
College
The Abbey’s formal title is the Collegiate Church of St Peter – which reflects the charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1560 confirming its status as a Royal Peculiar answerable only to The Sovereign. Today, the College of the Abbey still exists to advise the Dean and Chapter. The members of College, in addition to Dean and Chapter, are:
High Steward
High Bailiff and Searcher of the Sanctuary
Deputy High Steward and Lord Mayor of Westminster
Deputy High Bailiff
Deputy Receiver General and Director of Finance
Minor Canon and Precentor
Minor Canon and Sacrist
Westminster Abbey departments
Auditor - William Binns
Clerk of the Works - Ian Bartlett
Consultant Archaeologist - Professor Warwick Rodwell
Director of Westminster Abbey Foundation - Valerie Humphrey
Director of Westminster Abbey Institute - Dr Claire Foster-Gilbert
Headmaster of Westminster Abbey Choir School - Peter Roberts
Head of Abbey Collection - Dr Tony Trowles
Head of Events & Marketing - Lorraine Rossdale
Head of Communications - Duncan Jeffery
Head of Human Resources - Temi Olusola
Head of Visitor Experience - Scott Craddock
Legal Secretary - Christopher Vyse
Organist and Master of the Choristers - James O’Donnell
Surveyor of the Fabric - Ptolemy Dean
Westminster School
Headmaster - Dr Gary Savage
Undermaster - James Kazi
Master of the Queen’s Scholars - Gareth Mann
Other
Principal of Harris Westminster Sixth Form - James Handscombe
Administrator of Westminster Cathedral - Fr Sławomir Witoń
Superintendent Minister of Methodist Central Hall - The Reverend Tony Miles
