SPITALFIELDS RURAL DEANERY

This series contains the records of the Spitalfields Rural Deanery. It consists of ruridecanal chapter minute books, conference minute books, Assistant Clergy Society minute books and a scrapbook of notes and notices relating to ruri-decanal conferences and other events. Associated papers include lists of church members, constitution and orders of service.

A rural deanery is a collection of parishes administered by the rural dean, who is the leader of the local clergy in a deanery and joint chairman of the deanery synod with an elected lay chairman. His main role is to act as a means of communication between the bishop and the clergy. Typically between 16 and 24 parishes make up a deanery. A group of deaneries forms an Archdeanery.

Ruri-decanal pertains to the rural dean and his jurisdiction.

A Chapter is a meeting of the clergy of an area of a diocese under the chairmanship of their rural dean

This series is divided into the following subseries

Ruri-decanal chapter

Ruri-decanal conference

Assistant Clergy Society

Scrapbook

<p>Records of Stepney Deanery for 1872-1954 have been deposited here and listed with the parish records of St Dunstan, Stepney ref. P93/DUN/283-290. Records of Stepney Deanery 1954-1966 are deposited in Tower Hamlets Local History Library.</p>

deposited by the Area Dean of Tower Hamlets, 18 April 1983 Acc. 1843

The Rural Deanery of Spitalfields consisted of parishes in Bethnal Green, Spitalfields, Mile End New Town and Whitechapel. When the deanery was dissolved at the end of 1901, the Bethnal Green parishes were formed into the new Rural Deanery of Bethnal Green the records of which have also been deposited here ref: DRD/L3. Parishes in Spitalfields, Mile End New Town and Whitechapel became part of the Rural Deanery of Stepney.